By Nicole Brewer
Greetings globe-trotters! Things have been incredible in the past few weeks on my end here in Germany. Last week the city of Bochum hosted a bevy of events for Das Detroit Projekt festivities to my pleasant surprise. The Detroit Project is actually a year long international city project and art festival in Bochum.
The main goal of DAS DETROIT-PROJEKT is to ask questions about the future of urban living, working, and art. In the short time that I’ve been in Bochum it has quickly become home to me being a student at RUB. I’ve seen the connection that the city has to my hometown of Detroit in that it is full of blue collar workers and is enriched with history of coal mine workers just doing what they have to do to keep their families afloat. Very similar to the Motor City of Detroit.
Just while I was home this summer for a short visit to “the D,” I managed a stop over to see the Heidelberg Project and actually blogged about it here. The history of the art initiative is embedded in the city of Detroit. To my surprise and pure delight, I found out that the founder and creator of the Heidelberg Project would be right here in Bochum! I made sure to make it my business to attend his talk and the screening of his documentary here.
I felt oh so proud to be sitting amongst a crowd of Germans and other internationals alike watching the history of my hometown on the screen. I was even delighted to meet the duo of Tyree Guyton and Jenenne Whitfield. They discussed the various art projects and community/school programs that they’ve incorporated to keep the Arts in the schools. They were truly an inspirational duo whom I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet for a short while. If you’re in Bochum, be sure to check out the remaining art projects they have and to my folks in Detroit…I say Whatupdoe ;-).