John Gallagher

Detroit Free Press

Twenty photographs that express the theme "My Detroit" have been chosen for a series of souvenir postcards that will be handed out to visitors at the international Venice Biennale architecture show featuring Detroit-based projects later this year.

In what amounted to a cultural coup for Detroit, the U.S. Department of State chose the Motor City as the focus of the American pavilion at the 2016 show in Venice, the world's premier exhibition of architectural innovation.

Beginning in May, the U.S. exhibit, one of dozens of national exhibits on display, will be curated by the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, and feature the work of 12 architectural teams chosen from around the nation.

The 12 teams will produce conceptual designs for four Detroit sites: the Packard Plant, the Dequindre Cut and Eastern Market district; West Vernor Highway in southwest Detroit, and the U.S. Postal Service building and adjacent land near downtown between West Fort Street and the river.

By showcasing imaginative solutions to what these mostly underused sites could become, the U.S. hopes to offer innovative ideas for global cities in the 21st Century.

As part of the exhibit, the curators — former Taubman College Dean Monica Ponce de Leon and her co-curator, Cynthia Davidson, executive director of New York based nonprofit Anyone Corp. and editor of the architecture journal Log — also created the "My Detroit" photography contest.

The 20 winners will have their images turned into postcards that will be given to visitors. Davidson said 100,000 postcards will be produced.

The winning photographs capture a range of the Detroit experience, from the bright lights of the downtown to images of rust and abandonment.

One winner, journalist Bill McGraw, formerly of the Free Press and now writing for the online magazine Bridge, said his photograph of an abandoned baseball backstop in Rouge Park captures "the return of nature in Detroit."

"Those diamonds were once crowded with players and spectators," McGraw said. "Now they're a lush green meadow in summer. While other parts of Rouge Park are busy, I never see anyone on what used to be those ball fields when I bike past. But I have seen deer, wild turkeys, herons, hawks and a coyote."

"Detroit has a rich culture and history to draw from as we work toward creating a vibrant future," said Robert Fishman, interim dean and professor at the U-M Taubman College. "The photos recognized in the postcard contest are a reflection of Detroit over time that we are excited to share with the world."

Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173, gallagher@freepress.com or on Twitter @jgallagherfreep

If You Go

The 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale will be held from May 28 to Nov. 27 in Venice, Italy.

For more information on venues, tickets, times, etc., visit the website www.labiennale.org.