radiant City Arts x YAA x Parkridge community center
In 2019 RCA with partners, Youth Arts Alliance, Washtenaw County Juvenile Court, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, the Michigan Juvenile Justice Youth Advisory Board, and the Washtenaw County Mental Health Department have helped the staff at Ypsilanti's Parkridge Community Center realize a years-long dream of creating a world-class music recording studio to host educational programming for area youth. Programming recently kicked off at the new studio, which arose from a partnership between the nonprofit Youth Arts Alliance (YAA), the community center, and Radiant City Arts. The studio provides free access to the recording studio to surrounding community members with a focus on youth.
The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice is helping spread the word about the project and the University of Michigan School of Public Health will be evaluating its impact.
Toledo School for the arts // This is not a performance
In January of 2017 Radiant City were asked to lead a month of workshops as visiting artists at Toledo School for The Arts. " This Is Not A Performance " is a multi-layered exploration of a contemporary idea of The American identity that seeks to integrate dance, history and creative writing. Radiant City's work with the TSA students and faculty was born out of the spirit of the language of The Constitution as a foundation for empowerment. Our main goal was to create an environment for student interaction and dialogue through referencing the body and voice. Our challenge was to bring to light a collective presentation that speaks to the current social and political environment on multiple levels within the over-arching context of Black History Month. We believe Black History is an American history that we all share. Our legacy is encapsulated in the ways in which we contrast one another.
Young Artists At Work // Toledo Arts Commission and Radiant City // Summer 2016
In 2016 we led the apprentices in the Young Artists at Work program in the multi-layered creation of a film, "FEARLESS. The students designed and built wearable sculptures that were performed in various public spaces around Toledo. Utilizing poetry centered around the mythology of the creation of Toledo, the students formed and deconstructed a narrative that guided the design and movements of each wearable sculpture. Choreographed dance, animation, an apprentice composed soundtrack, costume design and public performance were some of the teaching points that were focused on. The film will be released publicly the spring of 2017.
Radiant sole / toledo museum of art and toledo public schools
In the fall of 2016, we partnered with the Toledo Museum of Art and Toledo Public Schools to create visual work, choreographed dance and poetry focusing on the idea of self-branding in the face of corporate pressure. We held workshops at Scott High School, Rodgers High School, Bowsher High School and Jones Leadership Academy to create work and prepare for a performance that took place at The Toledo Museum of Art in conjunction with their "Rise of Sneaker Culture Exhibit"
Young Artists At Work // Toledo Arts Commission and Radiant City // Summer 2015
In Collaboration with the Toledo Arts Commission, we facilitated the creation of a student artist created media campaign promoting the YAAW program. We filmed, edited, wrote, recorded, painted, filmed, acted and everything in between to create the music video WAKE UP AND FLY AWAY. The video premiered at the Toledo Museum of Art's Peristyle theater. In addition to the music video, we released the song on Bandcamp at a pay what you want scale with all the sales going to future funding for YAAW.
Project Run Across Congo : May 2015
Thanks to a partnership with Earthwork Music and On The Ground we have been asked to travel to Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as Musical Ambassadors in conjunction with OTG’s Run Across Congo. We will be collaborating with musicians from the region to create an album that helps raise awareness of the issues facing local communities. While traveling throughout the Great Lakes Region of Eastern DRC we will be collaborating with local musicians and creating new music by combining sounds, stories and unique artistic perspectives.
Seeds school of rock
In 2014, we partnered with SEEDS of Traverse City and Earthwork Music for their School of Rock Camp. We worked with some of Michigan's finest musicians and a ton of students from all over mid-northern Michigan. We created this video and song with the help of all the teachers and students in the camp... We ended this week with a sold-out performance at the Traverse City Opera House.
YMOE AND YWOE LOCK IN -
Below is a collaboration with (Woman and Men of Excellence) of Woodward High School....
We hosted an overnight lock-in at the frederick douglas center in toledo where
we wrote and recorded a song, created and filmed a choreographed dance and painted a mural in one
very long night.
YOUTH ARTS ALLIANCE // RADIANT CITY // MICHIGAN JUVENILE JUSTICE
For five months in 2014 Radiant City partnered with the Youth Arts Alliance of Ann Arbor and Michigan's Juvenile Detention Association We worked with Detention and Rehabilitation Centers in 5 Counties throughout Michigan writing lyrics, producing the music and creating the album artwork...at the end of the project, the students performed at an album release party
and received a copy of the CD. a documentary was made of the workshops.
this was an amazing and emotional experience for all involved.
