20 HOURDETROIT.COM // January 2011If you haven't yet visited the Virgil H. CarrCultural Arts Center, here are a few thingsyou've missed: a late-night jam session withWynton Marsalis, exhibits by prominentHaitian artists, the sounds of Mosaic warmingup for an evening master class withDee Dee Bridgewater.The Carr Center, a 115-year-old buildingin Detroit's Paradise Valley district (also known asHarmonie Park), became the physical home of theArts League of Michigan in June 2009. Sincethen, the 40,000-square-foot space has hosted awide range of shows, workshops, and exhibits."We wanted to create a home for artists to beable to do their work and where their audiencescould come, and to create a center forarts education," says Oliver Ragsdale Jr., ArtsLeague president. Before the center opened, The Arts Leagueoperated out of an office and ran its programmingat various metro Detroit sites. The moveto permanent digs, funded primarily by FordMotor Co. with support from Lear, Masco,DTE, the Knight Foundation, and Comerica, hasallowed the center to expand its programmingand offer classes, performances, exhibitions,and studio space — often simultaneously. Thecenter is named for a Detroit philanthropistand former Detroit United Way CEO, the lateVirgil H. Carr.Detroit's Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center // By Alexa StanardJanuary 2011 // HOURDETROIT.COM 2 1t h e a r t s // The Insider