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3 weeks ago | 
wdet.org | Tia Graham |Nadia Zyiad
Many arts organizations across the state of Michigan are struggling to balance their budgets after the Trump administration’s recent blows to federal grant funding. That includes the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, which recently canceled its 30th season due to “a perfect storm of events,” including disappearing grants, donors pulling back and lower-than-expected ticket sales, according to the festival’s website. Janice L.
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3 weeks ago | 
wdet.org | Tia Graham |Nadia Zyiad
D.L. Holmes was the athletic director, track and cross-country coach at Wayne State University from 1917 to 1958. In a time when segregation in sports was the norm, Holmes coached athletes of all races, a radical act. He coached three Olympians, one gold medalist and 11 All-Americans. Holmes, a beloved mentor known for nurturing hidden talent, was instrumental in nine national championship wins and four world record holders. In his new book, “Coach of Champions,” Troy author Keith D.
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3 weeks ago | 
wdet.org | Lauren Myers |Tia Graham
Finding enriching child care options can often be a challenge for parents during the summer months, especially for those looking for programs specifically geared toward the arts. For the past 12 years, Wayne State University’s “Keys2Life Performing Arts Summer Camp” has provided that outlet to metro Detroit students ages 11-13.
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3 weeks ago | 
wdet.org | Tia Graham |Nadia Zyiad
For many people — especially younger generations — recreational reading has become less common in recent years. According to data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey of 12th graders, the amount of students who read six or more books for fun have dropped steeply from the 1970s through 2022, while the number of students who haven’t read any books for fun increased significantly.
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3 weeks ago | 
wdet.org | Tia Graham |Robyn Vincent |Nadia Zyiad
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a world-renowned museum. But, but how many pieces in its collection are made by a Detroiter? Tiff Massey’s “Baby Bling” will soon be acquired by the DIA. Salvador Salort-Pons, the museum’s Director, told the Metro that the DIA is acquiring “Baby Bling” from Massey and adding it to the museum’s permanent collection.
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1 month ago | 
wdet.org | Robyn Vincent |Tia Graham
Ember LaFiamma is part of the future Detroit promised. She grew up in the city surrounded by the sound — techno, house, ghetto tech— without knowing what the world called it by name. Later, she learned that the music that shaped her was born right here. Her journey deepened at the Underground Music Academy, where she learned to build beats from scratch and sharpened her skills as a DJ and producer. There, she began to truly understand the legacy — and the labor — behind the sound.
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1 month ago | 
wdet.org | Tia Graham |Sam Corey |Lauren Myers
Many arts organizations are in a vulnerable position right now. That’s in part because the Trump administration has started canceling National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants and has called for the elimination of the agency. That means something to tons of organizations here in Michigan. In 2024, the NEA granted more than $3 million to arts organizations in the state.
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1 month ago | 
wdet.org | Lauren Myers |Robyn Vincent |Sam Corey |Tia Graham
Jalen Rose is probably best known for what he’s done on the basketball court. He was one of the leaders of the University of Michigan’s Fab Five basketball team in the ’90s, and then went on to play for various teams in the NBA before becoming a broadcaster. But in addition to his many accolades in sports, Rose has been an advocate for educational equity — giving back to the city he grew up and started his career in.
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1 month ago | 
wdet.org | Nadia Zyiad |Sam Corey |Tia Graham
Movement began in 2000 as a grassroots tribute to Detroit’s role in the birth of techno — a massive event at Hart Plaza, with walls of sound pulsing the music of famous artists from across the globe. Yet it also remains an acknowledgment that Detroit is at the center of it all. The festival has long honored the raw, electrified spirit of the city — where basement beats from the Belleville Three became a global language. Movement isn’t just a party.
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1 month ago | 
wdet.org | Tia Graham |Jack Filbrandt
The Detroit Documenters covered the Detroit Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for the first time last week. The committee meets quarterly to discuss issues related to hazardous materials reporting and planning for emergencies.
