Hamtramck Disneyland is a folk art explosion tucked away on a shady, tree-lined street in the northern corner of the city.
In the backyard installation, you’ll find two rainbow-striped sheds adorned with toy dinos and repurposed rocking horses; a homemade helicopter perched atop a central pergola; and on the ground below, a windmill covered in little mechanical workers.
The folk art installation was first created by Dmytro Szylak, who immigrated to the area from Ukraine in the 1950s. After retiring from a 30-year career at General Motors, Szylak began this backyard experiment, a project that’s now lasted over 30 years.
Over the years, the project's structural integrity and bright colors have waned. Szylak died in 2015. But a local art collective, Hatch Art, acquired the property in 2016, and has been repairing things ever since, bringing Szylak’s work to life in new ways.
“The rocking horses in particular are stuff that was here that we have rehabbed. If you look closely you can see there's duct tape on some of the legs,” said Sean Bieri, project manager and board member with Hatch. “Some of these horses you can kind of see are working within [Szylak’s] style, but have kind of drifted and become more individual as well.”
The team has also been repainting weather-worn objects, maintaining Szylak’s bright color palette.
“Some of the colors he used didn't last very long, and then he was constantly redoing them,” said Bieri. “I'm finding out a combination of [mural paint], and then, just like a clear coat makes them last a lot longer. Just for our own sanity, we're trying to make this a little more sustainable, so we can keep many things going at once.”
The house itself is still a residential home to artists.
Renee Willoughby is the current artist-in-residence helping maintain the Hamtramck Disneyland property.
“I do feel there's a bit of, kind of, communing with Dmytro’s spirit,” Willoughby said. “I was reflecting on a video ... that was recorded of him talking, and he said, ‘Well, if somebody continued to do something with [Hamtramck Disneyland] and they still liked it … I would enjoy that. There's something about that simplicity, like that earnest, humble simplicity that kind of, you know, comforts me a little bit.”
Bieri said that the infrastructure of Hamtramck Disneyland is repaired, but that there’s still plenty of work left. The Hatch team will have open work days starting in June through Labor Day every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE:
- Sean Bieri, project manager and board member with Hatch
- Renee Willoughby, artist-in-residence at Hamtramck Disneyland
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