Nearly all member cities are in Europe, but the US has begun to follow suit, with programs in Las Vegas, Ithaca, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. Laura Kraftowitz is the co-founder of City of Asylum/Detroit. In the following interview, she shares insight into the experiences of establishing this kind of program here in our city...
A conversation with Laura Kraftowitz, Founding Executive Director of City of Asylum/Detroit
June 15, 2026
literature, activism, culture - detroit city
This year, I had the privilege of photo-documenting the 20th anniversary of Movement, produced by Paxahau. One of the most distinctive things about Movement Music Festival is the coordination of 6 different stages that give festival-goers the chance to choose their own adventure in electronic music...
E-Man Bates
June 8, 2026
culture - detroit city
Movement is just one of the city’s annual festivals where civic pride is demonstrated, and this year, I captured some of the symbolism that was displayed by ravers throughout Memorial Day Weekend 2026...
Mark Cook
June 5, 2026
fashion, culture - detroit city
To celebrate women’s history month, we wrote a love letter to the women of Detroit, to express our gratitude and embrace their influence...
Saybin Samone Roberson and Catie Goins
March 30, 2026
culture, columns - detroit city
Respectful, collaborative relationships with the people of other cultures—especially when engaging in anthropological studies—has become an expectation across the globe since the onset of a growing movement called New Animism. This can be seen here in Detroit through the close collaboration between the curators of the DIA and an advisory council of contemporary Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi artists working across the Great Lakes Region.
Ashley Cook
February 16, 2026
art, culture - detroit city
About one week ago, the “King of the West Side”—aka DJ Sussex Smooth The Selector—joined WeeGee Tha Hustla, DJ Culinary, and Street Certified DJs to throw the Paid Artist Showcase Winter Bash featuring over 25 artists from Detroit and around the USA...
Ashley Cook and E-Man Bates
January 16, 2026
music, culture - detroit city
Old Yeller turned ten years old this summer, and a couple of weeks ago, they threw their fourth annual Underwater Clown Rodeo. I had the opportunity to interview Alyssa and Kristen about their experience as tenants, property owners, and community leaders in Detroit who have transformed their home into a safe space for creative freedom and expression...
Ashley Cook
August 25, 2025
culture - detroit city
Niki Williams is a photographer known for his dreamlike depictions of everyday life. In his photos we encounter humans in their daily pursuits, their everyday rituals, daily routines, celebrations and with their loved ones. Within Wheel is Niki William’s first photo-book. Most of the images were taken while he was living in Detroit, Michigan. Here, we present an interview with the artist about this work and his experience as a photographer currently working between Michigan and California.
A conversation with Niki Williams
January 13, 2025
art, culture - detroit city
Corrosion has come to define this place that was once the center of the Industrial Revolution in the US, with its metals now tarnished by extreme neglect and its communities plagued by disinvestment. Detroit, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania flourished as engines of technical innovation in America before waves of economic abandonment left them jobless. Curator Kemuel Benyehudah’s newest exhibition Echoes from the Rust spotlights artists from these two cities, whose work touches on engineering, manual labor, and community as foundations of their blue-collar culture.
Ashley Cook
January 2, 2025
art, culture - detroit city, great lakes region
The Tuskegee Airmen earned the nickname as the Red Tail Angels for fighting fascists in the skies of World War II. They flew hundreds of patrol, escort and attack missions for the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces, and were recorded as the fleet with one of the lowest casualty counts of all of the United States pilots. They were recognizable as a team because of the red tails of their planes, and because they were segregated from all of the other pilots for being primarily African American.
Ashley Cook
November 11, 2024
activism, culture - detroit city
Michigan Student Power Alliance is a hub for radical youth activism, existing within a broader statewide ecosystem of grassroots, progressive student organizers who are working to connect student struggles across higher education campuses and build a powerful youth movement that will enact change...
Emily Jones and Fiana Arbab
October 9, 2024
activism, culture - great lakes region
Ghanaian American author Esinam Bediako has been honored for her debut novel Blood on the Brain, set to launch in September of 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. Born and raised in Metro-Detroit, Bediako’s story of a young woman, Akosua, who is also a Ghanaian American from Detroit, highlights challenges of growing into adulthood in the United States...
An interview with Esinam Bediako
September 9, 2024
literature, culture - detroit city
Delray Beyond Isolation is the story of the quiet loudness on the margins of total existence and economic chaos. A story that speaks of the indestructible spirit and the eternal search for inspiration that facilitates survival...
Karpov
November 6, 2023
culture - detroit city
When you show up at the coney, expect more than just a meal. Since the first Coney Island opened in 1917 and operated above a speakeasy downtown, Detroit’s working class has grown their reputation into a staple of food culture...
Amelia Gillis
September 11, 2023
culture - detroit city
Starting today, The Blueprint will be releasing a weekly mix and a profile from residents and family who we feel represent the work we’re trying to do in Detroit; disrupting and realigning the music ecosystem to better support people at the margins, be they woman, black, queer, and othered with a deep appreciation for those who have paved the way. For this first mix, Blueprint resident Blackmoonchild guides you through the sound of a quintessential BP party using all original production and edits.
The Blueprint
May 11, 2023
music, culture - detroit city
The suburbs of River Rouge are situated between the Marathon oil refinery and the highly industrialized Zug Island located on the Detroit River; this makes the area one of the most polluted zip codes in the country...
Samuel Gulliver
November 21, 2022
culture - detroit city
At Hearse Fest, one of the largest gatherings of funeral car aficionados in the country, one thing is clear, death is coming for us all. When it shows up, with its cold glare and hungry scythe, you might finally get to catch a ride...
Niki Williams
October 17, 2022
culture - great lakes region