(WXYZ0 — Detroit's Cultural Center will install free, outdoor public Wi-Fi in the area after getting a $500,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
According to the group, the grant will help the Detroit Cultural Center Planning Initiative implement a comprehensive digital strategy next year in the area.
The free Wi-Fi will be offered in the area that includes the Carr Center, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, College for Creative Studies, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Library and more.
“Not only will this grant support the installation of free, public Wi-Fi in the district, it will also support collaboration, risk-taking, and experimentation within Detroit’s Cultural Center for place-based, digital transformation,” stated Sue Mosey, Executive Director of Midtown Detroit, Inc. (MDI), who has been leading the CCPI over the last 18 months.
It will be an extension of Wayne State's existing campus system and is aimed at encouraging more outdoor programming in the area.
“As we try to reimagine ourselves digitally, we are also trying to reimagine the Cultural Center physically to create more welcoming spaces designed for outdoor programming and that further connect our institutions. It is MDI’s hope that the digital and the physical can complement each other and be deemed equally important. We are well aware that we are in difficult economic times. Our CCPI strategy is one that is meant to span over the next 10-15 years and is designed to be implemented in phases as funds become available and as institutional will is emboldened.”
