Playing with your life…..

Thanks to the center for global and International Study (CGIS), an awesome organization that organizes trips for international students, I went to Detroit last week. After hearing comments like ‘make sure you wear a bullet proof vest’, ‘have fun in ghost town’ and reassuring my parents that it really was a safe trip because I would go with a whole bunch of people who really knew the city and weren’t going to take us to “dangerous places” I really didn’t know what to expect and was actually really looking forward to the trip. On Saturday morning at 9 AM… I departed from the Michigan Union, with 5 CGIS people and 20 internationals in five minivan’s to the Eastern Market in Detroit. My first impression was really positive because even as early as 9:45 in the morning, there was already a lot going on. There were large BBQ’s on the street where they prepared all kinds of delicious food and there was karaoke, where people would dance and sing to.

The wedding dance, by Pieter Bruegel (1566)

So after exploring the market and enjoying the lovely weather we headed to the Detroit Institute of Art Museum (DIA). This is a huge institute with (mostly) paintings from all over the world. Since I’m from Holland, I was amazed by the large collection of Dutch paintings that the institute possessed. Pieter Bruegel (Mister LaVaque-Manty was referring to a painting of him in one of our first lectures!), Jan Cock and Maerten van Heemskerk (important Dutch painters in 1500) were all represented! So after spending an hour over there (which was by far not enough; so if you ever think about going, plan at least a few hours for it, so you can see what all three floors have to offer) we went to our next stop which was the Heidelberg Project.

I have never seen something so cool in my life! The Heidelberg project is open-air art. It’s a two block area in Detroit where (among many other things) the houses have polka dots all over them, trees are covered with stuffed animals and cars are covered with pennies. The idea behind it is to use the art to provoke thought, promote discussion, inspire action and heal communities. It’s one of the most impressive ‘things’ that I have ever seen. There is a whole block with abandoned, burned and destroyed houses and in the middle of that; there is something as beautiful as the Heidelberg project. I can only say pleeeaase see it for yourself (if you haven’t already) it’s totally worth it.

Here is a sneak preview àhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6w6WGokjTU

After a nice dinner and a visit to Rivard Plaza, we went back to Ann Arbor.

I think that thanks to CGIS I got a really good impression of Detroit, I´ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly things, all that´s left to say is:

Put your hand up for Detroit….. I survived the city!