Banyan Gallery
Banyan Gallery, a nonprofit gallery operated by the Old Town Business and Art Development Association, provides quality artwork at reasonable prices in a real gallery atmosphere of warmth and humane beauty. Banyan Gallery displays art in a wide variety of media, including paintings, photographs, sculpture, glass, pottery, pastels, cloth, paper, and mixed-media works.
For those who are interested, the gallery also provides professional assistance in selecting works of art for businesses and homes.
Visit Banyan Gallery.
Burning Desires Poetry
Some of the best performance poets in Michigan will heat up a cold afternoon with some hot words on Sunday, February 10, from 1 to 3 pm, as the Old Town Business and Art Development Association hosts the 16th Annual Burning Desires poetry event at Studio 1210/Banyan Gallery in Lansing's Old Town.
For most people Valentine's Day signifies wilting flowers, calorie-laden sweets and clichéd poetry - but for fifteen years Burning Desires has celebrated Valentine's Day, and love, as a "many-splendor'd thing." The event brings nearly a dozen poets on stage, reading original poems to standing-room only audiences about the many facets of love - erotic and otherwise.
Sam Mills, the creator of Burning Desires and the MC d'Amour, and published poet, started Burning Desires to promote Old Town's original OtherWise art gallery. "We wanted to bring people in the dead of winter to our gallery, and we figured by offering something spicy people would oblige us," he says. "The success lays squarely on two aspects - engaging poetry about love, and excellent poets who know how to reach their audience. In the past fifteen years, over 80 poets from all over the Midwest have read their hottest love poetry to thousands."
The artistic talent this year includes Ruelaine Stokes, LogicthePoet, the NuPoets Collective (composed of Rina Risper and Tiya Kunaiyi), Tupaco, Suzanne Frank and several surprise special guests.
Donations of $10 are appreciated at the door. Refreshments will be offered.
