Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/375781
P acked with larger-than-life art installa- tions, artfully fashioned cuisine and hand-crafted brews, our four-day road trip had me looking at detroit, ann arbor and Grand Rapids in a new light. "ThE d" RoaRs bacK With angel investors, business and government pouring bil- lions into the downtown core, midtown detroit is a big deal in "america's great comeback city." Fresh new condos and skyscrapers rub shoulders with classics such as the lavish 1920s-era Guardian building, which blends colourful native american, aztec and arts & crafts features into 40 storeys of brick, granite and terra cotta. Fancy new hotels are popping up next to refurbished landmarks such as the Westin book cadillac, where we stayed. and no end of cre- ative cuisine rounds out the cultural scene, as we found on our guided walking tour by d:hive detroit. Potato pancake sandwiches served with a side of his- tory by veteran waiter bill Matthews at Maccabees across from the detroit Institute of arts (dIa) Museum ener- gized us for an afternoon of touring The heidelberg Project and Museum of contemporary art detroit (Mocad). Founded by artist Tyree Guyton, the open-air heidelberg Project is a derelict neighbourhood whose houses and streets are a commentary on detroit's history and sociology. abandoned abodes covered in vinyl records, battered toys or broken furniture speak volumes about the state of society. In a similar vein, Mocad houses edgy art that makes viewers stop and contemplate cultural passages. highlights of our visit there—shortly before the 50 th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination—included installations that took viewers back to that era, reminding them of the deep social issues of the day. My favourite was a billboard of the supremes selling white bread. EyEs on aRT In MIchIGan uPPInG ThE culTuRal EVoluTIon e d i t o r i a l a n d p h o t o g r a p h y b y e . l i s a m o s e s on My firSt trip to MicHiGan in decadeS, i cHecked out tHe cultural Scene— and found tHree leGendary Hot SpotS reinviGorated by artiStry of all kindS. 32 Fa l l 2 0 1 4