Vita Brevis, Longa Ars -- Multiply Detroit's Cultural Energy

In April I made my first trip to Detroit. I had the good fortune to meet with Dan Pitera, director of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center at the University of Detroit Mercy. We discussed some of his many projects, including a plan for a portion of the East Side, one of the more depopulated neighborhoods in the city. The plan, developed with residents and Self-Help Addiction Rehabilitation, Inc. (SHAR), is shaped by Dan's belief that "what is seen as void of culture may actually be culturally rich". The plan takes advantage of the existing energy and commitment in that community (instead of the more usual "demolish and redevelop" approach that has been popular for decades in the United States).

Energy begets energy. I visited the East Side and adjacent Midtown. A mile and one half apart, a thirty minute walk, there are two cultural institutions that could enrich each other: The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the largest museums of its type in the country, and the Raven Lounge & Restaurant (see image, bottom left), a small venue for live music.

The most lively place I saw in Detroit during my brief visit was the Rivera Court at DIA (middle left). The room is well-proportioned, with murals by Diego Rivera that are aesthetically and historically rich. What was most important is, given the buses outside from the University of Michigan and elsewhere, that non-Detroiters were enjoying (a sliver) of Detroit.

My hunch is that the group of DIA and the Raven patrons do not overlap. Take advantage of their common interest in the arts and build on it. DIA hosts music and other live performances. What if, for example, that energy were transferred beyond its grounds and into a community-building event, a musical procession between DIA and the Raven Lounge (top left)? The DIA patrons would hear live music in an different setting and those of the Raven Lounge, see Rivera's powerful "Detroit Industry" murals.

Vita Brevis, Longa Ars, Detroit

I visited Detroit for the first time in April. The problems I expected to see were familiar, if possibly more extreme: Abandonment of the physical structure of the city and stresses associated with poverty. The photo to the left may represent the condition and potential in Detroit: Impulses to create beauty, combined with isolation and fear.

I had the good fortune to meet with Dan Pitera, director of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC), at the University of Detroit Mercy. Among other projects, we spoke of DCDC's plan for a portion of the East Side, an area of particularly great population loss. To paraphrase Dan, one of his goals is to take advantage of existing energy in the city, including in those areas where the usual impulse would be to condemn and clear. I agree.

Energy breeds energy. I visited both the East Side and Midtown. A mile and one half apart, or a thirty minute walk, there are two cultural centers that could benefit each other and, perhaps, create more: The Detroit Institute of Arts, one of the country's largest museums of its type, and Raven Lounge & Restaurant, a small venue for live music.

During my visit, I saw no place as lively
as the Rivera Court at DIA. The room is beautifully proportioned and the murals, by Diego Rivera, are aesthetically and historically rich. Most important, given the buses from the University of Michigan and elsewhere parked at DIA, the Rivera Court was filled with people from outside Detroit enjoying (a slice of) Detroit.

My guess is that the patrons of each institution do not overlap much. DIA, like many museums, has music programs. Why not have a walk, a scheduled event, between Raven Lounge and DIA? How about reduced admission to the museum for patrons at Raven Lounge? Get them outside!