Rochelle Riley

Rochelle Riley ended a nearly 20-year career as an award-winning, syndicated Detroit newspaper columnist in 2019 to become the City of Detroit’s Director of Arts and Culture. She now guides the city’s investment in its creative workforce and creates opportunities for transformative innovation. In 2020, she conceived the United States’ first city-wide memorial to victims of Covid-19: 15 funeral processions that circled the city’s Belle Isle past 924 photo billboards of victims. Her City office is documenting every mural in the city and placing them on a digital Mural Map with artist bios. Her office also is developing nine arts alleys across the city, recognizing that alleys are emerging as repurposed, reimagined opportunities for art, dining and entertainment. Rochelle is the author of “Th