DETROIT – Financial hardships put the internationally renowned Heidelberg Project on pause in Detroit as the nonprofit has decided to lay off its staff and temporarily suspend its educational programs.
The Heidelberg Project certainly captures the eye. It has been around for nearly 40 years as it operates as a free art museum with free programming that proves to be unsustainable.
The Heidelberg Project tells the story of Detroit’s decline and its resurgence. That history will guide the Heidelberg Project board through its current struggles.
Last Friday (Sept. 22), the project laid off its staff of nine workers and also paused all programming due to its finances.
“It’s always challenging to fund a small arts-based nonprofit, and we just got to a point where we realized we needed to make a shift,” said Heidelberg Project Board Chair Andrew Sturm.
Located on Detroit’s east side, it was founded in the mid-80s by Tyree Guyton. Its mission is to improve the lives of people and neighborhoods through art.
“When a lot of this financial conversation comes up, it can get lost that the Heidelberg contributed a lot to the city,” Sturm said.
The focus now is preserving the art on display and developing a financial model that works.
There are few places like The Heidelberg Project, which had former Metro Detroiter Troy Wollenslegel bringing his family to check it out.
“It is interesting,” I have to show people that have never been here before.
“It’s pretty amazing that people can take things and get artistic with it,” said Diane Wollenslegel. “It’s very unique. And we, too, have never seen anything like this.”
The board hopes the outdoor art museum will remain an attraction as it is reimagined.
“We think it’s really important that that continues and continues to evolve over time as Detroit changes, Heidelberg will change with it,” Strum said.
The Heidelberg Project board plans to sell their administrative building, which is off-site, to provide some much-needed cash. Board members say they rely on donations and grants to sustain the project.
Click here for more information on The Heidelberg Project and how to support it.
