Detroit’s city motto, “We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes,” has resurrected its meaning with the recent string of arsons at the urban art installment, The Heidelberg Project.
The 27-year-old project began in the McDougall-Hunt neighborhood in Detroit’s east side, which deteriorated after the 1967 race riots. Artist Tyree Guyton and his grandfather took their devastated neighborhood and turned it from urban decay to an art project that functioned as equal parts political protest and inspiration — breathing life and color into a small pocket of houses that seemed to have died.
Upon his return to Heidelberg Street, Guyton was confronted by rows of empty homes, abandoned and deteriorating. Natives avoided the area, which was written off as unsafe, even in the daytime. Guyton, a painter and sculptor, began to liven the houses with painted dots of various colors, or by salvaging items and attaching them to the houses exteriors. Over time, with the help of neighborhood kids, these small acts of beautification turned into a big one — creating one of Detroit’s most noteworthy attractions.
For those that stumble upon the project accidentally, or those who are a part of the 3,000 or so yearly visitors, Heidelberg Street transports to a fantasy world. The outdoor art exhibit sprawls from house to house, across painted streets and sidewalks and over vacant lots. The colors are bright, the paintings huge, the sculptures towering — all standing undisturbed in stark contrast to the desecration that surrounds them.
The art installment also hosts a myriad of programs that foster art in Detroit. The Emerging Artist program seeks to host the works of up-and-coming artists who haven’t yet had work in a formal gallery setting, creating a springboard for their careers. The Young Adults of Heidelberg program is for 18-to 35-year-olds with an interest in using art as a catalyst for change, aimed toward creating professional development opportunities in Detroit’s growing art community. The ACE2 program, or Art, Community & Environmental Education program, aims to fill a gap in arts education at Detroit Public Schools, all while emphasizing the importance of community and the environment. The project is always evolving to meet the needs of a constantly changing art scene.
The breadth of offerings that the Heidelberg Project facilitates has been a welcomed change to the community, and has faced little backlash or vandalism — until recently.
A rash of unsolved arsons has devastated the art installment powerhouse — claiming four of the houses and burning the structures to the ground. The first occurred in May with the arson at the OJ House. The second destroyed House of Soul, which was entirely covered by records, on Nov 12. The third brought down Penny House on Nov 21, and the fourth took War Room House on Thanksgiving day.
Regardless of the senseless desecration of an internationally recognized community creation, Guyton remains positive. In an official statement after the second arson, those at Heidelberg directly addressed the perpetrator.
“We want you to know that we understand your pain,” the statement read. “We realize that all you’ve grown to know is destruction and that you see no way out. This is precisely why we are here. Our work is not about tangible ‘things,’ it is about the Power of the Human Spirit. We recognize that there is a fire in you and we are here not to extinguish it, but to offer you a better reason to fuel it. Though you have tried, you cannot destroy the Heidelberg Project; it’s bigger than all of us now. Instead, we invite you to join our family in creating a better neighborhood, a better Detroit, if not for anyone else than for yourself.”
The message, however, was not well received by the arsonist, who proceeded to burn down the last two houses. The community is upping volunteer patrols and police surveillance in hopes of protecting this community pillar, as well as the residents in the area who are threatened by the fires.
In lieu of the recent destruction of the graffiti mecca, 5 Pointz, in Queens, New York one cannot help but wonder what the future holds for urban art. The beautification of urban decay into nationally recognized art installments, no matter how untraditional the art form, shouldn’t be grounds for disembodiment. More destruction cannot be the response to revival, or else all progress will be negated, as though taking one step forward and two steps back.
Fulfilling Detroit’s city motto, The Heidelberg Project guarantees that it will rise from the senseless ashes of the last month, proving yet again that Detroit’s resilience can extinguish even the strongest fires of adversity.