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Outside at Home: Environmental Justice Panel Discussion
December 21 @ 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
From outdoor recreation to environmental justice, there’s a wealth of opportunties to get engaged in environmental efforts around Detroit.
Join us for a panel discussion moderated by featured artist Ian John Solomon featuring four local organizers sharing resources and their experiences building intentional community through Detroit’s natural spaces.
Featured Panelists:
- Kamau Clark, We The People MI
- Antonio Rafael, Black to The Land
- Rachel Felder, Detroit Outdoors
- Aja Edward, DNR Community Engagement
Moderated by Ian John Solomon
This event is the Closing Reception for Solomon’s solo exhibition, “City Wild” on view.
ABOUT THE ORGS
We The People MI
Whether we’re from the Lower or Upper Peninsula, the shores of Lake Erie or Lake Michigan, most of us pitch in for each other and hope to leave things better off for those to come. But today, certain politicians and their greedy lobbyists hurt us all by handing kickbacks to the rich, defunding our schools, blocking free, universal health care, destroying our environment, and threatening seniors with cuts to Medicare and Social Security. They try to divide us from each other at work and in our communities because they know we’ll all flourish when we go all in for all of us.
By joining together, we can rewrite the rules, and make Michigan a place where everyone thrives and leads full, satisfying lives.
Black to the Land
Black to the Land is a coalition of Black, Brown, and Indigenous nature enthusiasts, intent on helping our people to actively engage in meaningful outdoor experiences.
Detroit Outdoors
Detroit Outdoors is a network of Detroit-based institutions working to expand access to a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities.
Department of Natural Resources Michigan
DNR forest resources professionals maintain healthy forests, manage wildfire, maintain responsible harvesting certifications and improve wildlife habitat.
Camp Van Dyke, Inkjet Collage on Natural Cold Press, 28 x 28 inches, 2024
ABOUT THE EXHIBTION
“City Wild,” is Ian John Solomon debut solo exhibition examines the relationship between Detroit’s land, infrastructure, residents and greater Michigan’s protected natural spaces. Collage, portraiture and landscape make overlooked critical connections visible between a city and the climate haven it resides in while gallery space is used as a vehicle for art to meet action.
Meditating on his family’s East Side block, Ian focuses on capturing the infrastructure, materials and environmental politics of ‘home.’ Through collage, landscape, instant film and steel— City Wild takes a photo-interdisciplinary approach to bridging spaces that can often be at odds, an invitation to view Detroit through a natural lens.“
According to the artist, “Michigan and the City of Detroit, particularly Black Detroit, are often at odds. It’s not uncommon to hear prideful tones exclaim, “I’m not from Michigan, I’m from Detroit!” From culture to demographics, there are a wealth of validations to this, however, this exhibition aims to entice Detroiters to take stake in greater Michigan’s natural spaces to act as better advocates, stewards and protectors of our natural resources.
“I have an artistic practice of investigating and embodying the environment. As a journalist, I fact-find from patterns that ecology and environment offer. As an artist, I seek a deeper understanding of self, community, desire and ancestry through connecting with the spaces I inhabit. My art practice is in tandem with a community practice of introducing Black Detroit’s to Michigan’s natural spaces. I founded the organization Amplify Outside with a mission to deepen my communities connection with the natural world around them. While this organizational mission at times faces logistical restrictions, my artistic practice facilitates limitless re-imaginings of a personal, communal and ancestral bond to land.”
Ian is the Founder of Amplify Outside– a Detroit based organization with a mission of connecting Black Michiganders with Michigan’s outdoor spaces. He hosted a PBS Great Lakes Now TV segment, “Ian Outside” showcasing The Great Lakes and served as the Communications Manager for the Detroit Parks Coalition.“ I have been grateful to become a resource for my community as it pertains to anything environmental and being ‘outside’ in Detroit and Michigan.”
ABOUT IAN JOHN SOLOMON
Ian John Solomon is an interdisciplinary artist from Detroit, Michigan. After receiving his B.A. in broadcast journalism and a stint as a congressional reporter in D.C., he found his love for community activism and storytelling required a more expansive modality. Ian’s interdisciplinary lens based practice explores themes of self, queer identity, ancestry, community and ecology. Deeply motivated by environment, Ian uses land as foundation and guidance for artistic expression and questioning.
Ian is an Emmy-award winner, and has exhibited his artwork across Michigan. He most recently completed a fellowship at Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, MI. He is a recent graduate from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2024 with an MFA in Photography, and recipient of the Emerging Artist Fellowship 2024, which provides financial support and professional mentorship for artists to develop their individual practices and identifies, elevates and promotes Detroit-based artistic excellence. Hosted by PLAYGROUND DETROIT, selected artists receive an exhibition and financial stipend to support them at a critical point in their career. This program is supported by the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan.
ABOUT PLAYGROUND DETROIT
PLAYGROUND DETROIT is a contemporary art gallery and creative agency based in Detroit, MI established in 2012. As a social enterprise, the mission is to support and develop opportunities for creative professionals, artists and residents in order to enhance and sustain Detroit’s creative economy.