What is Michigan House?
Since 2015 Michigan House has been the place where global enterprises, entrepreneurs, non-profits, musicians, government and more come together to defy rustbelt expectations.
It's the Great Lakes State‘s experiential embassy to SXSW & it's a year round catalyst for the state's innovators & creatives.
“There’s a lot of stories that don’t get told on a large enough platform. There’s a lot of awesome stuff happening here in Detroit and in the state of Michigan. So shout out to Michigan House for leading the charge and putting everyone on blast and letting everyone know what’s going on.”
the story
Michigan House was born in an East Austin backyard at SXSW 2015.
12 organizations teamed with a collective of friends to create a home away from home for Michiganders at the festival. A 24' Penske Truck was rented, filled with Michigan Made goods, and driven the 1300 miles to Austin, TX. For 4 days we turned that backyard into a celebration of everything that Michigan could be. 17 bands. 100s of guests. 2 visits from the Austin PD. It was pure magic, and we had no idea - like no fricking clue - how much it was about to change our lives.
5 years and multiple iterations later - Michigan House has become something different. Something more defined, intentional, and polished.
It has become a platform for innovative companies, a launch pad for artists and ideas, and a storytelling tool for the state itself. It's come a long way from the backyard, yet so much of what we strive for - the relationships, the creativity, the vision - has been there from the beginning.