Hidden away on the northern end of the Woodbridge neighborhood, the building that houses the
Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID) initially might be hard to find. But once you get there and begin to focus on the colorful paintings on a wooden fence that surrounds the property, and then see the new metal sign attached to the front of the building that spells out the name of this organization, you know you are in the right place.
Look inside, though, and you really begin to feel like you are some place special. By day you’ll likely find CAID Director Aaron Timlin busy running the art gallery; and by night, when it transforms into a performance space used by some of Detroit’s most creative people, you’re likely to see Timlin again at the door or behind a small food and beverage counter.
Timlin is always eager to talk about the organization’s history, or what is going on this weekend. Or even what he’d like to see happen there several years from now.
“I always have these grand ideas that most people think are unattainable,” Timlin says. “But here (at CAID) they say, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Committed to communityCAID is a non-profit arts organization run by a passionate group of Detroit artists, community leaders and fans of art. Their belief is that the arts should play a vital role in the life of a community. Making that happen is their commitment.
Located on Rosa Parks Boulevard just west of Wayne State University’s campus, CAID occupies the building formerly known as detroit contemporary, an experimental art space begun in the late 1990s by Timlin and fellow Woodbridge artist/educator Phaedra Robinson. The building’s unassuming exterior cannot prepare you for the energy found behind its doors. Walk into the gallery from the entrance on Bryant Street and find a place where creativity is given full reign. Timlin takes you on a quick tour around the two-story building and the contrast is felt between two large gallery spaces — one on each level — and the dark, brick stage area where performances take place. A door on the side of the performance area leads to more surprises. Outside, a landscaped sculpture garden is used as an outdoor exhibition site; the garden includes trailers to showcase more art and a stage made from large fieldstones.
Andy Malone, the group’s vice chair, says CAID is striving to become an all-encompassing art center, a place where visual artists, musicians and dancers are provided space for public exhibition, and for private discourse and criticism.
“We hope to gain additional buildings and spaces, to really create an artists’ village that is integral to Detroit culture and is an anchor for the neighborhood,” Malone says. “It’s not just a gallery.”
Vision and history Those familiar with the Detroit art scene might recall that CAID has been around for a few decades. It began in the late 1970s as an artists’ collective, jumpstarted by longtime Detroit artist Charles McGee’s vision of a showcase for contemporary artists. The group’s first exhibition took place in 1979, and for 22 years the group operated as a nomadic enterprise. CAID has been run by an evolving board of trustees who once had to find a different venue for each show they put on. After a few years, the responsibility of running the organization fell to a new generation of artists and interested persons.
In 2001, Timlin was called upon to re-energize CAID’s mission, with the help of newer board members like Malone, an architect and artist.
“We provide a community where the creative spirit can explore its possibilities,” Timlin says. “It’s (a place) where people from every walk of life can stop in and expose themselves to the visual and performing arts.”
Despite the similarity in name, the new CAID is an entirely different animal. With the help of 16 trustees and other volunteers, Timlin and CAID put on an ambitious and eclectic schedule of visual and performing arts programs. Deciding to settle down to a single location was a big decision that has allowed the organization to expand and undertake more exhibitions and events. Since CAID planted roots a few years ago in the former detroit contemporary building, the group has been able to have a new show up every couple of months.
Nick Sousanis, who chairs the CAID board of trustees, says that having a building brought on new challenges and responsibilities — but that it also allowed for greater possibilities.
“If we own the building we can’t be forced out, and we can really help develop a community of artists that bring the vitality of art to the city,” says Sousanis, an art critic and teacher who also operates
www.thedetroiter.com webzine. “You’ve created something that’s way beyond yourself. It’s not any person’s gallery, it’s everyone’s gallery, and we’re beholden to the original ideas of the organization, its history and the public.”
Sousanis is greatly impressed by McGee’s vision of a community arts center. He recalls how McGee spoke at a CAID meeting, that he had wanted CAID to avoid any racial pigeonholing; that CAID was to be a place where the arts and the community worked together for mutual enrichment. Sousanis feels that CAID still follows that path today.
Inspiration and diversityThere is a lot current activity at CAID. A collection of photographs by Marilyn Zimmerman is currently on exhibition in the main floor gallery. The photographs are portraits of some of Michigan’s most inspirational female activists and women.
CAID trustee Hugh Timlin, Aaron Timlin’s father and a well-regarded area sculptor and teacher, said the reception for Zimmerman’s work brought out one of the most diverse audiences he had ever seen at a Detroit art opening.
“At the past two openings you could barely move around at times,” Hugh Timlin says. “That brings us one step closer to the community.”
Upstairs in the second floor gallery an exhibition called
A Real Allegory includes self-portraits from different local artists, many known for working in a different medium than drawing. CAID often tries to mix things up by including work from both new and established artists.
Upcoming art exhibits include
Game Show Detroit, a multi-media show opening June 10. For that show, artists will have interactive pieces that can be observed, or actually played as games. Malone and Sousanis, who are helping curate that show, say families and children are welcome to come and enjoy the show, and experiment with the pieces.
Other events planned for the summer include a two-day art “rave” called
LINK, a show that shares the same name as the first exhibition put on by CAID after it reorganized five years ago. That series of concerts, lectures and performances included sets by Ghostly International’s Dabrye and Matthew Dear, now globetrotting stars on the electronic music dance scene; back then they were just beginning to be recognized. For this event, to be held July 29-30, CAID has tapped Detroit’s vibrant art and music scene for curators who will choose the artists for the festival, which will extend over 30 continuous hours. The lineup is still in the works, but given CAID’s excellent track record, this event is sure to be a highlight of the summer.
In September, Hugh Timlin will curate
The Shelter Show, an exhibit that addresses the issue of homelessness. There will be a symposium where the topic is discussed and a visual exhibition where artists explore the issue through sites and installations. Artists from around the country and the world have submitted proposals for this event, promising to make it a globally- recognized event. One artist is even proposing to relocate a house from New Orleans for the show.
'Everyone’s house'Another aspect of CAID’s community role is hosting dance parties and music performances like the popular Funk Night, which has introduced thousands of people to the gallery space. Aaron Timlin says that an exhibit is also being planned to celebrate the history of funk through art, video displays, old vinyl records and live performances by funk music legends. Timlin says he is excited about an event that plays off the ongoing success of Funk Night, which debuted in the late 1990s at detroit contemporary. Two uniquely-named music festivals —
I Want To Hurt and
Holy Shit!!! — are also booked at CAID.
I Want To Hurt, held this coming Saturday (May 6), will feature live music and DJs from New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Cleveland and Ann Arbor.
After talking to CAID members, you get a sense of the blurred distinctions between music and visual arts, community and cultural life. When it works, it’s exciting and contagious. All you need to do is step inside the building to find this out for yourself.
CAID Director Timlin tells a story about how the organization’s art-meets-community message is being shared with young people in the neighborhood.
“One day a 10-year-old boy came into the gallery with another 8-year-old boy,” Timlin says. “They walked through the gallery commenting on the various forms of art on the walls and pedestals. After a few minutes of exploration, the younger boy asked the older boy, ‘Whose house is this?’ The older boy responded, ‘This is everyone's house.’ ”
Photos:2nd Floor GalleryAaron TimlinContemporary Art Institute of DetroitDetail of a Fence MuralThe Outdoor Exhibition Space
All Photos Copyright Dave Krieger