The WITS Alliance member in Detroit, Inside Out, enjoys a multi-layered collaboration with the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). Here is a post from the Knight Arts blog about a Bike Tour in which performance poets from InsideOut Literary Arts Project brought art to life along a 13-mile route.
Here is a description of one stop in the article by Larisa Zade:
In front of the reproduction of Benny Andrews’ Portrait of a Collagist at the Dell Pryor Gallery in Midtown Detroit, the Spitfires, an after-school poetry performance troupe organized through InsideOut Literary Arts Project’s Voices program at Detroit International Academy for Young Women, presented an original poem. Inspired by the Andrews self-portrait, Aryn Smith, Khadijah Shabazz, Sakila Islam, and Queantae Smith wrote the poem they then performed as a group. The Spitfires offered two performances for the riders, who were joined by people walking to local shops and restaurants interested in both the painting and the poetry. Each performance was met with an enthusiastic round of photos and applause for the young and talented poets. Many riders agreed it was the most moving stop along the tour.
To see Zade’s complete article, click here.
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