House of Vans has announced its latest destination arriving to Detroit, MI January 24-27, 2019, at The Jefferson School. Vans will transform the historic building at 950 Selden Street in West Midtown, into a cultural hub to celebrate art, music, action sports and street culture bringing Vans’ “Off The Wall” ethos to life. With an array of curated programming free to the community, this unique pop-up experience will be the largest House of Vans experience to date. Other pop-ups have included Paris, Montreal, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Mexico City, along with permanent House of Vans locations in Chicago and London.
“Detroit has a rich and eclectic history across music and art, along with a burgeoning skate scene that closely aligns with Vans’ own history and mindset,” said Brooke Burt, Vans’ Senior Manager of Lifestyle Brand Marketing. “It is truly an honor to bring House of Vans to life in Detroit alongside this incredibly creative and inspiring community.”
The House of Vans Detroit pop-up will kick-off Thursday, January 24 with a concert featuring acclaimed bassist and songwriter Thundercat, local post-punk legends Protomartyr and the soulful pop of Amber Mark. Music continues through the weekend with rapper and Detroit’s-own Danny Brown, who will bring his high energy show to the mainstage on January 25 along with SoCal rock quartet Joyce Manor and acclaimed cellist and singer Kelsey Lu. House of Vans will also introduce its signature SESSIONS series to the pop-up turning the stage over to local Detroit talent. Musicians interested in playing SESSIONS at House of Vans Detroit can email music to submitmusic_houseofvans@vfc.com.
The House of Vans Detroit pop-up will offer an extensive array of art programming including installations, retrospectives and workshops by artists Niagara, Jay Howell, Greg Hunt, Ellen Rutt, Joe Brook and more! Photography from the local community will also be featured from past Vans events and attendees can add their mark onsite by taking part in a zine making workshop hosted by Juxtapoz Magazine.
Ann Arbor-based independent record label Ghostly International will begin their 20th Anniversary celebrations at House of Vans Detroit hosting a street market booth where they will be leading a modular synth workshop with music producer, DJ and electronic avant-pop artist, Matthew Dear.
House of Vans wouldn’t be complete without skateboarding, so Vans partnered with local Detroit organization, Community Push to transform the gymnasium of the Jefferson School into an indoor skatepark. Open skate sessions will be available throughout the weekend along with Vans’ signature Get On Board girls skate clinic and board building. The skate park open hours will culminate in a “Pyramid Scheme” trick contest with obstacles created by partners QUASI, Alltimers, and Quartersnacks with LQQK Studios and Trilogy Tapes partnering to curate local Detroit talent to DJ and curate the music throughout the weekend within the skatepark.