Press Releases

2018 Youth Arts Festival

Enjoy an inspirational, engaging art show (4 p.m.) AND upbeat, entertaining free vocal and instrumental performances at 7 p.m. at the Youth Arts Festival and Opening to the 2018 City-Wide Dearborn Public Schools Student Art Show. Featuring visual art, vocal performances and instrumental music by hundreds of talented Dearborn students from elementary, high schools and Henry Ford College. Free admission!

Presented by: Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) and the Dearborn Public Schools.

Date: Wednesday, April 25
Time: 4:10 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., Dearborn
Cost: Free

Program Agenda
4:00pm – 5:30pm – Visual Arts. Opening Reception for Dearborn Public Schools Ci…ty Wide Art Show featuring artwork from students in kindergarten through high school.

4:30pm – 5:30pm & 6:30pm – 7:30pm – Artist Demonstrations

5:30pm – Senior Spotlight. High school seniors share insights about their artwork in specially featured exhibits.

7:00pm – 8:00pm – Collage Musical Performance. Instrumental, choral and theater selections by students in elementary through high school and “Henry Ford College.

Youth Arts Festival Spotlights Talented Dearborn Students

April 25, 2018, Showcase Highlighting Dearborn Students’ Talents Opens City-Wide Art Show

Dalia Elmokadem, a senior at the Michael Berry Career Center, was one of four Senior Artists selected to exhibit a collection of their artwork in the Padzieski Gallery during last year’s Dearborn Public Schools City Wide Art Show. Other exhibiting seniors: Tyler Bankey, Edsel Ford; Juliana Sanroman, Fordson HS; and Nadia Aboumourad, Dearborn High. To see more photos from the 2016 Youth Arts Festival, visit the photo album on the Dearborn Community Fund Facebook page at http://tinyurl.com/zjnjykp.

The 2018 Youth Arts Festival, a showcase highlighting the creative talents of over 400 students from Dearborn Public Schools (DPS) and Henry Ford College, takes place on Wednesday, April 19 from 4 to 8:00 p.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

The Festival, a colorful and high energy event, features visual, instrumental, choral and theatrical offerings and the opening of the DPS City Wide Art Show, which runs through mid-May. Admission is free and open to the public to enjoy and show support for the students.

The Youth Arts Festival is a project of the nonprofit Dearborn Community Fund (DCF).

“This event is truly a festival—not just a concert—because of the variety and high spirited energy of the art and the performances by Dearborn students,” explains DCF Executive Director EmmaJean Woodyard. “It’s exciting for everyone involved because this is the only time during the year that all of the schools in Dearborn showcase their arts initiatives at one time, in one place, demonstrating how many of our young people are involved in the arts. It’s also offers a unique opportunity for the students to see and hear what their peers are doing.”

Festival activities begin at 4 p.m. with the opening of Dearborn Public Schools City Wide Art Show at the Center’s Padzieski Gallery. The exhibit, which remains in the Gallery through mid-May, includes selected works from K-12 students. Opening art awards occur at 4:10 p.m. in the Michael A. Guido Theater followed by Senior Talks in the Gallery at 5:30 p.m.

Between the art awards and the 7 p.m. collage concert, patrons can view the student art in the lobby and Gallery, participate in a variety of interactive art demonstrations, and enjoy music performed by a students. Representatives from the Dearborn Symphony and Friends of the Dearborn Symphony will host an information table.

A Collage Performance begins at 7 p.m. in the Michael A. Guido Theater. Choral and instrumental performances include groups from the Dearborn Public Schools and Henry Ford College.

The Youth Arts Festival is a co-operative project by the DCF, Dearborn Public Schools and Henry Ford Community College with valuable support provided by the City of Dearborn/Parks & Recreation Department, Dearborn Community Arts Council and additional sponsors.

For more information about the Youth Arts Festival, other DCF projects or how to contribute to the Fund, call 313-943-5478.

The Big Read Dearborn in 2016

“Do You Know Poe?” The Dearborn Community Fund is partnering with the Dearborn Public Library to bring The Big Read to Dearborn in 2016. In this community-wide reading initiative, children and adults across the city will explore “Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe” with the theme “Dreaming Dreams No Mortal Ever Dared Dream Before.”
Find out more at http://bigreaddearborn.org.

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. This program is designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture and to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.

Dearborn’s Art in Public Places features “Purple Whisper Bench” sculpture in November

Purple_Whisper_Bench_IMG_9821 Shhhh! Have you heard that “Purple Whisper Bench” by sculptor Jim Gallucci is Dearborn’s sculpture of the month in November? See the piece in West Dearborn’s Starbucks Plaza.

Described as artistic, functional and fun, it’s one of 12 sculptures placed throughout Dearborn as part of the community’s 2013-2014 Art in Public Places – Midwest Sculpture Initiative (MSI).

Funding for the project is provided by the Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) and the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities. Each month a different sculpture and sculptor are highlighted.

Click here to see the CDTV video about the sculpture

Sculptor Gallucci enjoys creating pieces that are practical and engage the public in a way to invite interaction. “Purple Whisper Bench” is a good example of this. It allows visitors to whisper into the design’s tube-like structure on one end and be heard at the other end.

Gallucci views the bench format, along with his other frequently used gate and doorway formats, as a way to give the public access to his art. In his artist statement, he notes that “though each can function as a seat, there is an impracticality of form that lures people to explore each bench and try to discover what it is about.”

A sculptor for more than 30 years, Gallucci designs and fabricates his sculptures at a 7,200-square-foot Greensboro, NC studio with the assistance of a six-member staff. Most of his works are commissioned for public, corporate and residential spaces around the country, but he also exhibits in prestigious shows like the famous Pier Walk Sculpture Show held annually in Chicago. His sculptures have also been selected for exhibits in Brisbane, Australia and Hakone, Japan.

“Purple Whisper Bench” is priced at $8,000 and will remain on exhibit until late April 2014. The DCF is a 501c3 organization and gifts toward purchase of a sculpture for permanent public installation are tax deductible. A portion of the purchase price supports DCF projects that benefit the Dearborn community.

Want to visit other sculptures in Dearborn? Click here for an “I Spy Dearborn’s Art in Public Places” card with photos and locations of all 12 MSI 2013-2014 sculptures.

For more information on the sculpture initiative, including price and purchase information for any sculpture included in the 2013-14 exhibit, contact the DCF office at 313-943-5478.

$16,000 donation to Dearborn Community Fund keeps popular horse sculpture in Dearborn

“Gaze,” known as Dear USE GAZE VERT IMG_2235 born’s resident mustang, remains standing majestically at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center thanks to encouragement from the community, and a major donation from Kenwal Steel and residents David and Cherie Bazzy, and the efforts of the Dearborn Community Fund.

Deemed a favorite public sculpture by many who saw it at The Center, “Gaze” by sculptor James Oleson first came to Dearborn in 2012 as one of 12 sculptures on temporary exhibit through the city’s Art in Public Places– Midwest Sculpture Initiative. The project is funded by the Dearborn Community Fund with support from the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities.

A ceremony was held in October 2016 to thank the donors who purchased the sculpture for permanent public enjoyment in Dearborn. With Dearborn’s majestic iron horse standing sentry in the background, Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. and Dearborn Community Fund Chairwoman Susan Rowe thanked the donors who made it possible to keep the popular sculpture in the city where it has become one of the most popular pieces of local public art.

The Bazzys, Kenwal Steel and the company’s CEO Kenneth Eisenberg, together donated $16,000 to purchase the sculpture from Oleson in 2014 so that the pie ce could continue to be enjoyed by Dearborn residents and visitors. The Garden Club of Dearborn and the City of Dearborn provided additional funding for landscaping and display of the sculpture in its new location on a grassy birm

The DCF had just two weeks in early 2014 in which to pony up the $16,000 to purchase “Gaze” to ensure the horse would stay in Dearborn. The city o 1 DCF Gaze Dedication IMG_2205 f Hastings had offered to buy the metal sculpture from the artist, James Oleson, Jr.

It looked like “Gaze,” made of recycled and found objects, would be moving to the mid-Michigan city, until the leadership of Dearborn-based Kenwal Steel Corp. stepped up.

Kenwal’s president and chief operating officer, David Bazzy, and his wife, Cherie, work out regularly in the fitness area at The Center where they saw a poster promoting the fundraiser to purchase “Gaze.” Cherie is one of many Dearborn residents who became enamored with the sculpture. David Bazzy said,“Cherie thought it was majestic and fit the spirit of Dearborn.”

David Bazzy noted that after he and Kenneth Eisenberg, the chairman and CEO of Kenwal Steel, “discussed the sculpture and its importance to the community, Kenwal agreed to donate the $16,000 to keep the mustang here.”

Mayor Jack O’Reilly said it’s appropriate that “Gaze” stays in Dearborn, home of Ford Motor Co. and its iconic Mustang, which was manufactured at the for Gaze Plaque closeup IMG_2240 mer Dearborn Assembly Plant for decades.

The mission of the nonprofit 501c3 Dearborn Community Fund is to support cultural and recreational programs and projects to enhance the quality of life in Dearborn. Donations towards DCF projects are tax deductible to the full extent permitted under law.

For more information, contact the DCF office at 313-943-5478 or send an email to: dearborncommunityfund@ci.dearborn.mi.us.

POP Team 3 Students Sculpture on Exhibit in Artspace City Hall Lofts

High school students from across Dearborn collaborate to design and make public art through the Pockets of Perception-We Are One Community (POP) project. POP is an initiative of the nonprofit DCF as it supports programs that enrich the Dearborn community.

POP is an acronym for Pockets of Perception – We Are One Community, focusing on young people, encouraging multicultural understanding, while cultivating their creativity and investment in the community through the creation of public art. Through the apprentice-style program, the group of ten 11th grade students on POP Team 3 worked together every Saturday in the 2015-16 school year to work with teachers, artists and professionals to design and build a sculpture for permanent display in the Dearborn City Hall Artspace Lofts. Their sculpture, made from original doors from Dearborn’s historic City Hall building, was “unveiled” during a public open house in October 2016.

The students on POP Team 3 (shown above): Conaire Donelson, Tyler Platz, and Emma Clare Scott from Dearborn High School; Corey McDonald, Edsel Ford High School; Fatma Almachy, Khalood Altahesh, Zeinab Elmoussaoui and Nour Jamalaldin from Fordson High School; and Steven E. Gonzalez, Jad Hamdan and Lakiya Pickens from the Henry Ford Academy.

Dearborn art teacher Mohamad Bazzi and Wendy Sample, a former Art Resource teacher for the Dearborn Public Schools, provide professional guidance for the team.

The inaugural POP team in 2010 designed two complementary stainless steel sculptures that are now displayed at Dearborn City Hall Park and the West Dearborn Pocket Park. POP Team 2 made ceramic tiles and designed a mosaic mural that was unveiled last spring in the new John D. Dingell Transit Center in Dearborn.

Students must complete their year-long commitment to participate on the team in order to receive a stipend when their project is finished.

The POP project is funded completely by donations. Additional donor support is needed to complete the POP Team 3 project. To donate, visit www.dearborncommunityfund.org or call the DCF at 313-943-5478

EmmaJean Woodyard, executive director of the Dearborn Community Fund, noted, “Last year we were fortunate that TechShop Detroit-Allen Park teamed up with the DCF to host the POP project. The work space at TechShop provided a vibrant, creative environment where the POP students met with educators each Saturday to collaborate and develop their mural project.”

The POP Project is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works. Other major donors are the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities, the Ford Motor Company Fund and the Kosch Family Foundation.

“All of our sponsors recognize that art brings communities together and they want to offer students the opportunity to develop their talents while learning how to work in a team environment outside of school walls,” Woodyard said.

Funded completely by donations, POP is a project of the Dearborn Community Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission to support programs that contribute to the vibrancy of the Dearborn community. To donate or for more information, www.dearborncommunityfund.org or call 313-943-5478.

ABOUT THE POP PROGRAM

The full name of the POP project is “Pockets of Perception — We Are One Community.” It is designed as an apprentice style program to cultivate students’ creativity while encouraging multi-cultural understanding and community investment through the creation of public art.

“Students on the team collaborate with their teammates from across the city on different design concepts and, with the guidance of their instructors, come to a consensus on their project,” explains DCF Executive Director EmmaJean Woodyard. “They learn from artists and work with business professionals and city leaders to turn their collective vision into a real work of art that will permanently enhance the community.”

The POP program was introduced in 2010.

POP Team 3 completed a sculpture in 2016 that repurposed doors from Dearborn’s historic City Hall for installation in the City Hall Artspace Lofts. At the conclusion of the project, each team member received a stipend up to $1,000 along with great experience to list on college or job applications.

In November 2014, POP Team 2 unveiled their work: an impressive 20-foot-tall mosaic entitled “Transitions” that is the permanent focal piece of the new John D. Dingell Transit Center in Dearborn.

POP Team 1 designed two complimentary public sculptures that have been on permanent on display since 2012. The sculpture “We Are One Community – Arch” is located in City Hall Park at the southwest corner of Michigan Ave. and Schaefer. Its companion piece, “We Are One Community – Bench” is located in the West Dearborn Pocket Park on Michigan Ave. between Mason and Monroe.

POP is funded completely by donations. Individuals and companies interested in making a tax-deductible donation to support the program should contact DCF at 313-943-5478 or click here to donate online.

POP is one of the cornerstone programs of the Dearborn Community Fund, a nonprofit organization committed to providing enrichment opportunities and support of projects that enhance the quality of life in the city of Dearborn.

Woodyard notes, “The work of the DCF ranges from organizing activities that engage people in arts and cultural experiences, to partnering with schools and the City of Dearborn to plan and promote community events, to providing small grants or simply promotional support for the good work of other local nonprofit organizations.”

To see more photos of POP team students and their work, see photo albums in the Dearborn Community Fund’s Facebook page.

Donors who have supported the POP program since its inception in 2010 include The Ford Motor Company Fund, both the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities, the Exchange Club of Dearborn, the Kosch Family Foundation and numerous other individuals.

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Photos of POP Team 3 in 2015-16 working on their sculpture for the Artspace City Hall Lofts:

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Ten students from Edsel Ford (EFHS), Fordson (FHS) and Dearborn High School (DHS) worked with the Dearborn Community Fund on the 2012-14 POP team 2. The students designed a mosaic that was installed in Dearborn’s new John D. Dingell Transit Center. Photos below show the students with their completed mural during the Transit Center’s Grand Opening in December 2014.

See more photos in “Albums” on the Dearborn Community Fund Facebook page.

Photo above: POP Team 2 members at the dedication of their mosaic, which they titled “Transitions,” from left: Instructor Wendy Sample, Claire Young (EFHS), Reem Aoun (FHS), Siham Saleh (FHS), Mona Beydoun, Instructor Mohamad Bazzi, Frankie Nunez (DHS), Leah Wendzinski (DHS), Jack Davis (DHS), Aleen Bazzi (FHS) and Khalid McDowell (EFHS). Not pictured: Mary Charara (DHS).

Photos below show the completed mosaic, with the students titled “Transitions,” at the grand opening of the John D. Dingell Transit Center in Dearborn.

1. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is in the first photo with student Frankie Nunez from POP Team 2 who worked on the mosaic installed in the John D. Dingell Transit Center.
2. Dearborn John B. O’Reilly, Jr. explains the important role of the POP Team as the students learn to work together with their instructors and professions, such as the Transit Center’s architect, to make art for Dearborn residents and visitors to enjoy.
3. Additional photos show the final mosaic, students working on the mosaic design and making tiles.

Youth Arts Festival Spotlights Local Student Talents

Visual art, vocal performances and instrumental music will stir the senses in April 2016, from 4 to 8:30 p.m., at the Youth Arts Festival and opening of the Dearborn Public Schools City Wide Art Show. Hundreds of talented Dearborn students from kindergarten through high school (K-12) will perform, display and demonstrate their arts during exhibits and a collage concert at the event.

The public is invited to attend this free program, a cooperative project by the Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) and the Dearborn Public Schools, at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., in Dearborn.

Program Agenda

4-5:30 p.m. – Visual Arts / Opening Reception for Dearborn Public Schools City Wide Art Show – featuring artwork from students in kindergarten through high school.
4:30-5:30 p.m. and 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Artist Demonstrations
5:30 p.m. – Senior Talks – High school seniors share insights about their artwork.
6:30-7:30 p.m. – Musical Interlude – The Dearborn Youth Symphony ensembles will perform in the theater lobby.
7:30-8:30 p.m. – Collage Musical Performance – Instrumental, choral and theater selections by Elementary through High School students and special guests Kira Frabotta, Paul Bruce and “Blue Fusion” from Henry Ford Community College.

Performers

Special guest performers include Dearborn public schools graduates who have pursued careers in the arts.

Visual Arts

The Youth Arts Festival features art demonstrations and the artwork of kindergarten through 12th grade students participating in the all-school City Wide Art Show exhibit in the Padzieski Art Gallery. The Art Show runs from April 22 through May 22, 2015.

Choral

Choral performances will highlight the voices of students in the Elementary Honors Choir directed by Jim Walters, the Secondary Honors Choir directed by Jennifer Pegouske, the Dearborn High School Choir directed by Carmelle Atkins, and the Henry Ford Community College Blue Fusion Vocal Jazz Ensemble under the direction of G. Kevin Dewey.

Dramatic Arts

High school theatrical performance.

Instrumental Arts

Representing the power and passion of instrumental arts, the collage concert includes a variety of groups performing on stage in the world-class Michael A. Guido Theater.

The Youth Arts Festival is a cooperative project by the Dearborn Community Fund (DCF) and the Dearborn Public Schools, with support from the Dearborn Community Arts Council and the Dearborn Public Schools Education Foundation.

The DCF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the mission to support cultural and recreational programs in Dearborn. For more information about the Youth Arts Festival, other projects sponsored by the DCF, or how to contribute to the Fund, call 313-943-5478.