The man behind our festival’s design scheme is at it again. Together with a team of coordinators, designers, artists and the organizers behind Imagination Station and Jerry Paffendorf of the Loveland projects, John Leonard has helped galvanize an era of hardworking Detroit artists illustrated by a social fundraising movement for a modern cultural symbol for Detroit.
Robocop by John Leonard. He's got more.
It all started with a tweet that Mayor Bing replied to. While he said the City of Detroit would not fund the building of statue, he wasn’t opposed to allotting the use of public land to do it.
We’re happy because these fine folks are stimulating discussion, calling into question what Detroit as a city needs, attracting even more media attention from across the country, and the planet, even, all while further proving that Detroit is the coolest city on the planet. Not to mention the outpouring of support from the community to fund an initiative that could — and will — help improve that area in front of the abandoned Michigan Central Station.
Want to get involved? You can donate to their kickstarter page, share the link detroitneedsrobocop.com, reach out to Brandon Walley of The Imagination Station (brandon@facethestation.com or 313-510-8049), join the group and like it.
UPDATE: Some links written by locals that sheds light on the potential of this fundraiser of major proportions.
Robocop Wins: Jeff T. Wattrick – MLive.com
Lessons On Microfunding and Community Development from Robocop: Justin Langlois – Broken City Lab
