This Tweet came from The Heidelberg Project this morning:
BREAKING: Tip to @Local4News confirmed by Tyree. Yet another act of #arson claimed our HOUSE OF SOUL. It burned to the ground early this AM.
— Heidelberg Project (@HeidelbergProj) November 12, 2013
The "House of Soul" was part of the world-renowned art installation on Detroit's east side. This comes a month after another house in The Heidelberg Project burned down.
On October 5th, the "OJ House" was no more:
In a statement, the organizers behind The Heidelberg Project, Tyree Guyton and Jenenne Whitfield, said they knew the OJ House fire was sent intentionally by a "young man."
They had this message for the person they say is responsible:
We want you to know that we understand your pain. We realize that all you’ve grown to know is destruction and that you see no way out. This is precisely why we are here. Our work is not about tangible “things,” it is about the Power of the Human Spirit. We recognize that there is a fire in you and we are here not to extinguish it, but to offer you a better reason to fuel it. Though you have tried, you cannot destroy the Heidelberg Project; it’s bigger than all of us now. Instead, we invite you to join our family in creating a better neighborhood, a better Detroit, if not for anyone else than for yourself. As Tyree has said, “If you believe, you can change it…” We believe.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Detroit fire officials are calling the latest fire "suspicious." A volunteer for the art installation told the paper that there were no electrical connections in the house.
The Heidelberg Project was first maligned by city officials (the city demolished some of the art in 1991), but it's now internationally celebrated.
