2025 Local Loop Detroit

The Zekelman Holocaust Center opened its doors in 1984 in West Bloomfield and relocated to the current Farmington Hills location in 2004. The center is home to the Holocaust Museum exhibit and an extensive research library, archives and special exhibit galleries. Each year, more than 150,000 people visit the center, whose mission is to engage, educate and empower by remembering the Holocaust.

The Detroit Partnership for Food, Learning and Innovation was founded in 2017 and is MSU’s first urban agriculture center. Housed within MSU Extension, the DPFLI in northwest Detroit focuses on research and education to improve the lives of Detroiters and serves as a community space for residents. More than 350 children and 1,700 adults have taken part in programs since 2022, and in 2024 alone, more than 2,000 pounds of food were grown and donated locally.

The Shepherd and LANTERN are part of Library Street Collective’s ongoing artistic commitment to Detroit’s Little Village neighborhood. Housed in a century-old former church in Detroit’s East Village, the Shepherd is a cultural arts center offering exhibits, a library, workshop and theater and diverse programming. The campus grounds include a boutique bed and breakfast, a public skatepark and a sculpture park honoring the late Detroit artist Charles McGee. LANTERN is housed in a former commercial bakery and serves as the headquarters for two local art nonprofits. The space includes an outdoor courtyard and community space.

Magna International is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North America, with its U.S. headquarters in Troy. The company is an employee partner of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s EV Scholars Program. Launched in 2023, this public-private partnership offers a $10,000 scholarship to top STEM students who sign a letter of employment with an approved company and commit to working in Michigan for at least 12 months.

Partnering with MSU, Apple’s first U.S.-based Developer Academy was launched in 2021 in Detroit where participants learn the essentials of coding, design and business with Apple tools. Free programs of four weeks and 10 months are offered at the academy, where more than 1,000 learners from the metro Detroit area have since learned key tech skills.

Founded in 1985 by Esther Gordy Edwards — former Motown Records executive and sister to Motown founder Berry Gordy — Motown Museum is home to the iconic Hitsville U.S.A. studio and an extensive array of Motown artifacts, photographs, apparel and memorabilia. The museum is dedicated to celebrating, promoting and preserving the Motown story, from its humble beginnings in a private home to becoming an international movement.

The Renaissance Center, commonly known as the RenCen, is a complex of seven connected skyscrapers downtown that includes a hotel, office towers, shops, movie theater, conference center and eateries.

MSU opened its Detroit Center in 2009 on Woodward Avenue, providing spaces for several MSU units and colleges and solidifying the university’s relationship with the city. The Community Music School housed there offers music education and programming to individuals of all ages, from early childhood classes to group instruction to private lessons.

MSU and Henry Ford Health System announced a 30-year partnership in 2021, solidifying a relationship focused on joint research initiatives, cancer prevention and outcomes, new education opportunities and a Health Sciences Research Center that is set to open in 2027. The new research center, at seven stories and 335,000 square feet, will house more than 80 principal investigator teams focused on cancer, neuroscience, cardiometabolic diseases, immunology and precision health.

The Fisher Building is a landmark Detroit skyscraper in the New Center area, built in 1928. The 30-story building is one of the major works of architect Joseph Nathaniel French and is designed in an art deco style, having been dubbed “Detroit's largest art object.” In 2023, MSU, through its endowment, bought a majority stake in the building as it plans to support an array of educational and community-facing functions in the building.

Located in Midtown Detroit and opened in 1927, the Detroit Institute of Arts boasts one of the largest art collections in the United States, with more than 65,000 works, including the first Van Gogh painting to enter a U.S. collection. The Tiff Massey exhibition, “7 Miles + Livernois,” highlights the Detroiter and metalsmith’s drive to combine art and community through sculptures and adornment.

Henry Ford Academy is a charter high school in Dearborn sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency and The Henry Ford Museum. Located on the campus of the museum, the school uses spaces and artifacts from the museum and next-door Greenfield Village in its educational experience. Originally established in 1929, the school closed in 1969 and reopened in 1997 with 100 first-year students.

The Arab American National Museum is the first and only museum of its kind in the United States devoted to recording the Arab American experience. Established in 2005 in Dearborn, its goal is to document, preserve and present the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans, with one of the most extensive archives of historical documents, oral histories and artifacts.

Founded in 1907, the Scarab Club is a historic arts and cultural institution in the heart of Detroit’s cultural center. Housed in a beautiful Arts and Crafts-style building, the club serves as a vibrant gathering place for artists, musicians and writers, offering exhibitions, performances and events that celebrate and support the creative community.