Much love,
Kyle

Celebrating Febuary as black history month..

black artists

Tyree Guyton-Born August 24, 1955, in Detroit MI;
Education: Studied art in the Franklin Adult Education program and at the
Center for Creative Studies, Wayne County Community College, and
Marygrove College; studied with Charles McGee and other artists.
Painter, sculptor, and mixed media artist.

The Heidelberg Project, bearing the name of the street on which it exists, was
started in 1986 by Tyree Guyton assisted by his grandfather, Sam Mackey (deceased) and
his former wife, Karen Guyton. Tyree was raised on Heidelberg Street and, at the age of 12,
witnessed the tragic effect of the Detroit riots - of which he claims the City of Detroit never
recovered. Though once racially integrated, many neighborhoods became segregated urban
ghettos characterized by poverty, abandonment, and despair.

The first house Tyree transformed, he called "Fun House". In 1991, the city conducted a
surprise attack against The Heidelberg Project, razing by bulldozers four of its houses, "Fun
House" and "Your World" among them. Amidst falling walls and ceilings, risking his life,
panic stricken Tyree salvaged only a few remnants of his original works. Stunned by this
violent act against his art after just being given the Spirit of Detroit award, Tyree grieved the
loss of the art he had labored to create and the city's unwillingness to hear his message.
Shortly after the demolition, Tyree lost his partner and sidekick, Sam Mackey


The Heidelberg Project has
created a safe haven. The area in
which the Heidelberg Project is
located, Detroit's Seventh Precinct, is
the third most dangerous area in
Detroit. However, during the life of
the Project, not a single incident of
serious crime has been reported on
the block on which the Heidelberg
Project lives.

http://www.heidelberg.org