Pleasant Ridge Arts Council

By Ryan R. Ennis

Pleasant Ridge Arts Council

If you live in a suburban community, you might have to drive to a major city and deal with the hassle of public parking to experience the arts and culture offered in museums and galleries.

Thanks to the Pleasant Ridge Arts Council, local residents will not have to go to those lengths to appreciate art. In fact, the Council plans to make it as convenient for them as taking a stroll to their nearest neighborhood park.

With a dedicated budget of $50,000 from the City of Pleasant Ridge, the Arts Council formed last fall with a primary focus to improve local access to the arts through services and programs. The Chair for the Arts Council is Douglas McElroy, who is develop-ing projects that will include large-scale art instal-lations. As a way of gathering feedback, McElroy has been posting pictures of different types of installations on the Pleasant Ridge Arts Council’s Facebook page and then reading the reactions.

According to McElroy, the comments on his posts have been guiding him on where the art should be concentrated, such as along walking paths around the city. From there, he will be able to offer suggestions to contracted artists about desired locations for their installations. The artists will be paid to install and exhibit their works for a certain period of time. However, the Council will not be purchasing the installation so that other artists will have opportunities to display their works and thus provide new views for residents.

THIS PAST WINTER, THE COUNCIL HIRED PLANNER RALPH NUNEZ to help facilitate the discussions with the residents about the types of art program they would like to see available in their community. Possible areas of concentration are along the walking paths in the city and near the gardens in the neighborhood parks.

This past February, McElroy and others on the council hosted an art party at the Pleasant Ridge Community Center. To inform the residents, invitations were sent out via postcards. The event was attended by approximately 120 local artists, who came to discuss their past and present works with the residents. From the meeting, the Council was able to better understand the scope of talent in the area. Ultimately, the plan is to accommodate the arts in all forms — from artists to musicians to writers — through events where Michigan-based artists and local crafters can showcase their works and provide inspiration to others..

Moving forward, the Council has designed the third week of July for hosting a public three-night event. The event’s function will be to learn more about the local residents and their artistic interests and preferences. They will be asked such questions about which parks they are near and where they would like to see the installations. Depending on the weather, the events will be held either at the Community Center or at one of the local parks.

To stay up to date about ways to appreciate art and participate in local programs, follow the Pleasant Ridge Arts Council on Facebook.