Wire Car Workshops – Now through September 3, 2017

Make a wire-car and cruise with them for DLECTRICITY on September 22-23, 2017! The Wire-car Auto Workers Association (WAWAD) is running workshops every Sunday till September 3, 2017 at the Zimbabwe Cultural Centre of Detroit. They will show you how to make your dream car out of wire, style it up and cruise with them.

Please bring any pliers you have, work gloves, safety glasses and the basic wire:
1. 100 ft. Plastic-Coated Galvanized Wire ($8.98 at HomeDepot)
2. a spool of 16-20 gauge wire.
3. workclothes.
4. Images or drawings of your dream car! (A sketch book with a pen or pencil is a good idea)

They will provide strong 9 gauge wire for the, axels, shaft and bottom outline of your car, as well as rubber for the wheels. Make your body and they will help you build the wheels for you,

Upcoming Workshops:
Aug 13, Aug 20, Aug 27, and September 3 | Each day from 2:00-5:00 p.m.

The Zimbabwe Cultural Centre of Detroit is located at:
3341 Cody St
Hamtramck, MI 48212

The Wire-Car Auto Workers Association of Detroit (WAWAD) is an organization that hosts workshops to teach people how to make toy cars out of wire, a tradition that founder Chido Johnson learned while growing up in Africa. Woodward Avenue is where the first cars ever cruised, so after moving to Detroit, Johnson felt inspired to bring the wire-car, inspired by the presence of American cars in Africa, back to the very road where the whole industry began.

After becoming a 2009 Kresge Artist Fellow in the visual arts, Johnson began holding workshops to teach people how to craft their own wire-cars, sharing the tradition with a wider audience. Since then, WAWAD has held many workshops and cruises in communities in and around metro Detroit. Most recently, they cruised as part of Detroit’s Marche du Nain Rouge in March of this year.

WAWAD aims to bridge the gap between cultures and bring people together to make a connection. We are so excited to host a wire-car cruise during Dlectricity, set to take place outside the Detroit Institute of Arts Farnsworth entrance.

If you can’t make it to one of their workshops, check out the information on the WAWAD website for guidance on how to craft a wire-car on your own here.

Thanks again to the Detroit Institute of Arts for hosting this project and WAWAD for hosting these workshops—we can’t wait to see everyone cruise!