The Detroit-Berlin Connection (DBC) has been busy in the first half of 2015.
In May, with guests from both Detroit and Berlin, the DBC held its second annual conference at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). Presentations included an historical overview by Marsha Battle Philpot of Detroit’s Black Bottom and Paradise Valley entertainment district (sadly demolished for urban renewal projects including the I-75 and I-375 freeways); an introduction to the true meaning of techno by Cornelius Harris and John Collins of Underground Resistance; and a report from VisitBerlin on how the German capital has used its subcultural assets to become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The conference was capped off by a public conversation with DBC founder Dimitri Hegemann, Packard Plant owner Fernando Palazuelo, Mario Husten of Berlin’s Holzmarkt and Detroit artist Scott Hocking. Much of the conversation was spent talking about the interest that Hegemann and Palazuelo have in entering a potential partnership to redevelop the former Fisher Body 21 Plant.
