Pigeonholed: Detroit’s Rashaun Rucker Explores Marginalized People, Animals in New Art Exhibit
Rashaun Rucker On their own, Rashaun Rucker's large-scale drawings are intricately crafted works of art that stand out for their...
Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host of "In the Groove" on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.
Hooper grew up reading the Sunday paper with his dad. That’s where he learned the basics of writing while dreaming of one day writing the stories himself. At 16, he knocked on the door of his hometown paper and asked for a job as a reporter. Since then, he's written extensively for the Detroit Free Press -- the same paper he grew up reading.
Since joining WDET in 2017, Hooper has expanded the station’s arts and culture coverage and received numerous awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasting along the way. Nationally, Hooper was awarded a 2020 RTDNA Regional Edward R. Murrow award for feature reporting for his story “Would You Rent a Stray Dog From the City of Detroit?“ In 2018, Hooper was named the Associated Press Michigan Editors Broadcast Rising Star in broadcast journalism. He received the prestigious Crain’s Detroit Business “20 In Their 20s” award in 2014. His commitment to volunteerism was recognized by the State of Michigan in 2007.
His juggalo-inspired I.C.Pizza costume was selected by the Huffington Post as one of the best Halloween costumes of 2014.
Your Guide to Sensory-Friendly Spaces for Autistic Kids in Metro Detroit
In 2018, Dionne O’Dell attended The Big Umbrella Festival in New York, a festival that welcomed artists who shared an interest...
Detroit Lifestyle Blogger and Hijabi Model Tells All in ‘Unashamed’ Memoir
Divorce and anger prompted Leah Vernon, a Detroit fashion blogger and lifestyle model, to pen "Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim." “Put trauma...
Indigenous Musician Jeremy Dutcher Brings Award-Winning First Nations Music to Detroit
Ryan Patrick Hooper In 2018, indigenous Canadian musician Jeremy Dutcher released the Polaris-prize winning album "Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa," a collection of post-classical...
‘Beatles Yellow Submarine’ Animator Ron Campbell to Exhibit at Danielle Peleg Gallery
In 1958 television had just come to Australia and Ron Campbell, an ambitious and spirited animator recalls himself walking around...
Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week Offers Diverse Cuisine and Culture
The second annual Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week takes a deep dive into cuisine and culture with a Latin-American flare. Featuring 24 of the area's Latin-American...
The Queen Next Door: New Book Captures Behind-The-Scenes Look at Aretha Franklin’s Life
Linda Solomon / Wayne State University Press In photojournalist Linda Solomon's new book "The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An...
Memorial To Be Held for Local Artist, Musician Stretch Adam at Tangent Gallery
Mark McClelland A memorial for local Detroit musician, artist and comedian Adam Shellabarger -- better known to friends as "Stretch...
Immigration, Disabilities Take Center Stage in Dark Comedy at Detroit Film Theatre
Jake Neher/WDET The 2019 fall season of movies screening at the Detroit Film Theatre is in full swing. This weekend,...
Michigan Science Center’s New CEO On Plans to Make Center More Accessible, Relevant
Innovation has been a centerpiece in conversations surrounding Detroit’s revitalization. There’s an active energy to approach ordinary operations with fresh...
In Michigan’s Thumb, Artists Find New Uses for Old Barns
At the tip of Michigan’s thumb, the village of Port Austin is banking on arts and culture tourism as a...
Detroit’s Wash and Learn Initiative Takes School Into Laundromats
Education has taken a non-traditional approach with pop-up learning spaces that take youth outside of the classroom environment. In Detroit, this...