The Heidelberg Project

The Latest Updates

2009-04-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

We will be bringing you the latest updates via our Facebook page from now on. Join the 2,100+ people who have already become a fan and receive updates through your Facebook account, or simply bookmark the page and check back frequently. Most recently we have added photos from current events and exhibitions, as well as a BBC radio interview conducted right on Heidelberg Street, which can be heard here, beginning at 13:00 minutes.

Tyree to Speak at Ella Sharp Museum

2009-02-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

See flyer below for details.

For more info on the museum, click here!

Be Our Fan on Facebook!

2009-02-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

If you have a Facebook account, you can become a fan of The Heidelberg Project's page, view our videos and photos, write reviews, and share your own images of the Heidelberg Project with others, and get the latest updates on upcoming events!

Just login to Facebook, type "The Heidelberg Project" into the search box at top right, then narrow down the results by clicking the "Pages" tab. The Heidelberg Project is listed as museum/attraction. Then click the link and "become a fan"!

Heidelberg on Facebook

Check out this video!

2009-02-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

A short film on the Heidelberg Project and the "It's All About The D" festival from last summer is featured on our website in the "video" section. Check it out here!

Tyree to Speak at OCC January 27th

2009-01-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

Artist and social activist Tyree Guyton, founder of the Heidelberg Project, will speak on “Changing the World” at Oakland Community College’s Auburn Hills Campus, Tuesday, January 27.

The one-hour talk begins at 11:00 a.m. in Room G-240 of the campus’ new Student Center. Admission is free and the public is invited.

For further information call Auburn Hills Campus Dean Henry Tanaka at (248) 232-4511.

The Auburn Hills Campus is located at 2900 Featherstone Road, one mile east of the Pontiac Silverdome. Ample free parking is available in nearby college lots.
Campus Map

Detroit Industrial Gallery

2009-01-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Detroit Industrial Gallery
Check out the website of Heidelberg neighbor Tim Burke's Detroit Industrial Gallery.

Latest News

2008-12-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

Get the latest updates in our current newsletter, available online here, and on our website in the "News" section.

Some highlights include:
-A review of the IAAD festival
-Featured artist Darlene Reynolds (also on the front page of our site)
-News from Venice, Italy and Buffalo, NY
-Dabls' African Bead Museum
-New Heidelberg Project merchandise

New Merch!

2008-10-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

Our merchandise page has been updated recently with new items that we first introduced at our festival this summer.

Check out the new Heidelberg Project t-shirts, tank tops, skull caps, totebags, postcards, bumper stickers, keychains, and magnets we have available, as well as the hot new price on all of our posters - only $7 plus S&H!

The holiday season is fast-approaching...why not combine gift-giving with your favorite nonprofit?

Thank you for your continued support!!

The Heidelberg Project heads to Buffalo

2008-10-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Buffalo ReUse Executive Director Michael Gainer invited Tyree & Jenenne to speak at the first Great Lakes ReUse Conference. Below is more information from the latest press release:

Buffalo ReUse and BMRA to host
The Great Lakes ReUse Conference November 16-18th:
National Conference on ReUse of Materials and Community Action!

Buffalo, NY, The pioneering effort of The Great Lakes ReUse Conference addresses the root causes of some of our most challenging urban issues with strategic, common sense solutions that foster communities, create opportunities, strengthen local economies, and improve the quality of life for all residents.

The conference is broken up into major topics "Recycle the City," "Restore the Center," and "Act and Initiate." The conference topics bring together a very passionate and committed team of speakers from all over the nation. The combined power of their ideas will inspire and engage others on how to best reverse the trends of our inner cities. This kind of work requires an unprecedented collaboration. Each speaker has been invited because of a particular emphasis with which they have devoted their lives:

Tyree Guyton, founder and Jenenne Whitfield, Executive Director of the Heidelberg Project, in Detroit, Michigan have spent twenty years transforming abandoned city blocks in Detroit to raise awareness about urban blight and to develop a strong sense of pride. Their artistic accomplishments inspire young people to take ownership of their neighborhoods.

Michael W. Groman, Senior Director, Philadelphia Green Program, Philadelphia, PA. Groman's program transforms and maintains thousands of vacant lots to increase economic investment and improve the quality of life in hundreds of Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Rick Lowe, Founder, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX orchestrated the reclamation of 22 dilapidated, yet historic, houses in the heart of Houston. The reclamation of the houses serve as the material for an arts project that influences the cultural and economic revitalization of a neighborhood.

Jay Williams, Mayor of the City of Youngstown, Ohio has no illusions that he resides over a shrinking city, in fact, he fully embraces the "shrinking city" concept. His administration plans to strengthen the urban center through right-sizing; neighborhoods that are emptying out will be converted to greenspace through targeted demolition and development.

For more information on the conference and its sponsors:
Great Lakes ReUse Conference
Buffalo ReUse
Building Material ReUse Association

The Venice Biennale

2008-09-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

From September 9 - September 16, Tyree Guyton, Jenenne Whitfield, Terrence German, and Sharon Luckerman traveled to Venice, Italy to represent the Heidelberg Project at the Architecture Biennale. See below for Sharon's account of the trip and some photos.

Venice Sept 13, 2008

People warn you not to carry a map in venice -- you're going to get lost and the map only confuses you! And getting lost is as much an adventure and finding your destination... So, we from the Heidelberg Project, Tyree Guyton, Jenenne Whitfield, Terrence German and myself, Sharon Luckerman, have been having some amazing adventures -- meeting people, seeing places we hadn't planned to see, finding tiny restaurants with great food, or crashing the Italian Biennale party, accidentally! (much better food than at the American one at the same place the next day).

We came to Venice representing Detroit's Heidelberg Project created by Tyree Guyton which was selected as one of 15 projects to represent the USA at the Venice Architecture Biennale this month in, of course, Venice. We finally made it to the site of the Biennale, the Venice Arsenale at the far end of the island where it is amazingly green -- most of the island is covered in wonderful old slate and stone winding streets, no cars, few trees, and many alleyways that twist and turn from one end of the city to the other. Venice, we are told, is a shrinking city around 400,000, and now, 80,000-- but tourism along with Venice's rich history has kept the city very much alive.

We saw the Architecture Biennale for a few hours for the first time yesterday. We wanted to see how the American exhibition was laid out and how the Heidelberg Exhibit was presented. We will return today to really see the other exhibits from around the world. (We've been told to especially check out the Japanese and Belgium exhibits and an amazing maze by an Englishman Ben Nicholson, all specially selected to appear in the Italian Pavilion.)

It was wonderful first entering the Biennale a wooded area - not yet open to the public but to the press and the participants. Entering the American Pavilion, a circle of Alice Water's edible landscape, first greets the visitor. Heidelberg Project shares a neighboring room with two other USA representatives inspired by Heidelberg Project: good friend Dan Pitera, director of Detroit collaborative design center from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, and Rick Lowe, whose project in Houston, Texas is Project Row House.

The Heidelberg Project is reflected with a series of large scale photos which bring to life the street as it currently exists in Detroit. It also includes a store display showcasing “Elements of the Canvas” which is a map that highlights and describes all the art on the street. Also on display is a photo of Tyree and Jenenne as part of the map. An interactive video reflects and integrates the three USA sites, put together by Dan Pitera, of the Detroit Collaborative. It speaks to recycled environments and how art is used to give new life to community.

Here's what Dan Pitera said about his and the Heidelberg projects:

"Architects should be concerned with the Built environment, not just building buildings. Our projects offer opportunities to re-energize vacant buildings. The Venice Biennale has provided a wonderful opportunity to showcase architecture and the architect as integral to social change."

Later that evening at the USA Biennale party at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, several British, Irish and Italian architects and architecture writers including Francesca Picchi, expressed their excitement seeing the Detroit exhibits (Dan and Tyree's). They found them "fresh" and different from the usual fare at the Biennale.

Photos and cutlines: (click for larger view)

1. The Rialto Bridge with the blue and white poster for the Architecture Biennale, this year titled: Out: There Beyond Architecture

2.. A shot after going under the bridge

3. Heading into the Biennale at the Arsenale

4. Dan Pitera and Tyree Guyton at their displays in the USA pavilion. Dan is the director of Detroit Collaborative Design Center from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture.

5. Tyree and Jenenne Whitfield interviewed live by an Italian architectural webzine, Italia Art and Architecture web site streaming in real time.

6. Jenenne, Sharon and Terrence -- lunch in cafe in Venice

7. Jenenne, Terrence and Tyree (Sharon not pictured) at Italian party (for participants in Italian section of the Architecture Biennale) at Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. A day early, we crashed the party, had great food, Champaign and wine -- met some interesting people --"We had a blast, though we didn't understand much -- and the food was outstanding." Jenenne said.

Sharon also interviewed Andy Sturm, Director of Architecture at the Parc Foundation. An architect, Andy worked at Detroit Collaborative Design Center for 5 years and was one of the designers for the House that Makes Sense, and as well as a member of the Heidelberg Project board of directors. Here are a few of his insights on the Biennale:

“[For] those without direct knowledge of the Biennale – it’s the premier international exhibition of architecture in the world.”

“Seems like many countries are starting to understand issues of social sustainability, instead of just environmental sustainability – they go hand in hand. And that’s the key -- to develop more sustainable neighborhoods and cities. Architecture used to focus on fashion aspects like form, but [in] recent years, architecture started to change and take on social issues and issues of alternative practices.”

The Biennale runs through November 23. For more information, visit http://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/

More photos from Venice:

Festival Photos

2008-08-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

A few photos from "It's All About The D!"...more to come.

Tyree Guyton & HP board member Dan Hoops

FASHION SHOW - Recycled Materials
Dress made of curtains.

Outfit made entirely of Brawny paper towel.

HAIR WARS
"Silver Fox" with shiny exhaust pipes.

A hairy ensemble and a gas can to top it off!

Photos by Michelle Figurski.

Did you go to the festival? Tell us what you thought!
If you have any photos you'd like to contribute, please send to michelle@heidelberg.org, along with your name for photo credit.

Photos below by Laura Kuster, one of our festival volunteers.

Photos below by Jim Elam

Recent Photos

2008-07-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

A few photos from visitors and tour groups that have recently been by the Heidelberg Project. If you would like to share your photos with us, please send to information@heidelberg.org and tell us a little bit about your experience.

Tyree chats with visitors from Reno, NV. Photo provided by Harriet Saperstein.

Tim Burke poses in front of his artwork for a group of out-of-town visitors. Photo provided by Gabriel Duncan.

Kids from the Children's International Summer Village (CISV Detroit) pose in front of the Dotty Wotty house after their tour. Photo provided by CISV.

Jennah Samelko was happy to help Tyree at the project on a recent visit by painting a blue dot on the sidewalk. Photo provided by Brooke Hanley.

Scrummage-Heidelberg Community Garden

2008-05-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from last Saturday's garden project with Art Collective Scrummage.

Photos by Geronimo. Click to enlarge!

Festival Flyer

2008-05-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Save the Date, August 23rd, 2008 for our upcoming festival!

More info to come, check back soon!

We will also need many volunteers for the festival. If interested, please contact michelle@heidelberg.org or see our general volunteer application: http://heidelberg.org/volunteer.html

Click below to see the flyer in full.

Art Detroit Now

2008-05-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend, visit the outdoor art environment of The Heidelberg Project, along with many other galleries participating in the Art Detroit Now gallery crawl, organized to "celebrate the great contemporary art and artists in our community."

Notable Book Tour in Morenci, MI

2008-05-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Tyree & Jenenne recently stopped in Morenci, MI to promote "Connecting the Dots" on the Michigan Notable Books Tour.

The people of Morenci (population approx. 2,500) extended a warm welcome to The Heidelberg Project, spending weeks preparing for the visit. They also created many works of art emulating Tyree's artwork, such as "Faces in the Hood" style self-portraits, polka-dot painted shoes, recycled material sculptures, and polka-dot bookmarks.

Click below to view a page from the State Line Observer chronicling the visit:

Your Views on Heidelberg

2008-05-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Add your thoughts and feelings on the Heidelberg Project to this blog about Public Folk Art.

New Articles

2008-04-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

Check out these articles about the HP & Tyree:

toledoblade.com

monroenews.com

Connecting the Dots: Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg Project was named a Notable Book for 2008 by the Library of Michigan. These articles promote stops on the book tour.

DMA Student Tour

2008-04-22T10:07:00.001-07:00

Students from Detroit Merit Charter Academy attended a tour of the Heidelberg Project on 4/17/08.

MFSM Street Sense Exhibition

2008-04-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Street Sense traveling exhibition is up at the Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum for one more month, through May 24th.

To view the museum's webpage and a video of Tyree, please see below:

MFSM Site & Video

Connect the Dots: Ross-Hill Academy

2008-04-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

Sarah Hodsdon demonstrates the Cricut Expressions cutting machine to teachers at Ross-Hill Academy. Photo by Michelle.

The Connect the Dots program continued today as we had our second orientation meeting, this time with the teachers and staff at Ross-Hill Academy, just several blocks away from the Heidelberg Project.

Once again everyone at the school is very excited about our partnership program with Provo Craft and can't wait to receive the Cricut Expressions cutting machine available to help students get creative with projects and facilitate teaching methods.

Connect the Dots: Gesu School

2008-04-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

Connect the Dots: The Heidelberg Project and Provo Craft partnership program, is under way!

We will be partnering with Provo Craft to bring a great educational art program as well as gifts of art supplies, including a Cricut cutting machine, to six Detroit schools.

Today we met with teachers at Gesu Catholic School. The response was overwhelmingly positive and everyone is very excited to get this program up and running!

The initial presentation consists of a half-hour on the Heidelberg Project presented by Jenenne Whitfield, a half-hour segment on the Cricut cutting machine and supplies by Sarah Hodsdon, and a Q&A session and hands-on demonstration for the staff.

YAH Event Calendar Update

2008-04-07T11:22:00.001-07:00

See above for an updated YAH Calendar of Events. (click to enlarge)

Free Press Photos & Article

2008-03-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Check out this Free Press article on Wayne State's Alternative Spring Break Detroit program.

It includes photos of some of the WSU students working on "Building Bridges" with YAH on March 13th on Heidelberg Street.

WSU students use vacation to help charities

HP on AdaptiveReuse.net

2008-03-31T10:25:00.001-07:00

Check out this recent write-up on The Heidelberg Project on Adaptive Reuse:

The Happiest Kingdom of Them All