Letter to Tyree Guyton
THEME: ME REIMAGINED
DeAnn
Wiley
DEANN WILEY
Letter to Tyree Guyton
THEME: ME REIMAGINED
the artist's inspiration
The art around Detroit impacted me in ways I didn’t even know at the time. One of my favorite places as a child was the languishing neighborhood that Tyree Guyton turned into art. This is my letter to him - of acknowledgement, gratitude and commitment to the future.
When I was in 7th grade, my step-dad started taking me and my siblings on rides around the city. One place we often visited was this one block that was covered in polka dots - - the houses, the sidewalk and even the trees! They were magical days - visiting the polkadot block to see what was new and then get pizza and maybe head to Belle Isle. I think about those houses often, all decorated in various items, teddy bears, old records, different patterns, numbers and faces. I loved it. I also loved riding past the beauty supply store with the 3 women painted on the side. I always knew we were going to my granny’s house when I saw those women. Driving around the city, seeing murals was a highlight of my childhood.
CAPITOL PARK, detroit
june 2024
To the child I was, that block and the city’s art empowered my sense creativity and expression. I didn’t know I could be an artist, but seeing that, I knew I could create something. That experience shaped my ideals of what creativity is and introduced me to art as a form of resistance and activism.
As I grew up, I learned about Tyree Guyton and The Heidelberg Project and its mission to use art as medicine to heal and uplift a community. The creation of a space and environment that could offer peace and pride for a community that had lost so much. It is art and creativity as resistance - as a refusal to give in to the forces that will harm us, like poverty and violence. It is art as the deliberate set-building of our memories.
In The Heidelberg Project I saw proof that we all can choose to play a role in creating the society we want to live in. And I experienced the power of art to expand a child’s sense of who they are and what is possible.
Letter To Tyree Guyton combines the reality of my memories with fantasy - to create a scene that reveals itself to be children creating their own neighborhood and universe, from the ground to the magical sky. Children of every reality contributing to this beautiful scene in hope.
It speaks to Me Reimagined as it is the beginning and manifestation of that journey - the scene as a catalyst for me as a child discovering myself and what I could be - and then the creation of the scene as my fulfilling that promise.
I believe children are the stewards of transformation, in charge of changing the seasons and bringing us into the new day. I hope that all the art on the walls and streets of Detroit ignite a passion that impacts the trajectory of their life, empowering them to create the world they want to live in and working together to create it.
The scene is also a love letter to Detroit. We are not cookie cutter and we keep our soul through our expression. We each are here, and we win if we contribute our talents, whatever they might be.
I hope you can see things within the scene that resonate with you and those moments of happiness and connection that we experience together.
the artist's inspiration
The art around Detroit impacted me in ways I didn’t even know at the time. One of my favorite places as a child was the languishing neighborhood that Tyree Guyton turned into art. This is my letter to him - of acknowledgement, gratitude and commitment to the future.
When I was in 7th grade, my step-dad started taking me and my siblings on rides around the city. One place we often visited was this one block that was covered in polka dots - - the houses, the sidewalk and even the trees! They were magical days - visiting the polkadot block to see what was new and then get pizza and maybe head to Belle Isle. I think about those houses often, all decorated in various items, teddy bears, old records, different patterns, numbers and faces. I loved it. I also loved riding past the beauty supply store with the 3 women painted on the side. I always knew we were going to my granny’s house when I saw those women. Driving around the city, seeing murals was a highlight of my childhood.
DEANN WILEY
DeAnn is a self-taught illustrator with a master’s degree in counseling psychology born and raised in Detroit. She is an advocate for social justice as she sits at the intersection of many identities: Black, Woman, Queer, & disabled, and stands in solidarity with those communities that she is not a member of. When she's not painting, she's learning, growing, and healing, with each phase of her journey depicted in her art. Her first children’s book Homegrown was published in January 2024 and explores family values, culture, and tradition.
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
To the child I was, that block and the city’s art empowered my sense creativity and expression. I didn’t know I could be an artist, but seeing that, I knew I could create something. That experience shaped my ideals of what creativity is and introduced me to art as a form of resistance and activism.
As I grew up, I learned about Tyree Guyton and The Heidelberg Project and its mission to use art as medicine to heal and uplift a community. The creation of a space and environment that could offer peace and pride for a community that had lost so much. It is art and creativity as resistance - as a refusal to give in to the forces that will harm us, like poverty and violence. It is art as the deliberate set-building of our memories.
In The Heidelberg Project I saw proof that we all can choose to play a role in creating the society we want to live in. And I experienced the power of art to expand a child’s sense of who they are and what is possible.
Letter To Tyree Guyton combines the reality of my memories with fantasy - to create a scene that reveals itself to be children creating their own neighborhood and universe, from the ground to the magical sky. Children of every reality contributing to this beautiful scene in hope.
It speaks to Me Reimagined as it is the beginning and manifestation of that journey - the scene as a catalyst for me as a child discovering myself and what I could be - and then the creation of the scene as my fulfilling that promise.
I believe children are the stewards of transformation, in charge of changing the seasons and bringing us into the new day. I hope that all the art on the walls and streets of Detroit ignite a passion that impacts the trajectory of their life, empowering them to create the world they want to live in and working together to create it.
DeAnn's "If I could tell you just one thing..."
You are here because you belong here. Sometimes we end up in spaces and opportunities and dreams that feel too big - like we’re not supposed to have those dreams. But you are in those spaces because you belong there and you have something valuable to contribute if you choose to: yourself, your ideas, your experience, your knowledge and your creativity. That affirmation reminds you to make the most of the opportunity, for yourself and everyone around. You are here because you belong.
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
The scene is also a love letter to Detroit. We are not cookie cutter and we keep our soul through our expression. We each are here, and we win if we contribute our talents, whatever they might be.
I hope you can see things within the scene that resonate with you and those moments of happiness and connection that we experience together.
DeAnn’s “If I could tell you just one thing…”
You are here because you belong here. Sometimes we end up in spaces and opportunities and dreams that feel too big - like we’re not supposed to have those dreams. But you are in those spaces because you belong there and you have something valuable to contribute if you choose to: yourself, your ideas, your experience, your knowledge and your creativity. That affirmation reminds you to make the most of the opportunity, for yourself and everyone around. You are here because you belong.
explore the theme
explore the theme
Let's make our shared ideals a reality. For everyone.
DEANN WILEY
DeAnn is a self-taught illustrator with a master’s degree in counseling psychology born and raised in Detroit. She is an advocate for social justice as she sits at the intersection of many identities: Black, Woman, Queer, & disabled, and stands in solidarity with those communities that she is not a member of. When she's not painting, she's learning, growing, and healing, with each phase of her journey depicted in her art. Her first children’s book Homegrown was published in January 2024 and explores family values, culture, and tradition.
For everyone. For you. By all of us. Join us.
For everyone. For you.
By all of us. Join us.
PURPOSE
in our relationship with ourselves.
WORTHINESS
I am worthy of love dignity and respect.
AWARENESS
I know how I see the world and where it comes from.
BELIEF
I believe I have something valuable to offer.
PURPOSE
I know what inspires me and what I want to do.
