Intersect 7 · An Anthology
About Intersect 7
Comments on Intersect 7
Publication Information
WRITING QUESTIONS
CREATIVE COFFEE
SOLIDARITY WALK
About Intersect 7
In 2011 the City of Flint, its Planning Commission, and the Flint City Council announced plans to work with city residents in writing a new Master Plan. This process is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is called "Imagine Flint."
In 2012 the Greater Flint Arts Council (GFAC) applied for an Our Town grant with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to ensure that the arts are represented and embedded in the Master Plan. This grant resulted in the current initiative featuring a resident artist and project engaging each of Flint's nine wards.
Intersect-7 (I-7) is the 7th Ward arts project for the Our Town initiative, and this anthology is the result of our work. The writing and artwork featured here has been generated by residents, students, workers, and allies of the 7th Ward. They have answered questions, attended creative sessions, and gone on a solidarity walk to share their vision for the future of Flint and the 7th Ward.
There are two versions of this anthology.
A limited edition print version will be available to city administrators, neighborhood and nonprofit organizations, and those without access to the internet.
A more comprehensive digital edition will be available ongoing at http://intersect7.org
Comments on Intersect 7
by Connor Coyne
The opinions and observations shared throughout this anthology belong to a diverse group of residents, students, workers, and allies of the 7th Ward, and yet it is impossible for an editor to not exercise some manner of influence over the tone and implied perspective of an anthology.
In the case of Intersect 7, the very name refers to what is perhaps the most conspicuous feature of Flint's 7th Ward: There are four miles of interstate expressway within as many square miles of city, and an interchange that is, itself, the size of a small neighborood. Even as the 7th Ward has suffered less from population loss and disinvestment than other parts of the city -- we are the site of two college campuses and half of Downtown Flint -- we are nevertheless cut off from each other by these monumental physical barriers. As often happens, these barriers reinforce separations of race, class, income, and age.
Working on this project, however, I also became familiar with the robust efforts residents have made to organize, stablize, promote, and improve their communities. There are eight established neighborhoods within the 7th Ward, as well as many active religious communities, two elementary schools, a community center, the Flint Cultural Center, beautiful parks, and a great natural resource in Thread Lake. It is my personal hope that the our individual and neighborhood efforts might, in the future, through greater communication and collaboration, continue to improve our community. The 7th Ward has much to offer the world, but we can only achieve this potential when we reach out to our neighbors. Even when we're separated from them by eight lanes of concrete.
Publication Information
Intersect 7 · Anthology
The 7th Ward Project
for the 2013 Artist-in-Residency Program
of the Greater Flint Arts Council
in service of Imagine Flint,
the City of Flint Master Plan
made possible in part by
the Our Town grant from
The National Endowment for the Arts
Connor Coyne · 7th Ward Artist-in-Residence
Desiree Duell · Creative Consultant
Shane Gramling · Web and Graphic Design
Creative Coffee and Solidarity Walk presenters included Jan Worth-Nelson, Connor Coyne, Pat Miller, Melodee Mabbitt, Gary Custer, Desiree Duell, Samuel Richardson, Jeremy Winchester, and Barbara Griffith-Wilson.
Partners included the Flint Public Library, the Brennan Community Center, Pierce Creative Arts Elementary School, Broadside Magazine, East Village Magazine, Flint Youth Theatre, and the College Cultural Neighborhood Association.
With thanks extended to Everett Cole, Andy Ellard, Sherry Hayden, Deborah Holmes, Megan Hunter, Claude Miller, Jerry Rule, Artina Sadler, Denise Smith-Allen, Dayne Walling, Dale Weighill, Matthew Williams, and Susan Wood.
Note: Any statements made in this anthology do not necessarily represent the views of the Greater Flint Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, or the Ruth Mott Foundation.
Published JUNE 2013