“Suddenly Sexy Detroit” examines how the Motor City morphed into an unlikely artistic hotspot, attracting artists from around the country with its cheap rent, large spaces and gritty authenticity. We’ll review older Detroit art movements like the Cass Corridor school, examine the cult of the “found object” and look at work by some of the city’s most interesting artists. We’ll also consider how this artistic presence helped set the stage for the city’s recent gentrification.

Michael H. Hodges covers art, architecture and local museums for The Detroit News, a beat he’s held since 2007. Previously he wrote features for the New York Post. In 2012, Mr. Hodges published Michigan’s Historic Railroad Stations (Wayne State University Press), a photographic essay and history the Library of Michigan named a 2013 Michigan Notable Book.

This is the fourth lecture in a six-lecture series entitled “Detroit: Complex Past, Promising Present, Uncertain Future.”