Noah Stephens
The People of Detroit: Visionary
Canon EOS 7D | Canon 50mm 1.4 | Available Light
*Support the project by purchasing from Amazon.com using the links above*
I stopped by 1515 Broadway to get some tea when this gentleman walked in. As he entered, he was filmed by a young man inside the shop with a digital video camera.
I figured he must be an interesting person if someone saw fit to record him doing something as mundane as coming into a coffee shop. Based on that deduction, I struck up a conversation with him.
He told me his name was David. I instantly forgot his name, because that's what I do when strangers tell me their names. That's probably because strangers make me nervous.
Or because I have Juvenile Alzheimer's.
Even still, I managed to remember his occupation. He said he was director of the Detroit Opera House; which happens to be across the street from 1515. Being wholly uninitiated to all things even moderately associated with speaking in a foreign language, I naively asked,
"Oh yea? How long have you been doing that?"
He laughed, smiled, and demurely answered,
"Oh. For sometime now..."
After David left, I spoke with the young man who had filmed his entrance and our subsequent conversation. Craig Atkinson is a field producer with New York-based documentary film company Loki Films (The Boys of Baraka, Jesus Camp). Craig is originally from Royal Oak and is in the city working on a documentary tentatively titled Detroit Hustles Harder. He clued me into the fact that David was much more than just the director of the Opera House.
I went home later and Googled "Director of Detroit Opera House." His modest "..sometime now" actually meant "The Detroit Opera House would not exist if not for me." Dr. David DiChiera is the Opera House's director and founder. He acquired the property in 1989 and raised $24 million to bring the DOH into existence.
Craig and I talked about the purpose of his documentary. It's about highlighting the innovative, motivated people propelling themselves and the community forward. It is of course impossible to move forward successfully without clear sight of where you are headed.
Dr. Dichiera saw a void in the Detroit cultural scene, and created an institution to fill it.
Visionary.
Addendum: A friend of Dr. DiChiera's daughter saw his photo of Flickr and his daughter contacted me. She let me know that her father was recently honored by the National Endowment for the Art. Check this link to learn even more about this outstanding person in Detroit: www.nea.gov/honors/opera/DiChiera.html
The People of Detroit: Visionary
Canon EOS 7D | Canon 50mm 1.4 | Available Light
*Support the project by purchasing from Amazon.com using the links above*
I stopped by 1515 Broadway to get some tea when this gentleman walked in. As he entered, he was filmed by a young man inside the shop with a digital video camera.
I figured he must be an interesting person if someone saw fit to record him doing something as mundane as coming into a coffee shop. Based on that deduction, I struck up a conversation with him.
He told me his name was David. I instantly forgot his name, because that's what I do when strangers tell me their names. That's probably because strangers make me nervous.
Or because I have Juvenile Alzheimer's.
Even still, I managed to remember his occupation. He said he was director of the Detroit Opera House; which happens to be across the street from 1515. Being wholly uninitiated to all things even moderately associated with speaking in a foreign language, I naively asked,
"Oh yea? How long have you been doing that?"
He laughed, smiled, and demurely answered,
"Oh. For sometime now..."
After David left, I spoke with the young man who had filmed his entrance and our subsequent conversation. Craig Atkinson is a field producer with New York-based documentary film company Loki Films (The Boys of Baraka, Jesus Camp). Craig is originally from Royal Oak and is in the city working on a documentary tentatively titled Detroit Hustles Harder. He clued me into the fact that David was much more than just the director of the Opera House.
I went home later and Googled "Director of Detroit Opera House." His modest "..sometime now" actually meant "The Detroit Opera House would not exist if not for me." Dr. David DiChiera is the Opera House's director and founder. He acquired the property in 1989 and raised $24 million to bring the DOH into existence.
Craig and I talked about the purpose of his documentary. It's about highlighting the innovative, motivated people propelling themselves and the community forward. It is of course impossible to move forward successfully without clear sight of where you are headed.
Dr. Dichiera saw a void in the Detroit cultural scene, and created an institution to fill it.
Visionary.
Addendum: A friend of Dr. DiChiera's daughter saw his photo of Flickr and his daughter contacted me. She let me know that her father was recently honored by the National Endowment for the Art. Check this link to learn even more about this outstanding person in Detroit: www.nea.gov/honors/opera/DiChiera.html