I talked at length about my involvement in the Flint arts scene in a couple of previous blogs, but I wanted to talk about the organization I was part of for part of that time.
Time is funny in that it gets fuzzy at a point. Now, twenty years after I first joined the Greater Flint Creative Alliance, I can’t tell you exactly how I discovered them. I think a friend had found them, and I tagged along for the ride. What I know is that I was living on my own and just discovering who I was and what I wanted to do in life.
Not as a job but as a person.
We get caught up in the What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up part of our lives but don’t invest the same time into what we want to do when we’re grown up. What impact do we want to have on the world? What contribution do we want to make to it? What are we passionate about?
We spend more time bickering with one another over our passions and interests than we do investigating or exploring our own.
When I first encountered the Greater Flint Creative Alliance – or Creative Alliance, for short, or CA to those of us in the group – they were still new and figuring things out. Formed by local band members with the hope of helping one another find gigs and supporting the local scene, it was soon joined by other creative people interested in being part of something. Musicians, artists, writers, poets, crafters, and others joined together in the center of Flint to bring something new to the city.
There were local galleries, sure, but they didn’t embrace emerging artists so much as an old guard who had been showing art locally for ages. We wanted to build something less formal, more fun, and which embraced all of our interests. We held our meetings in a downtown bar and at times there would be 20 of us gathered together to share, to brainstorm, and to plan. After the meeting we’d all hang out together. In some ways, we were a family, though there were cliques within the group. Generally, we all got along.
Over time, the group was really active, and we would put on some incredible shows. Concerts, readings, fashion shows, art shows, and a mix of all of them. The group’s emergence and the launch of an artist studio from San Francisco called Red Ink Studios lit a flame in the city that has since dimmed, but which inspired artists in the area and region.
It’s interesting to look back and see how lucky we were. How silly. We were always talking about becoming a non-profit but didn’t while I was with them, and that, to me, was a good thing. It kept us from funding but also let us be what we were, and who we were. It kept things loose and fun. Not everything needs to be a non-profit. Some things just need to find a way to make enough money to invest into the next event. That’s what we did.
With the great times, and there were so many, there were frustrating ones too. Setting up, running, and cleaning up events was something most of our group had no interest in. They wanted to participate and to hang out but not really get their hands dirty. Getting your hands dirty is the most important part, though, and for me, what teaches you the most. It teaches you that you are no better than anyone else, and your work, your art, is not more important than anyone else’s. It reminds you that there is responsibility behind it all, and that if you can’t clean up your mess you won’t get invited back to spaces you want to use. I remember one event we did with some graffiti artists, and it was a great, enjoyable show. However, the gallery space we used had to be repainted entirely because the artists had done their thing for the show and then left. We were left to clean up and re-paint. That was life. Some folks want to plan a show, some want to be in a show, some want to run a show, and some are just in it for the fun. Different strokes, and all that.
The group wasn’t perfect, to be sure, but they embraced people where they were. I remember a show that paired art, music, and fashion and was something unique to the area. Sure, we all wanted to be successful as creatives but the group wasn’t about money. Really, when money became more of a focus is when things got complicated and messy as the push to become a nonprofit grew.
Sadly, after 20 years the city never recognized the organization or its impact on the independent arts scene. With the emergence of Red Ink, which rose and fell before rising again briefly, the CA made Flint an arts city. They reinvigorated a staid and boring monthly Art Walk, created events that have been echoed but never fully replicated, and inspired me to continue hosting my own events. The group did youth events and some of us were even invited to do enrichment classes in local schools. The impact of the group inspired artists that are still going today but the scene itself is gross and inbred. There is no embracing of different ideas and styles. There is no innovation or imagination. It’s the same people doing the same stuff at the same places over and over again to promote themselves.
The CA began as one thing and evolved as we all became involved and it was that evolution, painful at times, which made the group impactful. I was lucky enough to be part of them and the writing group that spawned from it, and I met incredible people along the way. The writing group helped my writing grow and helped me stretch and push myself among friends and kindred spirits.
As people came and went and the old guard transitioned, I lost faith in the organization and its goals. I watched as a member stole an event we had created and when no one stopped the person, I had had enough. It was time to go.
Eventually, the group became something different, and while they still exist in name, they are no longer the same. We were a group started by modern hippies, and we always had that mentality and free spirit about us. I think that once things got more serious and focused on the money, some folks lost interest. It wasn’t as fun anymore.
All things rise.
All things fall.
Everything has its moment and that moment passes.
I miss those days and those people, but more than anything, I miss the impact we had on the Flint arts. I miss bringing some chaos and fun to the city. It needs that more than ever now. It’s too controlled and as become boring. I’m glad for the shows I’ve done solo or with others over the years since my time with the Creative Alliance. It set a foundation in me I cannot forget, and won’t. It was an important time in my life, and I hope other local artists find something similar that creates as lasting an impact as this group had on me.
…c…
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 