On September 16, 2025, CultureSource brought a bus of 15 staff and members to the Michigan Capitol for FUND MI Arts & Culture Day. They joined arts leaders from across the state in a powerful rally opposing the House’s proposal to eliminate all funding for the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.

The day included gathering outside the Capitol as legislators arrived for session, engaging in advocacy activities, and amplifying the call to protect public investment in creativity. By showing up together, the group highlighted the vital role arts and culture play in Michigan’s future and the strength of a unified voice. View the full program for the day here.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Lansing. Your presence showed the power of a unified arts community. For those who couldn’t attend, you can still make an impact by contacting your legislators, sharing the message with your networks, and staying engaged. By advocating together, we can protect public investment in creativity and secure arts and culture’s place in Michigan’s future.

Since our organization’s official summer break at the end of August, our team has been busy with our Fall programming, the introduction of our new Memory Café grant program, the Bloomberg Arts Internship program’s second year of school-year internships, Track 2 of our Collaborative R&D Labs and Adapting to Digital Tech in the Arts leadership development programs, which include members of our team, interviewing excellent candidates for our new director of programs position, and our team’s own professional development, facilitation, and community engagement endeavors.

Here are some of the events we have attended, and will be attending this Fall.

• Kaleigh – Ford Foundation Cybersecurity Academy
• All Staff – Belbin Team Roles Workshop
• Karilú & Desirée – Arts Education Partnership (AEP) Conference
• Njeri, Matt, Perry, Liz & Desirée – Fund MI Arts & Culture Rally in Lansing
• Kim & Liz – Ford BUILD Leadership Training
• Kim – Advancing Macomb Community Engagement Summit
• Kaleigh & Liz – Annual IT Assessment
• Njeri – Co.act Participatory Grantmakers Community of Practice Meeting; Imagine, Create Activate! Chicago 2025 Facilitator; Association of Fundraising Professionals Breakfast
• Kim & Liz – Ford Financial Resilience Convening
• Imani & Njeri – Grantmakers in the Arts Conference
• Liz – Michigan Association of CPA’s Nonprofit Conference

• The Carr Center announced a new season of extraordinary art, music, films, exhibitions, and the return of THE CARR CENTER MULTI-PASS. The Multipass allows you to enjoy the entire fall season for one low price. Performances include a concert series by Lulu Fall, executive director at 313 Cabaret, the A Celebration of…series with the Urban Art Orchestra, Films @ The Carr, and special events.

• Congratulations to Design Core, which is celebrating 10 years as the stewards of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation, and this year’s Detroit Month of Design festival. As the first and only UNESCO City of Design in the United States, the festival serves as a platform for creative collaboration, celebrating Detroit’s role as a national and global design capital. It highlights how cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network use design to help build a more sustainable future, and showcases how Detroit designers are addressing these global challenges locally. Design Core uses the festival as an opportunity to amplify the work of Detroit designers with our UNESCO Partners, increasing the global visibility and value of Detroit’s creative output.

• The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is kicking off the opening of its newest exhibit, “Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation,” on Sunday, September 28, from noon to 2 p.m. The show celebrates the creative achievements of more than 60 Anishinaabe artists from across the Great Lakes region. The exhibit will be one of the largest presentations of contemporary indigenous art in the Midwest and the first major Native American exhibition at the DIA in 30 years. Admission is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.

• Detroit Opera House and Back Pocket Media present Detroit Story Fest, an unforgettable night of true stories, live on stage on October 9 at 8:00pm. This year, they’re exploring the theme,  No Small Wind Is Blowing, a collection of stories about migration, transition, and the invisible forces that inspire movement. The lineup features award-winning journalists from Michigan Public, WDET, and the Detroit Free Press, who will share their most gripping investigations live. The evening will also be punctuated by beautiful performances from rising opera stars in their Resident Artist Program, a dynamic dance piece by Detroit’s own Javon “Ja’Moon” Jones, and a screening of the powerful film Salt.

• Are you looking for resources, or have resources that could be helpful to other CultureSource members? We want to know about them. Remember to visit the Resource Library on our website, which also includes a Referral Directory.

Know of organizations that can benefit from our coalition? Tell them about CultureSource membership.

• Friends of Livonia Arts
• The BIG Art
• Milford Independent Cinema
• Inside Southwest Detroit
• The GhostLight Arts Initiative