Call & Response June 14, 2019 – August 25, 2019 Exhibition Dates: Friday, June 14 – Sunday, August 25, 2019 Performance, Panel Discussion, and Reception: Saturday, August 3, 2-6 pm https://stamps.umich.edu/exhibitions/detail/call-response Celebrating the legacy of sonic resistance in Detroit and beyond, Call & Response features the work of Romare Bearden, Chakaia Booker, Tony Cokes, Saffell […]
We participated in MotorCity Makeover to engage residents and continue to protect and preserve the legacy of the Blue Bird Inn.
Terry Jean Pollard was known in the Detroit jazz community as “the queen of the vibes” for her mastery of the instrument. A Detroit bred pianist/vibraphonist, Pollard was a powerhouse performer who started out playing at jazz clubs around the city including a famous stint with the Billy Mitchell band at the Blue Bird Inn […]
Very grateful to The Kresge Foundation for believing in our sonic vision for The Blue Bird neighborhood and community. The planning begins now thanks to their support. Detroit Sound Conservancy will conduct community engagement and initial design for the redevelopment of the Blue Bird Inn, an iconic jazz club on Detroit’s west side, into a […]
Has Detroit become a sonic desert? Musical expression has been a long-standing pivot point for debates about Detroit’s successes and failures. Though the Detroit area has a wide range of cultural expressions for which it is associated—including art, design, architecture, literature, and, critically, industrial production—music has been the dominant site for articulating exactly how Detroit […]
Calling all designers! In preparation for our Blue Bird Stage Homecoming Celebration on August 26th at Detroit Public Library and our upcoming #DETROITSOUND4 conference on September 9th we are looking for a few good designers to take a crack on remixing the Blue Bird Stage backdrop in 2D. Our goal will be to pick the […]
We are currently hard at work “restaging” the Blue Bird stage for transport to Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne 2017. Here are some recent photos of our process. Read more about our work with the Blue Bird Inn since 2012 here.
This is an update from our ongoing engagement with the Blue Bird Inn. You can read more about our efforts here. Blue Bird Inn exterior today By C. Lorin Brace VI and Samantha Ellens The Blue Bird Inn, located at 5021 Tireman on Detroit’s West Side was at one point the most prominent and important […]
Detroit needs a sound conservancy.
The first meeting of the Detroit Sound Conservancy was a raging success. First meeting up at the wonderful Avalon bakery on Willis in the Midtown area of Detroit and discussing possibilities for our burgeoning group. Then going over to the now defunct (infamous jazz club) the Blue Bird Inn and taking pictures to mark what we hope will […]