Today, Knight Foundation is announcing $1.8 million in new investments to help better inform and engage residents of the Detroit region. This is a reinvestment in the Detroit Journalism Cooperative, a partnership of five nonprofit media organizations doing important work telling the city’s story, and new support for the Detroit Journalism Engagement Fund, a collaboration […]
Article · March 8, 2017 by Katy Locker
One of the beauties of living and working in Detroit is the opportunity to discover the new arts and cultural projects emerging from all corners of the city. Knight Foundation is in its third year of the Knight Arts Challenge and we have reviewed more than 3,000 submissions. And, yet, it’s unusual for me to […]
Article · August 17, 2015 by Katy Locker
Beginning June 22, Detroit will host Gil Penalosa (photo above), an internationally renowned livable city adviser who is passionate about creating vibrant and healthy communities. Gil—whose mantra is “Every city should have a law of two words: Pedestrians First!”—founded 8 80 Cities, a nonprofit dedicated to the transformation of cities into places where people can walk, […]
Article · June 16, 2015 by Katy Locker
“We gotta be the change, Detroit!” –Invincible/Complex Movements, from Beware the Dandelions I have just spent the last few weeks promoting the third year of the Knight Arts Challenge Detroit. Related Link “Acres of Diamonds: New Documentary on Detroit’s Grassroots Artists fueled by the Knight Arts Challenge Premieres” — press release, 3/30/2015 Each year, Knight […]
Article · March 30, 2015 by Katy Locker
A version of this op-ed originally appeared in the January 2015 issue of EDGEcondition magazine. Above: portion of fresco ‘Detroit Industry’ by Diego Rivera, 1886-1957, at Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit is a city that invites ideas for its revival and re-establishment. Every day, it seems, we receive advice and plans for how to “save” […]
Article · January 27, 2015 by Katy Locker
Photo courtesy of the Detroit Revitalization Fellows. This month, I attended a symposium convened by the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech on “The Promise of Urban Fellowships.” The symposium gathered representatives of the federal government’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities fellowship program, the Detroit Revitalization Fellows, the Capital City Fellows Program and the (now completed) CUREx […]
Article · November 18, 2014 by Katy Locker
A projection shines upon the Detroit Public Library during Dlectricity 2012. Photo by the Kresge Foundation on Flickr. This is a big week in Detroit and a great week for several Knight Foundation-sponsored events. It is a week to celebrate the creative and innovative elements of Detroit’s growth and revitalization—and to have fun. The Detroit […]
Article · September 21, 2014 by Katy Locker
This article is cross-posted from KnightArts.org. In Detroit, we’re seeing art and artistic performances pop up all around us. Some of them have long been fixtures in the community and yet previously unrecognized outside of small circles. Some of them are entirely new, attracted to a Detroit artistic scene and opportunity that is becoming nationally […]
Article · August 1, 2014 by Katy Locker
Bilbao, Spain. I just returned from the German Marshall Fund’s BUILD event in Bilbao, Spain. For three days, 100 Americans and Europeans on the front lines of urban innovation gathered to exchange ideas. This transatlantic engagement enables civic leaders to share best practices for cities and facilitates collaboration that improves them. As a native […]
Article · June 23, 2014 by Katy Locker
Photo credit: Flickr user memories_by_mike. This week the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report resulting from the Detroit visit of a “Tech Team” of top municipal government officials. The five people on the team had led innovative efforts in other cities—Boston, Chicago, Louisville, Ky., New Orleans, and Raleigh, N.C.—that ultimately created significant costs-savings for their […]
Article · April 29, 2014 by Katy Locker
Photo credit: Flickr user Brian Ambrozy. Detroit’s rebirth is not just growing new businesses, new buildings and new possibilities. It is growing new leaders. The people behind the multitude of exciting and complex efforts underway are true assets. Recently, Knight Foundation and Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan created a program to leverage that. It expands an […]
Article · April 9, 2014 by Katy Locker