Ja-Naé Duane

It had been a year and a year since I was last in Detroit for the Our Revolution Road trip. I really wanted to see how the city had changed. But more importantly, I wanted to see the heartbeat of this amazing city: it’s people. Every adventure has to begin somewhere. Mine began in Grand Rapids where I had a meeting in a few days. I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was near the airport. Beautiful or not, I was eager to get on the road. When I first arrived in the city, I immediately noticed two things. First, there were less abandoned houses. In their place was construction. But more interesting to me, were the number of blighted houses that had art on them. What was once forgotten has become someone’s canvas. Neighborhoods have become resurrected and seeds of the future of sprung. Many pieces from old structures are being refurbished and reused. My friend Dominic, found these within his attic hiding under layers of dust. With a little love, they look great and are ready to become a permanent asset to the house in its current iteration. There are bigger initiatives at work within the city [...]