This past Memorial Day, Riverwise collaborated with the folks from The Talking Dolls Studio on the Eastside of Detroit to host a zine making event at their annual community art and solidarity event, The Potluck. The Potluck is intentionally aimed at connecting people together and celebrating Detroit artists in all stages of their careers as a way to build bridges and highlight the centrality of art to the weaving of new visionary worlds. In the studio, beautiful art hangs on the walls and stations are set up for screen printing, pottery, painting, crafting, and more.
With scissors, glue, markers, scraps, old magazines, and more, we invited everyone to play as they imagined new worlds through art and the written word. People walked in off the street to see what we were doing and stayed. It was so special to watch children and adults creating together and having deep conversations about their lives. “As adults, we don’t take enough time to play with paper and glue!” one participant yelled out. She was intensely making her zine. Her hands folded, cut, and glued together this little book with her thoughts inside. When it was time to leave she told her friends that they were going to have to wait because she just had to finish.
Another participant said they loved how each of the zines that we made were perfect in their imperfections. There is something monumental that happens when we create something to share with the world, with our own hands. No computer on the planet can compete with that!
Keep a lookout on Riverwise social media platforms for upcoming Riverwise Community Workshops and our Pollinating Pedagogy political educationals. All are welcome, supplies are provided and they are always high-vibe goodness!
Photography by Valerie Jean
Learn more about The Potluck Detroit and upcoming events at https://www.thepotluckdetroit.com/ or follow them on Instagram @thepotluckdetroit
Learn more about the visionary work being done at The Talking Dolls studio at https://talkingdollsdetroit.com/ or on Instagram @talkingdolls
