Grace in Action Collectives pair Southwest Detroit youth with mentors to provide training in design thinking and resources to help youth utilize their own strengths to respond to the needs of their local community, while also connecting young people to a network of creative professionals inside and outside Southwest Detroit.
Grace in Action Collectives (GIAC) is a network of worker-owned cooperatives and youth-run collectives in Southwest Detroit. Radical Productions youth media collective and Stitching Up Detroit screen printing cooperative, part of the GIAC network, utilize design and coding skills for personal media making and solving complex community problems.
Radical Productions + Stitching Up Detroit
Founded in 2012, Radical Productions (RP) has grown tremendously. Last year, we developed and ran graphic design and social change as well as coding and community organizing curricula. Currently, RP is working with the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition and the office of representative Stephanie Chang to design and develop a web app called TruckSpot that allows the public to document trucks violating the truck idling ordinance in their neighborhood. This is an issue for Detroit residents near the international crossing that has not received sufficient enforcement. Once completed, we hope to move into a new phase with additional community groups to install air quality sensors and create a real-time, publicly accessible interface of air pollution data. Stitching Up Detroit (SUD) is in the process of moving from their work as a youth-run collective into an independent, worker-owned cooperative. GIAC is supporting SUD with back offices support and cooperative development training.
Sean Coté
Teacher
sean@graceinactiondetroit.org
1725 Lawndale Street, Detroit. Michigan 48209
