On January 25, 2010, a house explosion on West 83rd Street destroyed or damaged dozens of homes in the Detroit Shoreway area. More than a year and a half after the event forever altered the face of the neighborhood and the lives of its residents, Cleveland City councilman Matt Zone and the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization will celebrate the compassion and resilience of their community with an interactive public art display by Melissa Daubert entitled Where is HOME?
Where is HOME? consists of silhouettes of Detroit Shoreway residents and a thought bubble describing in their own words how their community has healed and how each defines home following the explosion. “This installation captures the compassion and emotion of residents who are committed to their community and helping each other heal,” says Zone.
Daubert collected these reactions and profiles on June 11, creating an on-site art installation during the Discover Gordon Square community festival. She will repurpose those silhouettes and accompanying thought bubbles for the next phase of installation in one of the remaining condemned homes damaged by the blast.
The opening reception is tonight at 8 p.m. at 2040 West 83rd Street. Daubert’s creation will remain on view and open to the public through August 7 from 9 p.m. to midnight. Following the public display, the work will be deconstructed, the house torn down, and the property converted into a community park.
“The Detroit Shoreway neighborhood is proof that the good old days of neighbors caring for one another are not gone," says Zone. "This work of art stands as a final testament to why this community is strong and continues to move forward.”
