01-05-2025
Heidelberg Project seeks community photos, memories for archive at anniversary bash Saturday
The Heidelberg Project, a beloved, bigger-than-life outdoor art installation in Detroit, will celebrate its 39th anniversary this weekend, and area residents are invited to become part of the event by sharing their memories.
The all-day celebration takes place on Saturday, May 3, at Spot Lite Detroit, kicking off at 11 a.m. Friends of the Project are invited to bring old photo prints and stories of their visits to add to Heidelberg's historical archive.
'It's really simple,' said Heidelberg executive director Andy Sturm. 'If people have old, physical photographs, stuff that's laying around or in a photo album somewhere from a time that they visited two years ago, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, that they really love, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Spot Lite, they can come down, bring their photo, and we can scan it. We'll ask a few questions so we can contextualize it, like, 'Who took the photograph? What was it of?'
'The other side of that is, if you don't have a photograph but you have a story of having been there and having an experience, we'll also have someone who's taking oral histories at the same time. This is all through partnership with Wayne State University's archival program.'
From 3-6 p.m., Spot Lite will host children's activities and a dance party. Starting at 7 p.m., an all-star lineup of DJs will perform through the end of the night. The live music lineup features Kenjiro, Turtle Bugg, and WDET hosts and DJs, Liz Warner, Shigeto, and Wajeed.
Spot Lite is donating all door proceeds from the show to the Heidelberg Project. Advance tickets are $22.85 and can be purchased at
Popular now: Detroit Zoo's new baby penguin, Atticus, finally viewable to public: When you can see him
See also: Detroit's Hannan Center called 'one of Michigan's best-kept secrets' for senior citizens
'The Heidelberg Project is a special place,' said Spot Lite owner and Heidelberg Project board chair Roula David. 'We're honored to throw a party in the spirit of creativity, community and cultural legacy that the Heidelberg Project represents.'
Sturm said a fundraiser like this is important at a pivotal time for the arts in America.
'You know, it's a wild time out there for arts funding,' he said, 'and so coming up with creative ways to secure the legacy of the Project is important. This is something Roula came up with and put out there. They've done it with other organizations in the past, and since there's such an ongoing collaboration between the two of us, it just seems like a really interesting way to do it. And, hopefully, the plan is that we will actually take some of the photos that we get scanned during the day and project them onto the wall during the night's dance party.'
It all goes down Saturday at Spot Lite, 2905 Beaufait St., No. 4, Detroit.
For more on The Heidelberg Project, visit
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Heidelberg Project seeks community photos, memories at event Saturday
