Culture can't wait is message behind new campaign for museums in Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - After months of seeing the world through our screens, we're all now invited to experience art and culture in person again. 

The museums and cultural centers in Midtown, Detroit are inviting patrons back amid the pandemic in a new social media ad campaign from Donor Advertising. FOX 2 got a look at the campaign before it hits your social feeds and talked to the minds behind it. 

Behind the scenes of Donor Advertising’s campaign for Detroit museums, cultural centers

FOX 2 got a look at the new ad campaign before it hits your social media feeds and talked to the minds behind it.

"When you're engaging with the culture you're taking in another expression of their own perspective, so their point of view on the world. And you open yourself up to learning of others' perspectives, you develop a more robust understanding of the world and you get closer to finding the answers that you seek," said Alex Demuth, a brand strategist at Donor Advertising.

The Detroit Institute of Arts, the Carr Center, Detroit Public Library, the Michigan Science Center are four of the clients that worked together to share a message with The Scarab Club, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American history and Hellenic Museum of Michigan and the Detroit Historical Museum.

The nine of them uniting as one with a message: culture can't wait. Not for a pandemic, and not at a time when people are isolated. Donor Advertising is proud of their latest creation.

"Hidden in plain sight amongst all these paintings, sculptures, books and whatnot, in these experiences are stories and deep human truths that can really help us move forward at a time like this and improve upon ourselves," Demuth said. 

"It started with this notion that it's easy to see culture as bonus material in life but right now culture is crucial, and like the video says culture isn't just proof that we can survive, it's how we survive," copyrighter Matthew Milia said. 

Annmarie Borucki is the Director of Arts and Culture at Midtown Detroit Inc. and is leading the charge to get metro Detroiters and Detroiters back into these gems. Needless to say, she's a fan of the ad campaign. 

"More than ever right now, people feel less connected to each other. They don't have safe opportunities to necessarily - well they feel like they don't have safe opportunities to get out and experience beauty and be inspired - and we know that we offer that," she said.

She hopes people realize every single one of the nine institutions highlighted in the ad campaign is practicing safety. 

"Just feel comfortable coming back and experiencing arts and culture. It's what we do best we've learned a lot about how to open up our buildings safely for people and I think now more than ever is a great time to come out. Many of the museums have limited capacity right now, people are required to wear masks, there's space," Borucki said.

"We posed the question, what is culture? And what is culture without an audience? And with an audience, heading back to reengage with this I really think it'll be a great opportunity for people to build upon themselves," Demuth said.

All of the nine institutions featured are open right now except for the Detroit Public Library, which is reopening September 8, 2020. You can expect to see the social media campaign soon on your social media feeds.