To many, Detroit is a city full of loved ones making power moves. To others, it’s a work of art waiting to get it’s just due.
Marcus Lyon, a British artist with a love for the Motor City, has set out to tell Detroit’s story through the people who call it home. Lyon is the creator of “i.Detroit — A Human Atlas of an American City.”, a photo book featuring interviews with 100 Detroiters who’ve been nominated for their work in their city.
“Gritty and full of hustle on the surface, but warm and welcoming underneath – the people of the city are as amazing a group of fellow planet-dwellers that any artist could hope to study and build life-long friendships with,” said Lyon on the Human Atlas website.
With a team of 14 researchers, Lyon sorted through over 200 profiles and nominations to find the unique perspectives of Detroiters promoting social change in the city.
The research-based exploration took place over the course of three years, initially recognizing 80 Detroiters who made the cut. Each Detroiter was interviewed and documented with the help of DNA Maps and vulnerable experiences.
“The way we do this, and it’s not without its pitfalls – to try and represent a city of 600,000+ people through the voice of 100 – you’re always going to be up against it and there’s always going to be a gap. We accept that, but within accepting its limitations, we go to the nth degree to try and do it the right way.”
Lyon, determined to create a diverse and all-encompassing picture of Detroit, set out to shine a light on the book’s absent voices.
“We saw the gaps and we went out looking for the 20 people who would fill the gaps that were left. We never did that before,” said Lyon. “Being so careful, trying to make sure that every seat at the table was filled by the right person in the right way.”
Community organizers, service workers, those working in academia, and Detroiters with an array of other occupations make appearances in i.Detroit.
i.Detroit is the third installment of Lyon’s Human Atlas series. The first, entitled Somos Brazil, was sparked by Lyon’s familial ties to Brazil.
“The earliest Human Atlas project was on Brazil and I was really following a deeper understanding of my growing family because I married a Brazillian and we had two Bralingsh children,” said Lyon. “Just as I was getting into the project I had a really great chance meeting with a genetics scientist friend of mine and I sort of shared that I felt like it missing some sort of depth and three-dimensionality I wanted it to have and he suggested using ancestral DNA science to give a historical perspective on the Brazilians featured in the project.”
Lyon, who fell in love with Detroit after visiting his sister in Michigan, said it was the people of Detroit who made him feel at home in a new city.
“I always tell people, ‘Detroit chose me, rather than me choosing Detroit’ so I feel very honored that Detroit invited me to come and do this work and cast a light on these 100 remarkable people from your community,” said Lyon. “When I was first invited to pitch the Human Atlas project to community leaders it was probably then that I really got hooked because I met so many extraordinary people who were so warm and gritty and doing the hard work.”
Lyon knew that telling Detroit’s story meant starting from scratch, away from the misconceptions others have about the inner city.
“One of the things I learned quite early on is that a lot of people have tried to tell Detroit’s story and they normally come with misconceptions and they’ve sort of decided what they think of Detroit before they arrive and then they go looking for the things that back up that argument whereas I like to go somewhere and seriously listen and be a portal of in which a story can be told accurately,” said Lyon.
Lyon centered his book around the positive nature of the change-makers in the city doing great work during unfortunate times.
“I came looking to find people who seek change and find hope. I think at the center of any crisis there is an opportunity and I was amazed by the positivity and upbeat nature by so many of the social change agents in the city who are really doing extraordinary work with limited resources.”
Lyon hopes those who get their hands on the photo book will make a connection between themselves and one of the many Detroiters featured.
“My personal belief is that we are all beautifully interconnected but I want to stress our uniqueness as well, in these books, and praise it and honor it,” said Lyon. “I did this by making sure we broke our nomination process up really carefully and hopefully that means you will look in this book and find someone that you identify with.”
i.Detroit launches Thursday, kicked off with a celebratory event moderated by WDIV-TV (Local 4) anchor Rhonda Walker and followed by a panel discussion featuring Shirley Stancato, Detroit Community Leader, Kenyatta D. Berry, Detroiter and DNA Genealogist, Ken Coleman, Detroit Historian, and Ozzie Rivera, i.Detroiter and Cultural Producer.
Video footage provided by the Kresge Foundation and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – i.Detroit’s sponsors – will also play throughout the event.
Detroiters can download the app, visit marcuslyon.com, or pick up a copy of the book at the following establishments:
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
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