Project Name: ARTS in the BURG
ABOUT THE APPLICANT
Are you applying as a:
Municipal Government
What is the entity’s name:
Village of Vicksburg
Website URL
Twitter Handle
Facebook Handle
facebook.com/villageofvicksburg
Instagram Handle
villageofvicksburgmi
What is the name of the primary contact for this entity’s application/project?
Jim Mallery
What are their preferred pronouns?
none
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Where will your project take place? (please include city/village too)
Village of Vicksburg
Anticipated project launch date
July 18, 2023
Briefly describe your project idea including your role and any project partners.
The Village of Vicksburg’s “ARTS in the BURG” project is designed to bring the arts to the new weekly village street fair that we will be starting this summer. We are eager to use the unifying power of the arts to provide free, shared arts experiences that will bring together a diverse population.
How do you plan to spend the $5,000 microgrant? Please list and explain the items, services, fees, expertise, etc. that you plan to purchase.
We would use your grant to purchase the Art Cart, so that we have a signature and portable location that can showcase and support our local artists in our core downtown at events each Wednesday, between July 18 and August 16, 2023. We plan to use the funding to also pay the multiple artists fairly and to buy art supplies for our community art projects. List of expenses: Art Cart, This cart will be used each week by a different artist and will also be used by our Village to offer community arts programming at our Farmer’s Market and Parks and Recreation Kids in our Parks Nights. It will be a signal to residents that something free and fun to do is available at the cart. Estimate expenses: Cart $3250 Paying 5 artist: $1250 Art Supplies: $500. The Village will be matching the $5000 grant with $5000 for marketing, additional Art Supplies, and additional programming if awarded this grant.
The Village of Vicksburg will be providing all of the logistics for our weekly street fairs, including regional promotion, communicating with downtown businesses, and providing security. With grants from the Vicksburg Foundation and the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, the Village has scheduled two bands to play each week, bouncy houses activities for kids, and food trucks. Your grant will help us round out these weekly community-wide events with the kind of inclusive, thoughtful, community-building experiences that only the arts can provide. Multiple downtown business have authored letters of support for this programming, and specifically, the DDA, Chamber of Commerce and Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center (VCAC) Board have all unanimously support this endeavor. We will be partnering with the Vicksburg Cultural Arts and our local businesses to display the postcards so that the diverse ideas and creativity of the community can be celebrated together.
The Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center will coordinate with artist Natalya Critchley, and will communicate with the Black Arts and Cultural Center of Kalamazoo and with the Nottawatseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi to find BIPOC artists. The VCAC will provide additional art supplies, train and support artists, and provide 5 volunteers to assist each week. The Vicksburg Rotary Club has also pledged volunteer support. IN addition, we will partner will our local social service organizations, Generous Hands and South County Community Services, to help us promote the free activities to our local families in need. These organizations have a history of helping our Village advertise events that these families might not normally attend unless they realize that we are offering free family activities.
Will your project require special permits from the community you are in? For example, anything that requires a street closure or installing a permanent art piece will likely require a special permit from your local governing body or zoning board. If your project is funded, the MML Foundation is happy to help you navigate that process. Please note that all applicants must obtain any necessary permits for their projects, if selected for funding.
Yes
Rachel’s Notes about the Project
Reviewed 4.24.23. Confirmed member location. Confirmed artist exists and will be paid. Confirmed businesses are viable with downtown locations. Confirmed LOS. Confirmed photos.
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
Why does your community need this project?
We have several divides in our community that we would like to bridge through this project. As a rural community, some of our residents are spread out and isolated in rural locations away from our village downtown. We are hoping that weekly street fairs this summer can unify and welcome residents and help them feel like they belong to our community. In addition, Vicksburg is experiencing some “growing pains”. Over 300 new homes have been built in our new housing developments in recent years, bringing in many new young families that have not blended yet with the long-time Vicksburg residents. There also appears to be a townie/rural divide in South Kalamazoo County. Many residents told us that they want to keep the small-town feel, despite the growth – they want to feel connected to their neighbors.
These street fairs will help us unite geographically distant residents, bring together people of all ages, and provide common experiences for everyone from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
We have also notice from our past festivals, that our community has a hunger for shared arts experiences. We believe there is an untapped well of artistic talent in the region and a need to build regional support for creative people. We have recently interviewed dozens of artists and they all mentioned the desire for pop-up markets where they could have occasional opportunities to sell their work. The Art Cart is a way to start the narrative.
Finally, and critically, our community is 97% white, so we need to do what we can to welcome residents and visitors from underrepresented races and ethnicities. By showcasing and celebrating BIPOC artists and positioning them as project leaders, we can send a message to kids and families from both non-white and white backgrounds that black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people are valued in our community.
How will you engage your community in this project?
The Village of Vicksburg manages a robust Facebook page, as well as establish an Instagram page recently, that will help build excitement about this community art project before it starts. The Village has also entered into a contract with an outside firm (Image Shoppe of Grand Rapids) to assist us in the marketing of these events. We will also be engaging smaller neighborhood Facebooks Pages and social media, especially those in the newer housing divisions where the majority of new people we want to integrate into the community live.
We believe the project will build both a celebration of diversity and a create a sense of unity as the community displays a collective project that celebrates what they love about our region. For five weeks, in July and August 2023, we’ll be engaging the community in a project that encourages thinking about our collective experiences, hope, and memories. After the Wednesday evenings, we will build on the project by showcasing postcards on social media and by displaying them in local shop windows. The community can help create the art, or enjoy viewing it.
We hope to use the Art Cart to engage the local artists for many festivals to come. We anticipate that it will become a familiar and fun feature to our future gatherings that will both support local artists and provide free experiences.
What do you hope to achieve through this project?
We know from past community art projects that this project will lead dozens of people working outdoors side by side along long tables, talking and creating projects together. We will see people from all ages, from different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, chatting and laughing together as they try something new.
We want to convey these message: the people of Vicksburg share a love of their region, despite their difference; that artists, especially BIPOC artists, lead our community in creativity and discussions about collective identity; and that art is for EVERYONE, not just for people who visit elite galleries.
Through our street fairs, we want to bring at least 4000 visitors to Vicksburg every Wednesday night this summer, which will promote our local downtown businesses, and also bring diverse visitors from other cities to enjoy our downtown with us. We plan to generate 1000 postcards through the 5 sessions and to use them to showcase both the diversity of styles and opinions, and also that we are all unified through the project.
We also want to establish a method for supporting our local artists. We aim to help each of the five artists sell $500 worth of their work so that they can at least have funds to buy more art supplies and can impactful exposure to their art!
How will the project celebrate the community’s diversity? Diversity can include different ages, races, cultures, socio-economic statuses, abilities, and more.
This free project, which will be located outdoors in a location accessible to people of all abilities, will be an opportunity that can be enjoyed by a complete cross-section of our region. All ages, races, abilities, neighborhoods and socio-economic backgrounds will be at the village’s street fair.
The real celebration will come in the form of lifting up local diverse artists as leaders in the artistic discussion about how we each appreciate and experience our community. This is especially important for our black, Hispanic, and indigenous children and teens in Vicksburg. We want them to see people who look like them leading projects and to see BIPOC artists making a living through their talents.
We will be celebrating every person who creates a postcard by giving each individual’s voice and creativity equal weight since we will be displaying all of the cards. We know that the cards people create will be diverse and that they will lead to an appreciation of how so many different people are grounded together in one community.
What resources do you already have to make this project successful? Resources could include things like time, partners, expertise, donated goods/materials/space, matching funds, and more. Please approximate the in-kind value if possible.
The Village of Vicksburg is fortunate to have a deeply involved community with strong networks we can tap into to make an event a success. We will be enjoying the community art expertise of the Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center, who has delivered many community arts projects in the past 8 years.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Artist First and Last Name:
Natalya Critchley
Artist Website (If Applicable):
https://natalyacritchley.com
Describe the artist’s or artists’ work. This is not about credentials—what do they do as an artist?
Natalya Critchley, a painter who was born in England and trained at the Central School of Art and Design in London, moved to Venezuela in 1981 and immigrated to Kalamazoo in 2016. She is a painter.
How will the artist be involved in this project?
Natalya will serve as the first of the five artists that the Village will engage this summer. As the head artists, she will help us think through the Art Cart logistics, brainstorm about how the postcard project will work, and will help the VCAC and Village vet 4 other artists for the program. Natalya has offered extensive service with setting up gallery displays in the past, so she can consult about and help curate the postcard display.
Are there other artists involved in this project?
Yes
What are their names and what sort of art form do they practice?
Four additional artists will be identified by VCAC members, Natalya Critchley, and Village officials with input from the Natawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi and from the Black Arts and Culture Council in Kalamazoo.
How will they be involved in the project?
Each of the 4 artists will lead the Art Cart and promote their own individual art the week they are assigned.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Business 1: Business Name:
Gilbert and Ivy
Business 1: Business Type:
Retail
Business 1: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Kimm Mayer
Business 1: Physical Location Address
111 West Prairie St
How will this partner be involved in the project?
They will be hosting local authors and their respective books throughout the events.
Business 2: Business Name:
Hide Away Tavern
Business 2: Business Type:
Restaurant
Business 2: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Rachel Plankenhorn
Business 2: Business Physical Location Address:
111 E. Prairie St.
How will this second partner be involved in the project?
The Hide Away will assist in promoting the events and providing specials at their establishment for visitors to purchase.
Do you have additional partners (business, non-profit, etc.)?
Yes
What are their names?
Mackenzie Bakery, The Mill Visitor Center, SIlo Chic Boutique Shop, Vicksburg Chamber of Commerce, Fredricks Construction, Opsie Daisy Flower Shop, Wooden Stich, and Distant Whistle Brewery.
What role(s) will they have in the project?
All have embraced the weekly downtown events and will be coordinating specials and assisting with the marketing of the events. Each has provided a letter of support.
Are they located within the same downtown or business district as the project?
Yes, all are within the DDA boundaries in downtown Vicksburg.
Will your local municipal government be involved in the project? If so, how?
Yes, The Village of Vicksburg is the lead sponsor of the events. The Village Council and DDA boards unanimously supported the concept, the organized streets closure, and financial dollars.
Please upload a letter of support on letterhead for your project from your local governing body (mayor, city/village manager, city/village council member).
https://mmlfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/19/ARTS-in-the-BURG-Grant-Letter-of-Support-Vicksburg-.docx
IMAGE UPLOADS
Image Caption 1 (if any): This is Main St in Vicksburg’s Core Downtown Looking South – Streetscapes widened sidewalks from 8 ft to 15 ft wide and installed $50K Seating mid block for placemaking
Image 1 (if any):
Image Caption 2 (if any): This is Prairie St in Vicksburg’s core downtown (Main and Prairie is the intersection in our Village) Streetscapes widen sidewalk to almost 16 ft and placemaking seating for 75 people installed.
Image 2 (if any):
Image Caption 3 (if any): Prairie St closed for pedestrian traffic only for February 2023 IceBURG Festival.
Image 3 (if any):
Image Caption 4 (if any): Main St during pedestrian February 2023 IceBURG Festival
Image 4 (if any):
Image Caption 5 (if any): This is a picture of Oswalt Pocket Park redesigned during streetscape makeover. MEDC crowd funding grant assisted in the $300K project funded by donations and DDA. This is at Main St and Prairie St intersection at NW Corner.
Image 5 (if any):
