Press Release from Hatch: A Hamtramck Art Collective

New gallery opens with exhibition of 48 artists

Hamtramck has a new venue for art. For the past five years, Hatch has hosted an annual juried art exhibition at Café 1923, an independent coffee house. This year, Hatchback 6 will be in a building that used to serve as a police station and a home for nuns.

In 2008, Hatch purchased Hamtramck’s former police station for one dollar. It has worked for four years to convert the building into an art center, which will feature low-cost studios, a workshop with a darkroom, a printing press and a kiln, a classroom, a gift shop of locally made goods and a gallery.

Hatchback 6, an annual juried exhibition, will open Saturday, April 28. Gilda Snowden, a well-respected Detroit artist and College of Creative Studies professor, served as juror, selecting nearly 70 artworks from an open call for submissions. Among the 48 artists are Topher Crowder, Jack Summers, Laura Macintyre, and Marianne Burrows, who will be opening her own gallery and artists studios in Hamtramck soon.

“The Detroit area is full of possibilities,” said Christopher Schneider, founder and president of Hatch. “Artists are snapping up opportunities and are doing a number of exciting things. Hatch is a prime example.”

Hatchback 6 runs from April 28 to May 26. The opening is Saturday, April 28 from 5 pm to 9 pm, and will feature a modern dance performance created by James Cornish and music by Todd Luneack. The gallery, located at 3456 Evaline, will be open each Saturday from 1 pm to 8 pm or by appointment.

Each Saturday during the exhibition Hatch will have artist panels from 6 pm to 7 pm to discuss their work, followed by a live band from 7 pm to 8 pm. All events are free and open to the public. The schedule is as follows:

May 5th: The Space Band
May 12th: Team Marshall
May 19th: The He-Bops
May 26th: Mother Whale

Hatch is still raising money to complete further needed renovation. “We have put hundreds of hours of sweat equity into the building,” said Schneider. “We have also used donations and grants to replace the roof, fix the electrical and plumbing, and repurpose the interior. The gallery and studios are essentially complete. Now we need to replace the furnace and complete fixing up the workshop and classroom.”

Hatch is trying to raise $5000 through a Kickstarter grant online. Search for “Hatch” at www.kickstarter.com. Contributors receive art from Hatch members as an incentive.

Starting in 2006, HATCH began coordinating an ongoing series of exhibits by area creatives at the newly-opened Café 1923, a coffeehouse in a historic building across the street from Hamtramck’s iconic Kowalski meat plant. The group participates in numerous festivals including the People’s Art Festival at the Russell Industrial Complex, Art Detroit Now, Dally in the Alley, the Shadow Art Fair in Ypsilanti, the Detroit Urban Craft Fair, the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival and the Hamtramck International Bazaar. Musical events, gallery crawls, community educational workshops, artist trading card exchanges, book discussions and more round out the group’s schedule.

For more information, contact Christopher Schneider at Schneider@hatchart.org or 313-808-0154.

Hatch’s website: www.hatchart.org

See the tentative schedule:
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Download files at archive.org

Download files at at archive.org

FRI. APRIL 29th HAMTRAMCK NAACP TEACH-IN ABOUT IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS AND RACIAL PROFILING
Latinos, African Americans, Asians and Arabs in America share a common threat of racial profiling and its effects. New pending legislation in Lansing would promote racial profiling and create increased tension in immigrant communities.
A Teach-In to address HB 4305 about immigrants rights will be held FRIDAY, APRIL 29th from 6:30pm-9pm at The ICND Auditorium, 12605 McDougall St. 2 block north of Caniff and between Jos Campau & Conant
The event is to not only inform the public about these issues but to offer the opportunity to network between the communities of color.
The educational program is being co-sponsored by:
Alliance for Immigrants Rights (AIR)
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Arabic Council for Justice & Human Rights
Center for International Rights & Democracy (CIRD)
Michigan Muslim Democratic Caucus (MMDC)
The panel consists of:
Ryan Bates, Dir. of AIR
Dawud Walid, Exec. Dir of CAIR
Saeed Khan, WSU Professor
Seema Ahmad, (MMDC)
and will be moderated by Bill Meyer (NAACP)
Also joining the panel will be activists:
Kamal Rahman (Bangladeshi)
Amelia Duran (Latino)
Gamal Iturkaa (Yemeni)
Noel Saleh (Arabic)

A Hamtramck tradition returns this Summer: adult softball teams organized by local bars through the Recreation Department. The Polish Sea League has issued a challenge to the others, and The Painted Lady has enthusiastically accepted with more than a dozen patrons on the sign-up sheet already. Other bars showing interest include Whiskey in the Jar, Skipper’s, Suzy’s, Celina’s and New Dodge, so stop in to your favorite and join the team. Registration will be open all this month, and games will start in May.

hcc_2010_11_1_I.mp3 [9.4 MB]

hcc_2010_11_1_II.mp3 [54 MB]

Hamtramck Police HCI and Weed & Seed
Wednesday October 20th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
At the Hamtramck Community Center (next to the High School)
To share information on home, personal safety, neighborhood watches, block clubs and more
We will have presenters to discuss numerous topics.
Meet and join your block clubs and neighborhood watch neighbors…
Keep your car safe and let us etch your glass with your vehicle identification number (VIN). We will have our Auto Theft Unit available from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at the High School.
Please bring your vehicle and your registration and proof of insurance.
Drinks and snacks available
Doors open at 6:00 pm
Finish at 9:00 pm
Any Questions call Sgt Tripp 876-7833

The Hamtramck Community Initative is a non-profit 501c3 organization
The HCI is having a fundraising event on Thursday, October 28th 2010 5 to 9 pm at the Hamtramck Gates of Columbus Hall at 9632 Conant.
The HCI is dedicated to bring the residents of Hamtramck and the Police Department together.
The HCI goals are to reduce violence, auto theft and crime and provide positive, healthy activities for youth.
The HCI budget covers officer & general liability insurance. HCI sponsors youths for Camp Defy, a drug education program. HCI mentors youth in Hamtramck and manages the Weed and Seed program from the Department of Justice, among other numerous programs such as neighborhood watch and block clubs.
Costs are $ 20 per person. Doors open at 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
A brief presentation and entertainment will be provided.
All donations are tax deductible. Food & drinks will be available.

hcc_2010_09_28_I.mp3 [29 MB]
hcc_2010_09_28_II.mp3 [25 MB]
hcc_2010_09_28_III.mp3 [51 MB]

Chicago Artists Bring Immersive Installation To Hamtramck’s Public Pool
Opening Party: Saturday, July 24, 7 to 11 p.m.
Artists Sarah Wagner, Christy Matson and Jon Brumit have teamed to create the large-scale, interactive installation titled “The Quantum Field,” at Hamtramck’s Public Pool art space from July 24 – September 4. The installation is inspired by, and adapted from, the early LucasArts 1989 fantasy adventure game LOOM, wherein the only people surviving the apocalypse are weavers, blacksmiths and carpenters.
According to the artists, this piece explores the idea (among others) that we are more and more physically removed from what we consume, and that there are fewer and fewer “makers.” “It’s true we don’t really know what we’re eating,” adds Brumit. “Our lives are less based on reality…less engaged with our own direct observation.”
This installation consists of a large-scale print and two sheep, made from conductive-fabric, created by Christy Matson and patterned and sewn by Sarah Wagner, in addition to custom electronics & lighting by Brumit. Through the objects, light and sound, the immersive environment is constructed as a narrative that, in part, mirrors the early graphics of an 80’s video game to imagine a post-apocalyptic world.
“Detroit is an interesting location to experience this installation,” says Jim Boyle, one of the co-founders of Public Pool. “With its shrunken infrastructure, increased focused on urban agriculture and bubbling hand-craft movement, there is already energy centered on new opportunities for creation. Maybe this piece will spark some more thoughts about those ideas.”
“The Quantum Field” was initially installed as the entryway to the 2010 NEXT Chicago Art Fair. It is the first of two large-scale installations by the artists, both of which will be shown in 2011 Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco. All three artists currently live in Chicago, and have exhibited at range of venues worldwide, including the Whitney Biennial, the Fuller Museum (Boston), In-F (Tokyo), Homie (Berlin) and the San Francisco Museum of Folk Art. Burmit and Wagner are also founders of DFLUX (dflux.org) a residency program designed to engage the neighborhood and general public with creative actions and workshops. It’s located in the (now famous) $100 house on Detroit’s east side.
“The Quantum Field” opens with a party Saturday, July 24 from 7 to 11 p.m. Refreshments courtesy of Traffic Jam & Snug Restaurant.

Public Pool asked eight writers, thinkers and entrepreneurs to journal their dreams. We then asked eight artists to respond to these dreams, using them as a springboard for their own visual translation.
Nocturnal Translations details our dreamers, their dreams and the artists who have worked hard to render them. Join us and see the results. It’s pretty damn cool.
ARTISTS / DREAMERS
Glenn Barr / Muffy Kroha (musician and visual display manager of Neiman Marcus)
Nina Bianchi / Toby Barlow (author and Team Detroit creative director)
Faina Lerman / Sarah Peters (behavioral therapist and writer)
Clinton Snider / Mitch Cope (curator and artist)
Andy Krieger / Steve Cherry (founder of the AM 1610 The Station)
Elliot Earls / Steve Hughes (writer)
Anne Harrington Hughes / Torya Blanchard (founder Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes)
Nicola Kuperus / Phillip Cooley (owner Slow’s BBQ)
Dreamy food and a finely brewed beer provide by the good folks at Traffic Jam.
We’re at 3309 Caniff in Hamtramck.