Dan Sicko has had a thought all of us may have had at one point, why stay? His reason? Detroit is the center of the creative universe.
Sicko is the author of
Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk. He has lectured about Detroit music culture at the
Cranbrook Academy of Art, UCLA, and for the
Shrinking Cities project in Leipzig, Germany. He works as a Creative Director with the Detroit office of
Organic, Inc.
Excerpt from
Metromode:
It hurts to admit it, but for a period at the end of 2008, it's all I could think about. I'm sure you'll remember that wonderful period when the economy took a nosedive and the future of Ford, GM, and Chrysler were all in question. Seem like forever ago? Does the phrase "Let Detroit Fail" refresh your memory?
It wasn't fear that motivated me. My usually annoying, logical brain somehow skipped over the obvious problem: the possible collapse of the American auto industry (and by extension, my day job). Instead, what got me was shock. The ignorance and bile directed at my hometown was overwhelming, frustrating, and depressing. This wasn't just your random Facebook status, but "considered" opinion in editorial pages and on the floor of the Senate. It still rattles me when I think about it. Along with Cleveland, we've been the butt of jokes for decades, but I didn't realize how deep-seated they really were. Even if I had wanted to leave, I was going to drag this perception of Detroit and a portfolio full of automotive work with me. My prospects didn't look good.
As I started to look around at other cities in the Midwest, things slowly but miraculously began to change at home. Just the act of thinking about leaving made me reassess my core skills and aggressively pursue others. I wrote more, got on stage (more on that later), and rediscovered what an amazingly talented city this is. I went from an all-time low in confidence and security to feeling more energized than ever.
My agency diversified. I diversified. After a little luck and a lot of pain, I came out of 2009 stronger and better equipped to defend Detroit's rightful place at the center of the creative universe.
Read the posts
here.
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