The Heidelberg Project is one of the most visited sites in Detroit. Tour buses roll by on a regular basis. In 1986 this guy named Tyree Guyton got fed up with his neighborhood and sick of waiting for the government to clean it up. In 1986 the neighborhood was just another example of Detroit's broken social structure dominated by crack houses and prostitution. So Guyton got neighborhood kids and his family together and started cleaning uop the neighborhood. They made big piles of trash...then he turned it into a giant piece of instalation art. He started with polkadots...and painted an entire block of trash heaps wih bright colors...then he moved on to other works. In 1991 and again in 1999 the city of Detroit demolished part of the project...it seems that certain mayors are more sensitive to criticism than others.
Guyton's work has been featured in museums around the world over the last 10-15 years, and his movement is increasingly recognized as one of the landmarks of Detroit...something like 300,000 people visit it a year.
The stuffed animal house
The DoorsI thought the mission statement and vision statement were worth reading...ambitious.
The Heidelberg Project is a Detroit-based community organization designed to improve lives and neighborhoods through art.
The Heidelberg Project envisions neighborhood residents using art to come together to rebuild the structure and fabric of under-resourced communities and to create a way of living that is economically viable, enriches lives, and welcomes all people.
Death Camels
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