A Scarab Club/Signal-Return Partnership
On Press: Making Visible an Unseen Detroit
Reception: Friday, July 19, 5-8 pm
Gallery Talk: Thursday, July 25, 6 pm

People are watching, visiting and writing about Detroit, too often putting a superficial spin on a complex city. A more textured story exists and it is critical that Detroiters do the telling.  Not all artists are activists and not all nonprofit organizations are connected to the world of art. Signal-Return, a traditional letterpress print shop and community arts center, paired twelve Detroit artists with twelve Detroit nonprofit organizations, which resulted in powerful creative collaborations. As part this On Press project, artists received honoraria for their time and talent, and proceeds from poster sales benefit partner organizations. This collaboration created a creatively rich opportunity for engagement for both groups, for Detroit and for those looking at us from the outside.  The project was directed by Lynne Avadenka and the artists were guided by Lee Marchalonis.

This exhibition includes the twelve relief printed editions created by the artists to celebrate the nonprofits, along with original works by each artist, and information about the selected nonprofits.

The artists and nonprofits are:

Mark Arminski/Georgia St. Community Collective
WC Bevan/WNUC
Olayami Dabls/Mariners Inn
Louise Jones/Detroit Hives
Andy Krieger/The Children’s Center
Nicole Macdonald/Wild Indigo Detroit Nature Explorations
Sabrina Nelson/Black Family Development
Renata Palubinskas/Keep Growing Detroit
Pat Perry/Freedom House
Renee Rials/Cots
Azucena Nava-Moreno/Detroit Horse Power
Vito Valdez/Last Day Dog Rescue

On Press was made possible with the support of The Windgate Foundation and The John S. and James. L. Knight Foundation.