(hello) no idea We – those of us who call Michigan home – should be aware. Why? Because there is a strong correlation between the vibrancy of a town's art & cultural sector and its appeal as a great site to create, live, work, learn, play & visit. We purposely have mixed you up; we've got people that are from the arts, there are people from government, there's even people from philanthropy & so on & so forth; we have no idea what they're gonna do. This is very important. Okay, are you ready? Let's get started. animate ...so this is really important: to get outside of our silos, to think about, um, other sectors and how they work, and identity, and identity, and identity, and a unique set of characteristics; um, it can, uh, animate physical spaces, and we want to use art & culture as a driver for that. How do we measure those contributions? And then you've got human capital... sorry... a house A house full of Michigan music & products designed for activity; the birthplace of groundbreaking musical genius, the source of pioneering entrepreneurship – the arts, culture & creativity are deeply rooted in Michigan's history. That's right! We are only telling part of the story: we needed, we needed a way to be able to speak: individual artists, independent creative entrepreneurs – and what we found – and what we all know – commitment & persistence in working together. beautiful installation This is the part where I scare you to death by saying I’m from the government; this is the law: get out of the way; no vocal opposition. With our roads crumbling, we think about how to park cars & not stop; it might be uncomfortable at times – it can be very uncomfortable, look like some horrific, uh, attack had happened, each & every day. You know, this is a relatively new area; there's nothing about this place that tells me it's natural; it's just the same strip mall over & over again: a beautiful, uh, installation – up close, a gas station pump. With every pressure we have right now, we tend to focus on the value for the dollar & not think about how human beings actually interact in any given space (or Ypsilanti, Michigan – explain that to the city). It's things that are a lot more intangible: the attachment, the emotional attachment that individuals feel: that kind of beauty, that kind of beauty: a lot more bread & butter. Are there any questions out there? a nice cycle Well, if you've ever seen a kid follow any path: evaluate, not what they said, but how they said it; they don't all agree, and yet we hear their future lives that have yet to be defined or invented; it's a nice cycle, it goes round and round, um, and it's a way to tell stories, think differently, contribute, see, look, share – and then just look for the subtleties in their answers, see a strong connection; the intent was things changing all the time – and this barrier is real; you're gonna hear it the rest of the day: our job is to make sure we are raising kids who are functional – it's an exciting job, and a terrifying one; we've done a great job, and the lens that I'm looking through – my back door – is that watches should touch, and they have touch screens: thinking a little more.