Everyone is a critic, as the saying goes. In that spirit, a year-old venture called CriticCar Detroit posts videotaped mini-reviews from visitors to galleries, performances, museums, festivals and other destinations.
CriticCar launched last fall with foundation grants.
Local journalist Jennifer Conlin and her team roll around with iPads to create "a community-generated source for discussions about the arts," as she puts it. Crowdsourced reviews are part of "citizen journalism" in the digital age.
To say the crew is busy would understate it. Their YouTube channel has 470 short clips from the DIA, Opera House, Maker Faire, Detroit Design Festival, Festival of Performing Arts, Funhouse Gallery, Library Street Collective Gallery and other sites.
In addition to collecting 30-second opinions, Conlin and her production partner -- Artrain of Ann Arbor -- are asking for dollars via a month-long Indiegogo drive that started last week.
They seek $20,000 "to fund an app for the CriticCar team to use on the road" and to "give CriticCar followers the ability to see where CriticCar is filming."
About $2,300 is donated so far. Unlike Kickstarter, where pledges become donations only if a target is hit, Indiegogo raises direct gifts that go to the campaign sponsor even if the goal isn't reached..
Here's more from the pitch:
This app will allow us to review and promote arts and cultural events as they are happening. If successful, this app will be the launching pad for enabling anyone with a smartphone to record and upload reviews. Any funds given beyond our goal will be dedicated to putting more CriticCar crews on the road, covering the daily plethora of events happening in and around the city.
Conlin (UM '83) and Artrain, a nonprofit. launched CriticCar last fall with grants from the Knight Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
