Community gardens are popping up all over Detroit. This post from Model D takes a tour through three of them, and explores how they balance art and nature.
One garden in the city's Northend includes an outdoor gallery of art by local Sean Rentie.
"'It brings a lot of beauty to the garden, not just plants, a bench, and maybe a table,' Sean says. 'The art itself is a story of the people who live in this community; the struggles, their dreams, pains, hopes, and aspirations.'
With the possibility of gentrification in this neighborhood, with new housing going in, planned mass transit on Woodward Avenue, the Northend seems ripe for development. But Sean is unconcerned, noting that Jews and African Americans used to share this neighborhood peacefully, pointing out remnants of this such as the Schvitz Bath House and Greenfield Noodle company. As long as African American residents are respected and are not pushed out, he has no problem with new residents."
FULL STORY: Taking root: Art sprouts in Northend neighborhood gardens
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