JULY 10, 2026 GALLERIES GROUNDCOVER NEWS Local Ypsi advocate facing misdemeanor for checking on elderly man FROM LOCAL REPORTS On January 18, 2026 an Ypsilanti community advocate (uses they/them pronouns) was worried about a cognitively impaired elderly Black man who was being detained by police outside the Ypsilanti Transit Center. The advocate knows the man well, having acted as a caretaker for him in the past, and they were worried about a violent outcome to the ongoing arrest. They heckled the police and took a photo of what was happening while the police detained the man, eventually sending him to the hospital. Six months later, the advocate is now facing a misdemeanor charge for “interfering with a police investigation.” They received paperwork in the mail on Monday, July 5, with notification about a Zoom pre-trial arraignment scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday, July 22 at the 14-2A District Court. Charges are being brought by City Attorney Randolph "Randy" Barker on behalf of the Ypsilanti Police Department. Contact Barker and demand he drop the charges on Kaitlin Pedri! Email barker@cmplaw.com or call 734-997-2156. 7 Jelena Damnjanovic: "I want people to see my art" ANJA MIHIC Liceulice, street paper in Serbia I recently started selling Liceulice. I’m involved in art, but I was unemployed. I went to a special education school in Novi Sad, Serbia and trained as a bookbinder. Before that, I was in a regular elementary school, but it wasn’t going very well for me. I had a problem with that environment. My mother thought I should change it, so we did. In the new school, I was the top student of my year. I had a beautiful and happy childhood. I grew up in a good family. I could relax when I was a child. I played and spent time with friends. Life was healthier back then. People were more sociable; we spent more time together. Today, playgrounds are half empty; I suppose the internet has distanced us from one another. School was a bit of a problem for me, but that happened and passed. In the end, I managed to find my own path and do what I love. I started drawing and painting when I was still a child. I drew and scribbled wherever I could. I also worked with clay and plasticine. My mother taught me all of that. I did a lot of creative things and showed talent. My mother then enrolled me in an educational program at the School of Design in Novi Sad. I was also active in several humanitarian organizations, where I mostly learned creative things, such as decoupage [covering objects with paper or fabric]. And here I am, still involved in art so many years later. I’m interested in icon painting and church art, but I also draw still lifes, animals, people, children and characters from films and series. I draw anything I like or anything that touches me. I also find inspiration in cartoons, anime series, fairy tales and fables. I love it when animation is creepy, Gothic and twisted. I think it’s great when cartoons are a little scary. That’s why I’m a big fan of Tim Burton. I also do graphic design, illustration and digital art. I mostly like working with acrylic paints, tempera, and markers, but I also use drawing programs and Photoshop. I use whatever I can get my hands on. I know how to work with charcoal and almost every other drawing material. I have taken part in many exhibitions. I sold paintings in cooperation with the special school I attended. The years when I couldn’t work because of Covid were difficult. Everything changed after that. I managed to go to art colonies. I took part in various events and festivals, and traveled quite a lot outside Serbia. Then, in 2022 and 2023, I worked at Inkluzivno mesto, the work center of my school’s daycare center. There I held exhibitions and sold paintings. Last year, I had a sales exhibition at the Stevan Sremac Library in Novi Sad. When I draw, I feel good. My wish is to have my own studio: to paint icons, works of art and portraits; to have my own little place where I can work. My uncle introduced me to icon painting. Still, I learned the most from my mother, who sadly died of cancer in 2017. I also learned a lot at art colonies and at the daycare center from my mentor Ivana. At the colonies, there is good company and a nice atmosphere. The people are good, there is nature and a person can relax. I want to visit more of those art colonies around Serbia, to see everything that is organized and happening. I would also like to go to Belgrade for an exhibition, to see that too. I also want people to see and feel my art. I have had good experiences with the Patrija association, through which I sell Liceulice. They organize workshops where I met many colleagues: Ružica, Ištvan, David, Zoran, Mira, Jelena is a Liceulice vendor who enjoys painting and illustrating. Photo by Anja Mihic. Radmila. We have a nice time together. Now that I have started selling the magazine, I don’t have as much free time anymore. I paint as much as I can and whenever I manage to. I try. I also get a little tired from all the walking involved in selling. I sell in various places in Novi Sad, wherever there are a lot of people. Sales are going well for me, and they make me happy. It helps me not sit at home so much. I move around, I walk. It relaxes me to go from one location to another. Last summer, I sold quite a lot. I live well from it, I can earn money. I also read the magazine myself. I like the texts about feminism and environmental protection, about how to make our planet cleaner and better. I like that the texts in the magazine often talk about how we should help one another in difficult times. I recommend those kinds of texts to customers too. The only thing I would add is more texts about animation and anime cartoons; that Illustrations by Jelena Damnjanovic would be interesting. Translated from Serbian by Rade Zivanovic. Courtesy of Liceulice / INSP.ngo really
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