Now that photos are circulating online from the NSF BBQ, I figured I’d give a quick rundown on a fraction of the action.

Hello Detroit! Where you at?

Well, not over here.

They say “Go big or go home,” so that got handled right from the start.

We had a two city-block long wall on the east side of the city to paint with a bunch of people. I’ll post up all the pieces soon, but this summed up the spot.

I painted a mini-production with Dever and Nise. Detroit “Rock” City was the theme, east coast bars were the blueprint.

I did a “Mr.T” piece that Arek had sketched for me awhile back. That was a side-name I used to write in the late 90s. He didn’t get to make the trip, so I figured I’d bring him along in spirit and style.

RoboCop stopped by for autographs.

The neighborhood kids received free graffiti classes.

Graffiti has definitely found a home in Detroit. It was interesting to talk to civilians on the street and see they really liked all aspects of graff. If nothing else, they said it gave some life to the vacant and deteriorating surroundings. I had mistakenly assumed I’d find the population of the city to be depressed or angry, but everyone I spoke to was friendly and appreciative.

Detroit is enormous, but empty and worn. Photos don’t begin to do it justice, it’s something you have to see and experience for yourself. I left the city scratching my head, wondering how you can fix a situation like that. I don’t even know if there is a viable solution. I’m surprised that this could happen to a major city in America.

I will tell you that your buff squad is doing it wrong.

Good luck Detroit. I’ll definitely be back for a visit.