Buzz

Kresge honoree Scott Hocking: "Detroit is on a threshold"

Bad At Sports Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Long before "ruin porn" became a fashionable hobby, artists like our own Scott Hocking risked life and limb (not to mention, arrest) to explore broken-down and abandoned buildings, which became the subjects for his documentary photography and site-specific installations.

Hocking, a 2011 Kresge Award Winner, reveals much in this interview with Sarah Margolis-Pineo, herself a curator at the Cranbrook Art Museum. It's a look within the eye of the artist -- touching on everything from Hocking's passion for abandoned buildings, to his place in Detroit's rich history of D.I.Y creators.

Excerpt:

Everybody, myself included, who has been making artwork in the city hasn't had resources to do anything but making with what you have. Sometimes you're living in squalor and trying to scrape by� The Cass Corridor people got a lot of notoriety, but shit, there were artists in the 1980s living inside the Broderick Tower and Fort Wayne, and had studios in random skyscrapers that were virtually vacant because no one could afford to do anything in there. These artists may have not gotten the same attention, but that lineage is all the same--trying to use the spaces that have been neglected because creative people see potential there.

Read the interview here.

Young Broke & Beautiful: The new IFC series gets wild in the D

Independent Film Channel Tuesday, August 02, 2011

"Young, Broke & Beautiful" -- there's no way a TV show aiming for that demographic could pass up a night in our fair city. This intrepid series from the Independent Film Channel spotlights indie culture and creators across the nation. Their hour-long travelogue on the D makes friends with plenty of our favorite people and places, from the Imagination Station and DJ Kyle Hall to late-night parties and Coneys (natch).

Excerpt:

Stuart will pull the Scion into the most beautiful, broken down parking lot in the world. There's no doubt that all these YBB's will know where the dopest, most off the chain, unsanctioned warehouse party is happening, and Stuart will find himself closing down the night, partying with his people.

IFC will rerun the Detroit episode all week, beginning Tuesday at 6 p.m. Find out more about the channel's tour Detroit here.

Bullish on the Brewster Projects

Crain's Detroit Business Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Only in 2008 were the Brewster Homes, located near the junction of I-75 and I-375, formally abandoned. Four of the six towers constructed in 1993 remain, along with several rowhouses and low-rise buildings. The 15-acre site, which straddles Brush Park, Eastern Market and downtown Detroit, are a tough sell -- consider the cost of demolishing the towers, a $3 million price tag and the clearance needed from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make the sale. Yet Midtown's strong development clip has some local real estate experts speculating about the possible investment potential of the Brewster site.

Excerpt:

But Bieri thinks the site has potential -- good visibility, and proximity to Midtown. "One of the issues in Detroit is trying to acquire sites of size without strings attached, because there are so many issues with regard to quiet title, or redevelopment districts with strings attached," he said. "If the site were actually available with no strings attached, it could be a viable opportunity for developers."

Find out more here.

Vacation buzz: our favorite links from the past two weeks

New York Times Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Model D took a break last week to celebrate the holiday, but a city like Detroit never sleeps. If you're just back from Up North or the beach, here are a few of our can't-miss links to catch up on what went down over Fourth of July weekend.

The New York Times sang the praises of the city's young and entrepreneurial dreamers, writing, "These days the word "movement" is often heard to describe the influx of socially aware hipsters and artists now roaming the streets of Detroit. Not unlike Berlin, which was revitalized in the 1990s by young artists migrating there for the cheap studio space, Detroit may have this new generation of what city leaders are calling "creatives" to thank if it comes through its transition from a one-industry (town)." Are we becoming a Midwestern TriBeCa? Read more here.
Or, wait a minute: aren't we already the next Brooklyn? Check that out down the page.

Microfinancing Detroit: Kiva Detroit, a partnership between Michigan Corps, the Knight Foundation, San Fran-based Kiva.org and microlender Accion USA, together raised over $11,000 in just three hours to help fund five start-up businesses in the city. The site allows supporters to pledge loans for as little as $25. Click here for details.

Will a battle for designing the Detroit of the future derail the momentum of the present? The Wall Street Journal writes of a rift between the City of Detroit and the Kresge Foundation that could have serious implications for arguably the two most important initiatives of 2011. "Kresge stopped funding Detroit Works at the start of the year after disagreements with City Hall over the role of outside consultants. The foundation also is rethinking its support for the rail line amid a separate spat with city officials." Say it isn't so. Read the rest of the story is here.

Here's one bright spot: Amidst a gloomy June economic report, BNET reports Detroit continues to hire both white and blue-collar workers, calling the domestic auto industry a "micro-recovery." We're sure glad to hear it, though we'd rather be cycling in the city. More information here.

Head to Eastern Market for new Tuesday shopping days

Eastern Market Corporation Tuesday, July 12, 2011

More fresh food and fun awaits during a new day of shopping at Eastern Market. From July 12 through Sept. 27, Shed 2 of the open-air marketplace will be open to the public -- a great way stock up on eats while avoiding the Saturday crowds. Stop by every Tuesday this summer from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Shed 2 is located at the corner of Russell and Winder streets.

Excerpt:

"Detroit Eastern Market Tuesdays" will feature a sampling our historic Saturday Market experience though the inclusion of farmers, flowers, produce dealers, specialty products, and prepared-food vendors. In addition, "Tuesdays" will be a weekly community celebration including special events highlighting the agricultural, social, culinary, and artistic treasures of our city, region, and state.

Find out more here.

Detroit's journey from mean to green wins admiration from the Times

New York Times Tuesday, May 24, 2011

"The gardens are everywhere," writes food scribe Mark Bittman in a moving editorial in the New York Times Opinionator blog. His chronicle of a visit to our city describes Detroit's burgeoning food movement powered by the breadth of our residents' imagination -- and the belief that only we will turn this city around. Local food in public schools. The Peaches & Greens produce truck. And acres and acres of cultivated land, harvesting not only food, but a key to this city's future. If the journey is as important as the destination, Bittman concludes, Detroit's back-to-basics green revival is already a success story.

Excerpt:

As Jackie Victor, co-owner of the Avalon Bakery, an unofficial meeting place for the Detroit food movement, says to me, "Imagine a city, rebuilt block by block, with a gorgeous riverfront, world class museums and fantastic local food. Everyone who wants one has a quarter-acre garden, and every kid lives within bike distance of a farm."

Imagine. Read more here.

Detroit 1-8-7 signs off

Detroit Free Press Tuesday, May 17, 2011

It was a rough week in this city for underdogs.

We said goodbye to the Red Wings, who mounted a three-game winning streak but fell just short of a series win. Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager Robert Bobb bid adieu to the city, after disclosing his fight with cancer during his tenure. And "Detroit 1-8-7", an ABC cop show set and shot in the Motor City, lost its bid for another season. While the show had some early missteps (soda, anybody?), the cast of Hollywood transplants truly embraced Detroit. We saw and heard them genuinely fall in love with the D, and proclaim that message to the national media. We'll be sorry to see them go.

Excerpt:

For a while, "Detroit 1-8-7" embraced our underdog spirit and ran with it. Somehow, the characters coalesced into a portrait of what gives underdogs the hope to keep going. With their humor, despair, grace and frustration, the characters played by James McDaniel, Michael Imperioli and the other actors had begun to represent the real population of metro Detroiters who aren't giving up, no matter how many times Detroit's issues are borrowed by outsiders for a punch line or a put-down.

Click here to read the rest of Julie Hinds' farewell.

BBC Travel energized by city's rebirth

BBC Travel Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Why Detroit? From an artistic standpoint, our creators and visionaries have nothing to lose -- and nobody standing in their way. This new story from BBC Travel paints a portrait of Detroit as a city increasingly shaped by the cultural vanguard. Corktown, which is seeing plenty of commercial development, also gets some love (read more about what's going on in Corktown here.)

Excerpt:

As Detroit continues the fight of its life, artists and visionaries are slowly returning to the city to take advantage of the cheap rent and open spaces. While some have compared Detroit to a war zone, its burgeoning artistic community looks at it like a playground.

"I see the magic here. This city has been known to come back," artist Tyree Guyton said. "There's this new energy that's creating art all over the city. [A colleague] said in the past that the new industry in the city of Detroit is art and culture. I believe it. I see it."

Read the rest of the story here.

NYT: 36 hours in the D gets it right

The New York Times Tuesday, May 10, 2011

How to spend 36 hours in Detroit? The New York Times jam-packed almost a dozen of this city's landmarks into one action-filled weekend guide to decoding the D. We'll give our out-of-town colleagues props for digging into little-known historical facts (we always forget downtown boasts the nation's second-largest theatre district) and directing travelers to local treasures like Pewabic Pottery, the Piquette Plant and Atlas Global Bistro.

Excerpt:

No video can portray the passion one finds on the streets of Detroit these days, where everyone from the doorman to the D.J. will tell you they believe in this city's future. While certain areas are indeed eerily empty, other neighborhoods -- including midtown, downtown and Corktown -- are bustling with new businesses that range from creperies and barbecue joints catering to the young artists and entrepreneurs migrating to Motown, to a just-opened hostel that invites tourists to explore Detroit with the aid of local volunteer guides.

No urban enthusiast, the NYT concludes, should witness the renaissance Detroit is attempting. Well said.

The NYT now has a paywall, which allows readers 20 free views a month. If you haven't exceeded your monthly tab, click here.

Detroit tops Travel & Leisure's list of "World's Most Underrated Cities"

Travel & Leisure Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Detroit recently topped the list of Travel & Leisure's underdog urban hotspots for travelers weary of cookie-cutter cosmopolitan vacations. The magazine lauded the new breed of "urban homesteader" helping to reshape the city, and referenced a few of our great restaurants (Foran's Grand Trunk Pub, Supino pizza, and Slows) as evidence of the D's growing gastronomic reputation.

Excerpt:

And then of course there's Detroit. What most people would consider as evidence of Motor City's sad decline -- empty lots, abandoned houses, and disused factories -- others view as unparalleled opportunities for artists, designers, and other creative types. In fact, Patti Smith and David Byrne, two of music's eternal cool kids, recently exhorted budding artists to move to Detroit, and young people are heeding their advice, moving into neighborhoods like Midtown and Woodbridge.

Check out which other underdog cities made the list here.

Eat Supino Pizza, support Belle Isle art projects

Forward Arts Tuesday, March 29, 2011

It is not often that the act of eating one of Detroit's most delicious pizza pies can satisfy both your appetite and social conscience. But these are the days of miracles and wonder. Eastern Market's Supino Pizzeria has teamed up with Access Arts, a program of the city's Forward Arts, to help fund Access Art's fifth annual exhibition on Belle Isle, scheduled for June 18-24.

From March 29 to April 2, Supino will donate 25 percent of its sales to Access Arts and word has it owner Dave Mancini will cook up a special Belle Isle pie as part of the Slice of the Day promotion.

"I think almost every member of my staff has taken part in the Belle Isle Exhibit." says Mancini. "I really like what Access does and can see the difference they make in the community."

Find out more about Access Arts, or click here to get a slice of Supino.

Hack into Eastern Market's OmniCorp Detroit

Detroit News Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Hidden within a once-abandoned Eastern Market warehouse, a group of 20 techies, inventors and artists have assembled a DIY playhouse of future inventions, known around the city as OmniCorp Detroit. The Detroit News peeks inside this collaborative studio, part of a growing nationwide movement, where innovators are taking things apart, dreaming new designs and sharing their knowledge with other tinkerers around the D.

Excerpt:

"I was developing and gathering information to bring to Detroit," said Sturges, a former architecture student at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills. He moved to Detroit in 2009, found like-minded creatives and set up shop in a 3,200-square-foot warehouse space on Division Street. The operation runs completely on monthly membership dues, and its members -- 20 and growing -- include recreational metalsmiths, professional electric engineers and computer programmers.

Hack the rest of the story here.

Detroit Tweetea now has a home

The Detroit Hub Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Tweetea is a funny name for a gathering. But, that doesn't matter, 'cause it's a popular one. There are tweeteas across the nation. And, a little closer to home, a healthy, well-attended one in Royal Oak.

Excerpt:

We're about fostering respectful, productive, conversations and action about Detroit. It's been a part of our mission for awhile � where people actually get together, face to face, and get involved in various ways. As opposed to just talking online, which is great, but getting the physical presence. Seeing our home, seeing the city core of the region.

That's why we've reached out to the local community and are now beginning to host an event called "Tweetea" that also has had locations in various Detroit suburbs for awhile, including Royal Oak and Grosse Pointe. There's been a downtown/midtown Detroit community, but they've been looking for a place with stable Wi-Fi and a regular home, so we've decided to open our doors every Tuesday evening to them � and to you.

The discussions at Tweetea are forward-looking. They're about community. They're about how technology can help grow and enhance that community (after all, the community generally uses Twitter as it's unifying tie). Social media tends to weave into the conversation quite a bit.

Read the entire article here.

Eastern Market grows with new options

Detroit Free Press Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Eastern Market is so much more than just a place for fresh broccoli and a bouquet of flowers. These days you'll find chef presentations, wonderful brunch specials, wine, antique shops, and some of the best pizza in town (at Supino Pizzeria).

Excerpt from the Detroit Free Press:

Now shoppers come not only for the locally grown fruits and vegetables, but also for the popular breakfast and lunch delis, the wine and antique shops, the deals on flowers and plants and the ever-changing array of new products, like the specialty pierogies introduced this month.

And many come because, well, there's an urban ambience unparalleled in metro Detroit.

Dan Carmody, president of the nonprofit Eastern Market Corp. that operates the city-owned market, said Eastern Market ranks with America's best such operations, including Seattle's Pike Place Market and Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market.

"We're one of the largest, one of the oldest, and I think we're one of the coolest," Carmody said.

Read the entire article here.

Successful Detroit foodie biz: Randy's Granola

Detroit News Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Detroit is a city with low barriers. It's a city where a girl can quit her job, make granola, make a business out of it, come to Detroit, and get noticed. You can get Randy's Granola in 20 stores, and that, of course, includes Eastern Market.

That's what makes Detroit a great place.

From Metromode:

Suzanne Vier and college buddy Randy TenBrink founded Randy's Granola barely a year ago, in May 2009. Visiting home from New York City, where she was then living, Vier tasted some of TenBrink's granola and had what she calls her "A-ha!" moment. Burned out on the corporate life, she saw starting a company as a reason to move back to Grand Rapids...and a way to fully delve into her love of food. This spring, Vier relocated her new company to Detroit after being around the town's food entrepreneurs and realizing "that there are a lot of dynamic and exciting things happening in Detroit."

Read the entire story here.

Also read about it in the Detroit News:

Q : Why did you choose to set up your fledgling business in Detroit?
A : I'm originally from Detroit and lived here until the age of 6. I grew up in Royal Oak, but my family has always had strong ties to the city. Detroit has a strong community of amazing food entrepreneurs, chefs, restaurateurs and other individuals who share a passion for food and business startup, and the level of collaboration and openness to new businesses is unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. I left a successful corporate career in NYC to start this business in Detroit because of the energy and work ethic that I found among my peers here.

Q : Do you feel that Detroit is a good place for other entrepreneurs to establish a business?
A: Yes, absolutely. Detroit offers entrepreneurs in any industry an opportunity to carve out a place for themselves amongst like-minded individuals and share ideas, collaborate, partner and grow. It's inspiring when I walk into a meeting like Open City or a local restaurant or bar and know that many of the individuals there have taken the same risks that I have and succeeded in their passion.

Read the entire article here.

Eastern Market : Buzz