Once the fourth largest city in the states by population, Detroit is the only city to host Red Bull’s House of Art. Between the late 50s and the early 60s, the city with an endearing commitment to singing the praises of its auto industry was silenced by an unwillingness to diversify into other industries. The city became a victim of its own success and as technology advanced and auto jobs moved elsewhere, the city had no back-up industry to step into the big shoes that laid empty.
Although the gentrification wheels have started their turning process in Detroit, it’s a city with juxtaposition and contrast hidden in every last nook and cranny. Endless streets are lined with run-down abandoned houses, and desolate high-rise buildings give a sense of a utopian ghost town. Yet, you enter the Easter Market area where the city’s art scene is developing to find building after building consumed by murals and a neighbourhood reimagined in technicolour. It’s of course the motherland of Motown, but it also gave birth to the contemporary techno scene before it was adopted by a new step mum called Europe. Whatever you find in Detroit, it’s sure to churn out the complete opposite in some way or another right before your waiting eyes.