Lawyers spend all day reading case law.  Financial analysts spend all day scrutinizing data on excel.  Challenge Detroit fellows spent the last 5 weeks visiting as many arts and culture institutions as possible.  And, while the fellows had a blast broadening their cultural horizons, that was not the explicit goal.  Culture Source asked fellows for recommendations on how Metro Detroit’s arts and culture organizations can better market to young-creatives.  What better way to learn how young-creatives are being marketed to currently than visiting the institutions and asking them first hand?

We visited institutions such as the Carr Center, Compas, 555 Gallery, the Arab American National Museum, and many others!  We heard from curators and directors, and experienced much of the art first hand.  Another highlight for the fellows was the insightful conversation with Maud Lyon, executive director of Culture Source.  Maud had unique lenses on diversity and education in the arts community; her insights were complemented by relatable anecdotes from her many years of experience in the art and culture world.

With the Culture Source Challenge now over, fellows eagerly await for our recommendations to be implemented, especially because they will directly benefit our age demographic!  Culture Source’s new marketing initiative, IXITI, will make it easier for 22-35 year olds to learn about, sign up, and inform friends about relevant arts and culture events.  We look forward to eating the fruits of our labor.

Contributed by fellow Vadim Avshalumov