Dancin’ In the Streets

Participatory art installation and a gallery exhibition in Detroit, Michigan.
Project Funder: DEPE Space Art Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Collaborating Artist: Evelyn Funes

We created a dialogue as well as provide a much a needed rejoiceful outlet through dance and music and gathered people in a city so spread out. The project took place for three weeks on the streets of Detroit, MI.

Evelyn and I put out a call for musicians to remix the original 1960’s Dancing in the street and we found a talented group of hip-hop artists that are also dedicated activists in the Detroit area.  Booker Snow, Minister Blak, and MC Goodson made a track that samples the original song while incorporating their own lyrics. For two weeks in September, we brought the remix version of “Dancin’ in the streets” to different neighborhoods where we created impromptu, colorful dance floors.

Gradually we transformed the DEPE Space Lab by displaying a map of all our dance interactions/dialogues, video footage and photographs from these outings and any other artifacts that supported the project. At the Depe Space at MOCAD visitors listened to the original Dancing in the street song and the new remix by our musical collaborators while viewing footage and artifacts from the project.

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