This week, we’ve got tons of ways to engage with art in metro Detroit, from interactive sculptures to intimate concerts. Plus, fall favorites, small business experiences and season premieres. Read on to learn more.

Upcoming events

Season Fair

  Michigan Central in Detroit

  Thursday, Sep. 25 through Sunday, Sep. 28

  $30–$100

Detroit’s first contemporary art fair dedicated to bringing local and international galleries together. Visitors can browse featured artwork, shop for new pieces and attend panel discussions. The fair is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Single day entry is $40 for general admission or $30 for seniors and students with valid ID. VIP tickets are available for $100 and include multi-day entry and access to exclusive events.

Rooftop Rendezvous feat. Kasan Belgrave

  Arab American National Museum in Dearborn

  Friday, Sep. 26

  Free with RSVP

A free outdoor concert featuring saxophonist Kasan Belgrave and his band. Belgrave is a woodwind specialist, recording artist and jazz composer, and he’s the son of legendary Detroit trumpet player Marcus Belgrave. The concert goes from 6–8 p.m.

Hay Ride Central

  Heritage Park in Farmington Hills

  Every Friday, Sep. 26–Oct. 31

  $5–$6

Family hayrides through the trails of Heritage Park in Farmington Hills. Admission is $5, and participants can get cider and a s’more at the end of the ride for an extra $1. Kids under 2 years old ride for free. Rides leave every half hour from 5:30–7 p.m.

Shop Downtown Detroit

  Various locations in Detroit

  Saturday, Sep. 27

  Free

A one-day event promoting downtown businesses, featuring exclusive deals, limited-edition products and interactive experiences. Promotions go from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at participating vendors.

13th Annual Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos

  Detroit Institute of Arts

  Saturday, Sep. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 2

  Free with museum admission (free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties)

The 13th installment of the DIA’s Día de Muertos celebration, developed in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Detroit, the Southwest Detroit Business Association and Mexicantown CDC. The exhibition features ofrendas by local artists and community members, and is designed to familiarize visitors with the Mexican traditions of the Day of the Dead.

Public Opening Celebration for Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation

  Detroit Institute of Arts

  Sunday, Sep. 28

  Free with museum admission (free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties)

A day of creative and cultural activities to mark the opening of the DIA’s newest exhibit highlighting contemporary Anishinaabe art. There will be a sculpture dedication ceremony, drop-in art making activities, live musical performances and storytelling. All ages are welcome.

10 Years Back, 10 Years Forward: Black Bottom Archives

  Detroit Historical Museum

  Ongoing through Sunday, Sep. 28

  $15

A 10th anniversary exhibit celebrating the Black Bottom Archives, featuring zines, podcasts, photos and interactive displays about the historic Detroit neighborhood.

Here There Are Blueberries

  Detroit Public Theatre

  Wednesday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 2

  $5–$100

A play based on true events that follows a mysterious album of never-before-seen World War II-era photographs and a shocking truth behind the images inside. This is the first production in DPT’s 11th season. General admission is $52–$100 and select dates feature pick-your-price tickets starting at $5.

Shape Your World Interactive Experience feat. Optik Installation

  Beacon Park in Detroit

  Ongoing through Friday, Oct. 3

  Free

An outdoor installation featuring interactive gyroscopic structures that create unique light displays and abstract sounds depending on the position of the sun. The venue also offers music and curated beverages by Lumen Detroit. The installation is open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

I-375 is not just a concrete thoroughfare — it is a reminder of how Black neighborhoods were sacrificed, and how the promise of repair remains unresolved today.

When it opened in the 1960s, the freeway bulldozed Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. Those neighborhoods had been cultural and economic hubs for Black Detroiters. Residents were displaced and businesses were cut off.

Decades later, state and city leaders proposed replacing that mile of freeway with a surface boulevard. They said the plan was more than infrastructure. It was meant to acknowledge the historic harm wrought by I‑375’s construction.

But costs for the plan soared. And the design? Well, it still looks like a highway to many. Earlier this month, MDOT hit pause. Supporters call the pause a chance to rethink, but critics worry it means the project may never get off the ground.

Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) has been one of the most vocal leaders pressing for change. She has pushed to scale back the boulevard, center safety, and she wants to ensure any new land honors the legacy of families and businesses displaced decades ago.

She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what the start of real repair could look like.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Michigan Department of Transportation recently announced postponing a planned I-375 reconstruction project citing increasing increased costs and community feedback.

The plan would have converted the freeway interchange to ground-level boulevard. The project was to be funded in part by $100 million in federal dollars from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The rest of the cost, estimated to be at least $300 million, would have come from the State of Michigan.

When the project was announced in 2022, then-Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttegig characterized the federal project dubbed “Reconnecting Communities” as a reparative one, aimed at fixing injustices created from federal highway construction of the mid-20th century.

The announcement that I-375 would be redesigned raised interest and even optimism. Was this an opportunity to address the wrongs of the past? Was this truly going to help resolve the razing of Detroit’s Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods in the name of paved roads?

There were community input meetings, and the plans presented gained both support and criticism. MDOT hosted a presentation on the history Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods at the Charles H. Wright Museum.

Despite being a controversial project, one of the points that was largely agreed upon was that if the I-375 reconstruction was going to be reparative, there should at least be some recognition of the thriving neighborhoods that Detroiters once called home.

Marcia Black and Lex Draper Garcia Bey from Black Bottom Archives joined Tia Graham on The Metro to share their reaction to the I-375 redesign being paused, and the exhibition on display at the Detroit Historical Museum, “10 Years Back, 10 Years Forward,” on display until September 14, 2025.

Guests: 

• Marcia Black is the director of archives and education at Black Bottom Archives
• Lex Draper Garcia Bey is the director of community engagement and programs at Black Bottom Archives

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

More stories from The Metro