The Detroit-Berlin Connection (DBC) is holding its second Detroit Conference on May 20, 2015, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD).
This free event is designed to challenge traditional views and boundaries in Detroit while involving community organizers and stakeholders, entrepreneurs, artists, and individuals from various backgrounds.
The program, which takes place from 4 until 8 p.m., will include presentations by individuals and organizations involved in art, music, design, innovation, and entrepreneurial efforts in both Detroit and Berlin. Panel discussions and a Q&A session will follow, along with a cocktail hour afterglow where the public can mingle with the speakers.
Featured presenters and panelists include faculty from the
University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, which has assembled a summer studio to work on visioning plans for the Fisher Body 21 building; Robert Elmes, founder/director of
Galapagos Art Space Detroit, which is moving from Brooklyn to Detroit and Highland Park; Philip Kafka of
Prince Media Co, a New York City boutique advertising firm behind the recent Move to Detroit billboard campaign; Burkhard Kieker, chief executive officer of
Visit Berlin; Lutz Leichsenring of the
Club Commission Berlin; and Dimitri Hegemann of
Tresor Berlin and
Kraftwerk Berlin. Hegemann founded the DBC in 2013. Fernando Palazuelo, owner of Detroit's Packard Plant, will take part in a public conversation with Hegemann.
The conference will get a proper Detroit kickoff from John Collins and Cornelius Harris of
Underground Resistance, arguably the world's most powerful techno brand. More guests from Detroit and Berlin are all part of the program.
The Detroit-Berlin Connection's mission is to intensify cultural exchange between Detroit and Berlin and to stimulate creative economic growth in Detroit while using nontraditional tactics that helped Berlin’s ongoing revitalization since the early 1990s. The term "Detroit Berlin Connection" was coined by Detroit journalist and former German Marshall Fund Fellow Martina Guzman, who produced
a series for WDET in 2011 that explored the two cities' relationship. Hegemann established a group of the same name in 2013 with the goal of furthering meaningful and interactive conversations that will cultivate diversity, encourage tourism, foster commerce, and nurture inclusiveness in Detroit.
Here is a recap of
last year's event and all collected
media about the Detroit-Berlin Connection.
Doors for the conference are at 3:30 p.m. There is currently a waiting list for free
general admission tickets. Seating will be available on a first come, first serve basis.
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