Meet the extraordinary change makers from Detroit

After publishing books about Brazil and Germany, photographer Marcus Lyon launched his new Human Atlas project about the US city

Detroit is best known for being the birthplace of the auto industry, for Motown Records and techno music. In recent decades, the city has also endured a rollercoaster of challenges, but it is resilient and so are Detroiters. For these reasons, British artist Marcus Lyon was chosen to author his latest Human Atlas project, i.Detroit – A Human Atlas of an American City.

The three-year project is a research-based exploration of 100 exceptional individuals from the area and was built on the foundation of a six-month nomination process. A diverse group of Detroiters nominated people from their own communities who represent the very best of service to society and are making significant contributions to the city, region and beyond. The social impact art initiative was funded by the Kresge Foundation and supported by The Charles H Wright Museum of African American.

“Human Atlas projects endeavour to hold a mirror up to society and encourage audiences to question their own roles and responsibilities to their communities, cities and fellow human beings”, said Lyon, founder of the Human Atlas initiative.

The photographer and his team spent six months meeting, interviewing and photographing 100 people. He also worked with expert colleagues at Family Tree DNA in Houston, Texas, which helped him plot the ancestral DNA of the nominees and built a detailed map of their generational migration to Detroit.

Alongside the genetic mapping, there are also soundscapes that activate with an app and a single to accompany each limited-edition book. The bespoke soundtracks were built from multiple street recordings.

“The purpose of a Human Atlas is really simple,” Lyon said. “It is to inspire a new generation to  co-author their lives, not in the shadow of those who came before them, but in honour of them. Within the limitation of 100 Detroiters, we’ve tried to be as elegant as possible in reaching out and finding as many people who represent the city and the dynamic groups who are doing change here.” 

The i.Detroit project represents the first Atlas of a city and will be followed by a collaboration in California called ‘De.Coded – a Human Atlas of Silicon Valley’ with the Institute of Contemporary Arts in San Jose. All collection of Human Atlas books is available for purchase at marcuslyon.com.