Mobility Town: Out of Our Cars and Into the World

Carla Diana and Motomichi Nakamura

May 8-June 7, 2025 | Newlab at Michigan Central, 2050 15th Street, Detroit, MI 48216

Opening Event: Thursday, May 8, 5:30–8:30 PM; SOLD OUT

An evening featuring a conversation with the artists, moderated by Bryan Boyer, Director of the Urban Technology program at the University of Michigan.

Community Hours: Fridays and Saturdays, 12-5 PM, FREE Admission, no registration required

Mobility Town: Out of Our Cars and Into the World is an interactive art installation that explores public transportation through people-centered design. Created by designer Carla Diana and projection artist Motomichi Nakamura, it envisions a playful, pedestrian-focused future for Detroit.

Journey through five animated experiences where characters travel Detroit aboard modular, self-driving electric trains that adapt in real time to passengers’ needs. Nakamura’s bold red, black, and white visual language brings this imaginative world to life with expressive storytelling.

By animating a whimsical transit landscape, Mobility Town invites us to rethink how cities move, through emerging technologies and in response to the communities they serve.

Mobility Town: Out of Our Cars and Into the World was realized with support from the Knight Foundation’s Knight New Work Detroit program.

The installation is presented by Michigan Central Art with support from Newlab, Detroit.

About

Carla Diana is a designer, author, and educator exploring the emotional dimensions of emerging technologies. She founded the 4D Design program at Cranbrook Academy of Art and is the author of My Robot Gets Me (2021). Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Popular Science, and The New York Times. www.carladiana.com

Motomichi Nakamura is a digital media artist and animator known for his bold, graphic visual style and immersive projections. His work has been featured at the New Museum and screened at Sundance, Edinburgh, and Leeds film festivals. www.motomichi.com