Poet-rocker Patti Smith tells creative young people to move — to Detroit

You know and we know that Detroit is the place for artists of all kinds to set up studio spaces, innovate with experimental projects, break down boundaries and engage community and neighborhood life rather, um, cheaply. Especially when compared to an established cultural capital like, ahem, New York.

Poet-Rocker Patti Smith — who lived in the metro area when she was married to the ex-MC5 guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith — says the exact same thing in this piece in the New York Observer.

Excerpt:

All you creative young things eager to make it in the big city, Patti Smith has a suggestion: get out.

“New York has closed itself off to the young and struggling,” Ms. Smith said. “New York City has been taken away from you … So my advice is: Find a new city.” She suggests Detroit.

Read the rest of the story here.