Collective art project in Flint allows residents to speak their mind | WNEM TV 5 Flint

August 10, 2016

by Rachel McCrary, WNEM TV 5 Flint

WNEM TV 5

FLINT, MI (WNEM) – You may see an enormous speech bubble around Mid-Michigan.

The collective art project arrived from Detroit and will be spending a few nights in the Vehicle City.

“It’s giving everybody a chance to say what’s on their mind,” said Daniel Ashbury, Flint resident.

He turned his two cents into a piece of art. It was made possible with the Truth Booth, a traveling recording studio. It encourages people to come in and speak their minds.

“This is giving the people from the neighborhood the chance to voice some of their opinions about what’s going on, especially with the water situation and everything else,” Ashbury said.

The inflatable gigantic speech bubble will be in Flint through Saturday. On Wednesday it was at the Hispanic Community Center.

“An incredible opportunity for people to speak what’s on their minds and to be part of a beautiful tapestry of this collection of people’s thoughts, drams, things that excite them and things that upset them,” said Laura Mott, with Cranbrook.

Hank Willis Thomas and his team will compile the results from Michigan and create an impressive 60 foot wide video installation that will be part of an exhibition at the Cranbrook Art Museum this fall.

“The Truth Booth platform for anyone to come in and be an artist and a philosopher,” Thomas said.

Participants just have to start their sentence with “the truth is.”

Stephanie James, with the Mott-Warsh collection, said the booth will expand the collective understanding of how the city defines what is real, authentic, valuable or true.

“What is your truth? What is significant? What is guiding you in your life? What have you experienced and histories that is the framework for your individual truth,” James said.

The abstract collaboration will travel to all 50 states and the Michigan collage will then go into an even bigger piece of history.

Ashbury said he’s just glad somebody wants to listen.

“This is a real positive statement all together and if anybody sees me on here, you better come on down because we wanna hear what you got to say,” he said.