Punk With Jeremy Wheeler at CreativeMornings Ann Arbor

Jeremy Wheeler shares his DIY punk rock ethos to create art, build community, and keep a non-profit humming at CreativeMornings Ann Arbor.

Jeremy Wheeler at CreativeMornings Ann Arbor

First off, I’m a huge fan of Jeremy Wheeler. We met at Fuzz Fest years ago, where he helped run the liquid light show and created awesome black light posters. Jeremy acted as our DJ for the very first GIG – The Art of Michigan Music event. We watched as Jeremy moved into watercolors, sharing his story at the Ann Arbor Library, and became the Creative and Marketing Director for the Ann Arbor Art Center, where he’s been instrumental in a number of awesome shows, including showing off the concert art of Doug Coombe and the gig posters of Jacob Rosenburg.

When we saw that Jeremy would be speaking about punk rock and the DIY mindset at CreativeMornings Ann Arbor, we jumped on board. CreativeMornings is, according to their website, the largest creative community in the world!. Run by volunteers, the goal is to host a morning event one Friday per month where creative folks can gather, share ideas, and hopefully create a vibe that helps all creatives thrive. 

The Ann Arbor chapter recently kicked off in April. The mornings start out with coffee and chatting, hopefully (in my case) overcoming shyness and meeting new folks. A guest speaker then shares their thoughts on the topic of the month. In April, we listened to Hien Lam riff on crossroads. In May, our friend and all-around inspiring community leader Phyllis Engelbert shared her thoughts on finding and building your community.

Punk with Jeremy Wheeler

This month’s CreativeMornings theme was punk. Jeremy professed not to be a punker. However, he does share the ethos of punk, which, at its core, is one of non-conformity and do-it-yourself (DIY) spirit. Jeremy shared his story of moving out to Ann Arbor from Grand Rapids and quickly finding fellow souls who wanted to have fun, enjoy music, and be creative. The result was 18 years of dance parties called The Bang!

During these years, Jeremy created posters, built sets, attended art exhibitions, and became part of his community. All the while improvising like John Coltrane and doing it his way much like the mighty MC5 – kicking out the jams motherfucker!

However, DIY and a relentless pursuit of so many artistic endeavors led to significant life changes. The pandemic offered a chance to reflect and reset. While Jeremy’s path may have shifted, his drive to learn and grow continued to blossom. One life lesson Jeremy shared, which resonated with me, is that life balance is one of the keys to happiness.

That said, Jeremy’s big takeaway for all of us is to just do it. Create your art, be an empathetic and uplifting member of your community, and be sure to take care of yourself. I felt energized by Jeremy’s talk. The world can be a scary place, and the people in power are an absolute mess. Knowing there are superstars like Jeremy Wheeler out there flying their freak flags and lifting folks up charges me full of hope.

Photos and Thanks

Many thanks to the awesome volunteers at CreativeMornings Ann Arbor. They are doing great work to build our creative community. If you missed Jeremy’s talk, you can catch it on CreativeMornings Ann Arbor.

There are a few more photos from the Jeremy Wheeler at CreativeMornings Ann Arbor event in our gallery.