kids : Videos

For the last 3 years, UIX has been documenting the growing movement of artists, makers, entrepreneurs and innovators leading creative neighborhood transformation in Detroit. In this look back, photographer Doug Coombe shares some of the people, projects & places he has captured along the way. Want the full experience? Join us at #UIXDET Sept 24-26, 2014 in Detroit. Music: "Baptism" by Passalacqua, off their new album CHURCH. read on…

Athletics. Academics. Community. Family. The Downtown Boxing Gym has helped so many. It could help so many more. Video by 4exit4. read on…

Racquet Up is an out-of-school youth development program which uses the sport of squash to make a difference in the lives of Detroit youth. Here Executive Director Derek Aguirre shares with UIX why this program is so important and the kind of long-term positive impact it can make. Video by DETROIT LIVES! read on…

Tom Nardone, founder of the Detroit Mower Gang, doesn't really see himself as an innovator. He's just a guy who saw a need and a way to address it. While his "gang" has attracted the attention of visiting celebrities like Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern, what gives him the most satisfaction is seeing kids playing on a swingset he just mowed around. Video by DETROIT LIVES!read on…

Erik Howard is the co-founder of Young Nation, a non-profit organization that promotes holistic development of youth in urban settings through building relationships, community education, and passion-driven projects. See him and several other UIX innovators on Friday, April 12 starting at 5:30 p.m. at MoCAD as UIX celebrates our one-year anniversary with a special UIX+ArtXDetroit discussion on placemaking. Video by DETROIT LIVES! for Detroit Creative Corridor Center. read on…

Chazz Miller is founder and director of Public Art Workz (P.A.W.S.), an organization in northwest Detroit creating innovative public art projects that inspire and encourage community participation, and the artistic visionary who joined John George and Alicia Marion to create Artist Village, the micro-neighborhood that is headquarters to Motor City Blight Busters. Video by DETROIT LIVES! for Detroit Creative Corridor Center. read on…

Kimo Frederiksen owns True Body Fitness in Corktown, an intimate fitness center that offers one-on-one personal training in a private atmosphere as well as group classes. He has also partnered with the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park to mentor one of their youths. In everything he does, Frederiksen is helping to change lives one little bit at a time. Video by DETROIT LIVES!read on…

coG Studio is an architectural design firm that focuses on youth-oriented spaces where kids can live, learn and play. coG Director Chandra Moore-Banks makes sure kids aren't forgotten when it comes to placemaking. Video by DETROIT LIVES!read on…

The North End is one of Detroit's outer-lying communities that was hard-hit by decades of disinvestment, but the Vanguard CDC works hard every day towards education development, community development and economic development in the North End community so that everyone has "an on-ramp" to join "the prosperity highway." Video by DETROIT LIVES!read on…

How do you promote a greater understanding of Detroit's shared history and empower the next generation of changemakers? Soh Suzuki of Detroit Asian Youth (DAY) Project shares his work to engage young people through community projects. Video by DETROIT LIVES! read on…

The InsideOut Literary Arts Project helps young Detroiters find their voices as writers, which in turn teaches them to think critically and creatively. Since she founded the program in 1995, Terry Blackhawk has grown the program from a few classrooms to more than 30 schools and 4,300 students - no small feat. Video by DETROIT LIVES! read on…

"A bookstore? That's the most radical sh*t you can do in the 21st century, open a bookstore in certain areas." If so, then Yusef Bunchy Shakur, owner of the Urban Network, is pretty radical -- and innovative. Check out his conversation with DETROIT LIVES! about his work to build a stronger community in Detroit's Zone 8 neighborhood. read on…

Jessica Brooke Williams leads Young Adults/Artists/Activists of Heidelberg (YAH), a branch of the Heidelberg Project that engages young adults to become leaders in the community and gain professional development in Detroit's arts industry. Video profile by DETROIT LIVES! read on…

How do you get kids excited about learning? Give them a sword. Bobby Smith of En Garde! Detroit explains how fencing fosters concentration and focus, skills needed for academic success. Video by DETROIT LIVES! read on…