(Photo by Corey Johnson)
Detroit artist Tiff Massey is pleased to present WhatUpDoe Fest, a musical festival and art activation honoring the creativity of the greater Detroit community. The grand opening of a former bank building that has been recently converted into an artists space in the city’s Fitzgerald neighborhood, WhatUpDoe Fest is a way of highlighting Detroit’s unique musical and artistic culture with a free daylong event, featuring local DJs and installations by fellow Detroit artists. WhatUpDoe Fest will take place on October 2, 2022 from 9 am – 6 pm at 15911 Wyoming (@ Puritan).
Inspired by Massey’s engagement with the Fitzgerald neighborhood, which began with her purchase of a former bank, WhatUpDoe Fest was conceived as an opportunity to connect and engage with the Fitzgerald community by creating a welcoming space for neighbors across the city to gather together. Recognizing the lack of local community spaces and fine art engagement outside of Detroit’s midtown and downtown areas, Massey’s dream for WhatUpDoe Fest began with a vision of free, family-oriented social events in celebration of the vibrant specificities of Detroit’s creative culture. Massey plans to continue her support for the Fitzgerald community by opening the space up for future events, with WhatUpDoe Fest serving as a catalyst for further investment into local arts and culture on a grassroots scale.
Featuring the work of seven local artists and a daylong progression of performances by area DJs, WhatUpDoe Fest presents the opportunity to experience both established and emerging artists in a space that reflects the individuality of their unique practices. Inspired by the multiplicity and the versatility of Detroit’s artistic contributions, the festival aims to include all aspects of the city’s rich creative history, exploring avenues of culture that have led to the city’s aesthetic influence on a worldwide scale.
Visual art presented in the space includes new and existing works by Darius Baber, Kaleigh Blevins, Freddy Diaz, Sheefy McFly, Nick Pizaña, and Mieyoshi Ragernoir. As with the festival’s auditory programming, the selection of styles here is deliberately eclectic, aiming to capture the many modes and moods the city can produce for its citizens. If there is an organizing theme to the curation, Massey says, it centers around ideas of invitation and gestures of welcome, as referenced by the playful vernacular of the festival’s title: “What up doe?”
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