This month, five Detroit arts groups are vying for the Knight Arts Challenge People’s Choice Award, a $20,000 prize the winner can use for a project of their choice. The award is one of the ways Knight aims to bring attention to small arts organizations and their impact on the city. Here, KnightArts.org has a quick word with  Joori Jung of nominee ARTLAB J, a troupe working to strengthen the city’s dance community. Vote for the museum by texting Detroit3 to 22333 and learn about the other nominees at knightarts.org/peopleschoice.

Q. What do you love most about your arts group? A. ARTLAB J has an array of unique artists from various backgrounds whether it’s different dance styles, or the places that we come from. We gather together collectively with our different ideas and make them assemble right here in the City of Detroit whether it’s marketing, advertising, managing or dancing.

Q. What would you do with the $20,000 People’s Choice award? A. ARTLAB J would further develop the organization in order to support the community and to support the local Detroit dancer. This is a community effort with the hopes of reaching also a national and international level.

ARTLAB J studio at Saint John and Saint Luke United Church of Christ.

Q. Three words or phrases your fans would use to describe your work? A. Wholesome,  Energetic, Sprouting.

Q. Who, or what, inspires you as an artist? A. Pina Bausch inspires me. Her choreography is not just dance and it’s fulfilling because I can feel the humanism from her choreography. She makes me think about my life and at the end she brings more topic to me.

Q. What’s the best thing about Detroit’s arts community? A. The city is really hungry for a come back, and I believe that the art community is bringing back the energy to build the city again. The city is interested in a group support instead of emphasizing individual ambition and competition.       

Q. Personal cultural highlight over the past year? A. The 2013 Detroit Dance City Festival was a true cultural highlight because there was a great diversity of people of different dance styles who joined ARTLAB J in this event. I was really surprised because 40-50% of people who attended were from outside of Detroit. Many people were introduced to Detroit and their mindset was changed about the city. 

Dance class during the Detroit Dance City Festival 2013.

Q. When you were 12, what did you want to be when you grew up? A. Choreographer, Dancer… never changed in my life.

Q. What was your proudest moment as an artist/organization? A. My decision to come to Detroit. I saw an opportunity through my organization to build up the city. It is a chance to build the community, support the local dancer and to learn more for myself. I want to share this feeling with other people as well.

Q. What’s a skill of yours that has nothing to do with your profession, but that you’re glad you have? A. Adapting to change I have found to be a great skill. Being a listener and having understanding has allowed me to be a great human being. 

Q. What subject would you like to know more about? A. In the future, I would like to make ARTLAB J a national and international epicenter through the art of movement. We want to make a network where we can help local, international and national artist interact with one another and build for themselves and the city. This will create more opportunity. 

Q. Why is the work you do important to your audience? A. When someone comes to me after my piece, I feel touched. When I influence an audience member to think about their life, a memory, and they share this with me, I feel very good. It is my mission to make the individual think.  

Q. How does your work make a difference in Detroit? A. Many people had a bad mindset about Detroit. People want to be here, but they also worry. Our organization is aimed to serve as a bridge to draw out the talent in Detroit and use the arts to change that stereotype. 

Q. If you could choose any artist/group to collaborate with, anywhere in the world, who would it be? A. It would be Pina Bausch. Bausch has passed but she has the Pina Bausch dance company still going today. One day, I would like to invite her dance company to Detroit.