Today we’d like to introduce you to Mallory McKenzie.
Hi Mallory, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name Mallory McKenzie and I am a core member of the Division Avenue Arts Collective or the DAAC. The DAAC is an all-ages music venue, art gallery and DIY project incubator started in 2003 by a rotating group of creatives in Grand Rapids, MI. It is important to note that we are an all volunteer run organization and we aim to serve as a blank canvas for local artists, musicians and community organizations.
I began my personal journey at the DAAC when I attended a Screaming Females show back in 2011. The space was beautiful, small and intimate. I continued to drive across 3 counties to attend shows at The DAAC and it was a formative part of my cultural growth. I have since joined the DAAC as a regular volunteer who assists with opening and closing events, running admissions, social media, volunteer onboarding, and community outreach.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Community work is often filled with struggles and at the DAAC we have experience many moves and many caring folks who have come and gone from our space. Maintaining operations and volunteers since 2003 with no aims to make a profit and a commitment in remaining non-commercial, independent and institutionally transparent has certainly taken the energy of dozens of good hearted creatives. Their love, their inspirations, their frustrations, their disagreements and their solutions…We owe everything to the volunteers, artists, and musicians who made the DAAC the success it is today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The DAAC is known for offering its space as a blank canvas for any individual, artist, band, or organization.
We are incredibly unique in that we are run and operate by rotating local creatives and community members who use the space to accelerate their dreams. We offer some of the most affordable rental rates in Grand Rapids and we pride ourselves on being fantastic members of the community.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Folks interested in volunteering at the DAAC should contact us on thedaac.org and use the fractured atlas link to donate to our cause.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thedaac.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daacgr/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedaac/
- LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/daacgr?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio
Image Credits
Mallory McKenzie, Evie Dzomba, Mallory McKenzie, Mallory McKenzie, Alden Mccoy
