Building Community Through Art as an Educator — A Conversation with My Proulx

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 18:00:00 -0400

In this episode of The Grey Matter Collective Podcast, host Jeremy Hansen sits down with My Proulx, a Flint native, artist, and educator, to explore her creative practice, her impact within the Flint community, and her work with Riverbank Arts. My shares how she balances running her business, Plain Air Photography, while supporting her students and navigating life outside of the arts.

My also highlights how support from the University of Michigan–Flint and Flint Culture Center Academy helps provide supplies and resources for her students, expanding their access to creative opportunities and allowing them to engage with Riverbank Arts as artists.

My Proulx was selected as the first Emerging Artist Fellowship recipient through the collaboration between the UM-Flint Arts + Culture Research Cluster and Buckham Fine Arts Project | Buckham Gallery (2021–2022). Following her fellowship, she now shares an office space at Riverbank Arts, continuing her connection to the creative community. She also collaborates with UM-Flint’s CASE (College of Arts, Sciences & Education) and FPA (Fine and Performing Arts), as well as the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Arts Initiative.

This podcast series is intentionally raw and lightly edited to preserve the authenticity of each conversation.

At the Intersection — Art, Education, and Community in Flint with Ash Arder and Rob Carter

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0400

In the first episode of The Grey Matter Collective Podcast, host Jeremy Hansen sits down with Ash Arder and Rob Carter, faculty at the University of Michigan–Flint, for a conversation grounded in place, perspective, and creative practice. Ash, a Flint native, and Rob, originally from the UK and now based in Flint, bring distinct experiences that shape how they approach art, education, and community.

Together, they reflect on how their different paths intersect through UM-Flint, and how spaces like Riverbank Arts help foster connection between campus and the broader Flint community. Their conversation highlights the contrasts and overlaps in their stories—offering insight into what it means to create, teach, and engage in Flint today.

This podcast series is intentionally raw and lightly edited to preserve the authenticity of each conversation. Listener discretion is advised, as this episode contains occasional strong language.