Detroit Artists Network (DAN)
DAN is a collaborative effort to bring artists together and make Detroit an attractive place for artists to live and work.

Recommendations from the 350 visual artists which comprise the DAN follow:

1. Detroit needs an effective gallery system. DAN supports the creation and development of an effective Detroit Art Dealers Association (DADA).
2. DAN supports funding for a printed Gallery Guide/Map, featuring a comprehensive listing of exhibition spaces in the four county area (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb & Essex), organized by type: i.e. commercial, non-profit, educational, alternative. Exhibition venues could participate for a very small fee. These booklets/pamphlets would be available at area airports and hotels.
3. DAN supports the return of the Michigan Artists Annual Exhibition back to the DIA.
4. We support an expanded gallery crawl, including galleries in Wayne County, Oakland & Essex County. Also, we support including a spring and fall crawl, in addition to the current annual holiday crawl. We need to encourage local arts Councils to provide transportation into Detroit from outlaying areas to participate in the Downtown crawl.
5. DAN supports the creation of an annual Detroit Art Expo where the serious work of Detroit artists can be exhibited and promoted outside the contextual distinction of a Designers Product Showcase or an Art Fair.
6. DAN supports the creation of a new institution, such as a Contemporary Art Museum in Detroit to increase public awareness of contemporary art.
7. DAN supports the car decoration project, generating greater visibility of Detroit art and artists.
8. DAN supports efforts to lobby municipal governments for various subsidies on behalf of arts venues to generate a “Soho Effect,” such as the “1.3% tax,” providing 1.3% of all public building budgets be designated for the purchase of public art. City of Detroit must lead the way on this issue.
9. DAN supports passage of current legislation before Congress (H.R. 7), which will make it possible for artists to receive a fair market deduction for artwork contributed to charity or other non profits.
10. DAN supports re-establishing a rental gallery and/or somehow featuring regional artists at the DIA.
11. DAN supports a well organized “unity march” to call attention to the importance of Detroit artists to the future prosperity and cultural vitality of Detroit.
12. DAN agrees there needs to be a concerted effort to encourage better media coverage of the fine arts, i.e. not enough critics covering major openings.
13. DAN believes, in order to market the arts more effectively, there is a need to clarify the roles various constituencies of local fine art venues (i.e. commercial, non-profit, alternative).
14. We need to consolidate the large numbers of arts organizations who are currently duplicating services, generating ARTnerships, where our collective efforts can be maximized.
15. At the same time, there needs to be a distributing of funding for various programs and functions among qualified organizations who are in a position to maximize the effectiveness of disseminating arts & culture in our region.
16. Funding cuts have personally impacted artists' ability to contribute creatively in making our community a better place to live and work. We must make arts funding a priority if we want Detroit to become a destination for tourism and raising a family.

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