Why are we here?

“We” as in kickstART farmington.

When I’m asked what kickstART farmington is about I usually say something like: “we exist to promote the good of the community through the arts.”

And we mean “good” seriously. Art, whether it be visual or literary art, music or theater, has a unique ability to develop our understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to live in a particular place and time, and what it means to engage with the struggles in our world.

Art can increase our understanding of the world and of the plight of others, to make us more empathetic. To make us a better human being.

The great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky wrote: “the aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow the soul, rendering it capable of turning to the good.”

And so we promote the arts in the Farmington/Farmington Hills community as a way to “turn to the good”, to bring some joy, and to make our community and the world a better place for us and for our children and their children.

This has been the aim behind our events and activities from the beginning: from Super 8 Movie Night with Vordak, to the Yule Blog, Free Art Friday, the Gratitude Photo Project at Art on the Grand, and especially the Greater Farmington Film Festival.

We invite you to join us in promoting the good of our community through the arts.