Although under-analyzed and unnoticed, Detroit has one of the most fascinating cultural scenes in the nation. As a city vibrant, lost and now in recovery, it's a place both raw and refined, with gritty street art and edgy theater, as well as remarkable museums and architecture. Yet, like many other things about the city, the culture here is subtle and discreet-it requires seeking out. Yet, its impact is and always has been significant.

During Detroit's prime, renowned architects like Albert Kahn, C. Howard Crane and Mies van der Rohe refined their craft here, creating remarkable homes, theaters and office buildings. Artists like Mary Chase Stratton of Pewabic Pottery, Diego Rivera and Carl Milles, created engrossing art influenced and supported by the power and energy of this industrial capital. During this time, the city's elite also helped assemble one of the finest collections of art in the world at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Today, in our post-industrial world, Detroit is a far different place, struggling to overcome challenging urban problems. Yet this environment has fostered another kind of culture that is just as enriching. Artists like Tyree Guyton of the Heidelberg Project, as well as underground artists like the DDD Project (Detroit, Demolition, Disneyland) and Turtle, draw attention to blighted homes and urban decay, as do many edgy theater projects like Planet Ant and the Matrix Theater. These grassroots efforts, combined with the more traditional outlets, makes Detroit an important cultural center. It's often intense and challenging, but overwhelmingly real.