A short time ago I was having a rough day. I felt the seasons beginning to change as I was wandering around Eastern Market on a bike around sunset. I bumped into a friend who was about to embark on a bike ride with his friend from Italy. It was one of the guy’s last days in Detroit and he did not want to leave without a trip to The Heidelberg Project. Even thought I had visited many times, I agreed to join the two — a little adventure never hurt anyone. Something between the ride and the setting sun calmed my nerves, and I found myself at home once again surrounded by Tyree Guyton’s thought-provoking creations. I feel lucky to have grown up with the Heidelberg as part of my history. As a child, I remember adults talking about the controversy with the city, but no matter what, it was always there. I remember sitting in the back of school busses and questioning the colorful dots found around the city. They made me consider the burned-out shells of houses that they were placed upon. They motivated me to question the state of things and to search for the answers. Guyton’s tireless work inspired me to move to Detroit, to ask questions and strive to make a difference here. As an adult, I can now understand what a miracle it is that the houses, dots, and stuffed animals are still standing, despite the city’s wishes (and a 20-year legal battle). They are still inspiring new generations of people all over the world to take notice of Detroit.

“City of Pieces: Street Interventions,” an exhibition curated by Beth Diamond at the Work: Detroit gallery, is a tribute to the next set of dreamers through the lens of what The Heidelberg Project has already accomplished. In this show Diamond, along with students from the University of Michigan’s Architecture Department, street artists and photographers, bring together pieces of their vision for how they believe Detroit should be viewed through proposed design concepts, real life practice, installation, sculpture and performance art. According to the information sheet, the proposed Heidelberg Project Cultural Village “seeks to demonstrate that all aspects of life can be art by integrating artistic practice with urban design in the creation of every component.” One of the facets of the proposal includes the “House that Makes Sense” by Nick Lavelle in collaboration with Diamond. It would serve as a community arts center placed along Mount Elliott Avenue, including a visitors center, offices, a gallery, an indoor/outdoor classroom and a gift shop. The statement for the building reads that it would serve to support community development, but given that the Heidelberg is considered one of Detroit’s most popular tourist attractions, with more than 270,000 visit annually, it would clearly serve a purpose.

Also featured is Catie Newell, a graduate of Uof M’s Architecture Program. Two of her projects are featured: “Weatherizing” and “Salvaged Landscape.” Both projects are large-scale alterations of pre-existing spaces or parts of houses, yet both feel drastically different. Newell breaks the mold when it comes to exhibiting two-dimensional documentation of projects by placing the photographs inside of a three dimensional piece of shredded metal, titled “Diptych.” Other artists included in the show are Tim Burke, who owns a lot on the edge of Heidelberg Street and whose work is aesthetically similar to Guytons and Edward Salem, a photographer from Sterling Heights, whose haunting images reflect the political state surrounding war. “City of Pieces: Street Interventions” runs until Nov. 8 at the Work: Detroit gallery, located at 3663 Woodward Ave., Ste. 150 Detroit, Mich. 48201. Admission is free and gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday during exhibitions: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.