Welcome to the Street Art of Detroit

If there’s one type of art that I can’t seem to get enough of, it’s street art.

I first gained an appreciation for street art in Reykjavik. Everywhere I looked I spotted different works of art - many of which had a social or political message.

Now when I go to a major (or even minor) city, I keep an eye out for the street art. New York naturally has fantastic street art and DC has started to get more in the residential parts of the city. I’ve even seen some nice murals in Anne Arbor.

However, my favorite place to see street art is around the Eastern Market neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit has a lot of amazing street art, but the art in Eastern Market holds a special place in my heart. Most of the art is done in large murals on the buildings. Some of the art is used to advertise local businesses, while others highlight the the produce that can be found within the three buildings housing the Eastern Market farmer’s market (try saying that three times fast).

Within the market itself are a few samples of street art as well. The last building has a large mural over the exit doors, opposite the community kitchen. Another area that has art featuring clocks (of all things) is on a small shack that holds a shoe repair shop.

A lot of the art in the area has little to do with the businesses in the area and instead demonstrates the unique culture that makes Detroit special. These street art murals often have fantastical or abstract elements, bold color statements, and eye catching designs. I have no idea how often the murals are freshened up or changed because they always look like they weren’t up the day before.

Detroit’s street art is everywhere. As soon as you take the exit off the highway, you’ll be able to spot three or four murals off the ramp. Some of these gorgeous works of art go by so fast, it’s hard to fully appreciate them (let alone snap a picture). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to record all of the murals I spotted (including some of my favorites), but I hope someone is documenting them.

Street art is a reflection of an community’s culture. Artists paint what they feel about the world around them. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the majority of murals in Detroit feature Black people and Black culture. Detroit has a majority Black population and the street art reflects that.

I get very sad (and sometimes a little angry) when people speak badly of Detroit. Yes, the city has its problems (what city doesn’t). However, Detroit has one of the most vibrant art cultures I’ve gotten to see (I prefer Detroit’s street art to New York’s). The city is slowly reinventing itself. Some of the current best things about Detroit are the art, food, music, and people. 

My mom lives in the Detroit metropolitan area and says that walking tours have started in different parts of the city to view the many different murals. I think this is a brilliant idea and one more cities should implement. 

I don’t know what the future of street art is. In (my) perfect world, street art would be celebrated and toured like the paintings and sculptures in museums. Outdoor walking tours would allow for stops at local restaurants and possibly incentivize local governments to make cities more pedestrian or bicycle friendly. Investment in public art might lead to investment in communities (though gentrification would need to be nipped in the bud), which would hopefully lead to a better living environment and happier people.

Now that I’ve shared some of my favorite street art, why don’t you guys share some of yours. Let me know where you’ve seen some of your favorite street art.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Welcome to a Quick Word About DC Culture

Washington DC (really it’s just DC, only tourists call it Washington) gives the general appearance of stuffy suits, Greco-Roman buildings, and pompous politicians. 

But that’s only one part of DC. Despite what the media might have you think, DC isn’t just alphabet soup government buildings, lobbyists, and free museums (that’s right I said free). We do have culture. Go-go was created in DC in the 1970s, there’s tons of amazing street art once you walk five blocks north of the mall, and our food trucks (the ones that serve the federal workers and business people not the ones on the mall) are fantastic.

November isn’t a huge time for tourists. In fact, it’s the start of our slow season that goes until about mid-March. Though there’s still a lot to do during the holidays, we’re no LA or New York. Most of the people out and about are locals to the city and surrounding DMV area (DMV = DC, Maryland, and Virginia).

This weekend there was a large Día de los Muertos event on 3rd Street off the Mall and a Christmas Market at the Czech Embassy. More Christmas and other Holiday related events will start to go up in the coming weeks. My favorite is always the train display at the National Botanical Gardens. The main building is closed right now, but the outdoor gardens are free for everyone to walk through and they have a cool display set up with different farms around the world.

Speaking of Christmas, we have Christmas markets in different parts of the city. The big one that I’ve seen is located near the Portrait Gallery near our (admittedly tiny) Chinatown. Other markets can be found in Van Ness, Dupont, and the National Zoo.

I would never have known about the DC food trucks if I hadn’t worked in DC for a summer. My office was located near L’Enfant Plaza (about 3 or 4 blocks south of the Mall) and every day around 10:30am the  food trucks would be lined up waiting for everyone to file out for lunch. I had an app and everything that let me track which food truck would be where.

Speaking of DC food, soul food (including several vegan restaurants primarily located in the Shaw neighborhood) is popular in the city and, if you like seafood, the DC Wharf is a great place to try Chesapeake blue crabs. However, if you want to see where the politicians eat when they don’t stick to their cafeterias, check out the restaurants to the South East. Bullfeathers in particular is a known spot to see Lobbyists outside of K street.

Historically, our LGBTQ+ community was centered in Dupont circle. The High Heel Drag Queen Race continues to be held the Tuesday before Halloween. Unfortunately, gentrification has change a lot of Dupont - as well as many other parts of the city (*cough* South East *cough*) and a lot of the legacy LGBTQ+ community is having to move elsewhere.

Yeah, that’s one sad thing about DC: gentrification and corporatization. 

I mentioned earlier out tiny Chinatown. It used to be a lot bigger than one and a half streets with the rest taken up by the Capitol One Center and chains with Chinese letters on the buildings. However, the restaurants there are really good and they do host a lunar new year celebration. The arch is also very pretty to see - especially at night. Plus there’s a lot more street art in the Chinatown area that’s fun to spot.

Speaking of night time fun, DC has tons of nightclubs. As I said earlier, Dupont has historically been a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community and that includes their nightclubs. There’s also a fair few in the downtown area (though you might have to fight for space between the George Washington (GW) students in Foggy Bottom).

There’s also Georgetown if you want fancy shopping, food, and even more pretentious college students. Georgetown is pretty and does have a great selection of places to eat (Georgetown Cupcakes anyone?). But it is a pain to find parking and there’s limited public transit options.

You can also check out Adams Morgan for their colorful art community. In the 1960s, Adams Morgan was the home of the (then) “radical left” and colorful Victorian homes. They have a cultural trail that you can walk through the neighborhood. It was where my child self most wanted to live.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Olde Town Alexandria. Though not technically part of DC, prior to the civil war they did fit nicely into the originally designed square for the city. The history of why they broke apart is not something I will be explaining now (but it had a lot to do with slavery), but it’s hard to leave them out of DC culture. Olde Town Alexandria also has a great food scene, but the coolest thing is the old Torpedo Factory that was turned into an artist enclave. The only downside is that the area tends to flood with even just a suggestion of heavy rain. Pentagon City has been built up a lot since I was a kid (plus Amazon is moving in *boo hiss*), but they’ve managed to keep their parks in great condition. Crystal City has somehow managed to keep its street art and food scene in tact. The best part of Crystal City is 23rd Street off Eads Street. That’s where all the restaurants and bars are.

Bethesda would be the Maryland equivalent. They also have great restaurants. Honestly, I sometimes am unsure where DC ends and Bethesda begins because there is so much overlap.

So next time you plan a trip to DC, try going in our off season. There’s still plenty to do and free monuments and museums to see. We’re not all politicians or political activists. DC has culture - it’s just off the beaten path.

I’m also sure that people from DC might read this post and tell me I forgot about including x, y, and/or z. They’re most likely right. This post is a “quick word” about DC culture and there’s a lot there that I didn’t cover. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Until next week.