Habitat for Humanity Detroit Collaborates with College for Creative Studies to Raise Awareness for Affordable Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Issues

“Opening Doors of Opportunity” Art Exhibit Collaboration Begins

Detroit, Michigan – January 28, 2016 Habitat for Humanity Detroit and College for Creative Studies (CCS) is collaborating on a project where students will create art projects out of thirty recycled doors. Students from the Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design and Crafts programs will create meaningful and artful displays from doors donated from the Habitat for Humanity Detroit ReStore.

The “Opening Doors of Opportunity” Campaign is a chance for optimism to meet opportunity in the narrative surrounding the rebuilding of Detroit. With the continued rebuilding efforts surrounding downtown, Midtown and other business districts of Detroit, the neighborhoods are needing the same thrust of financial, community, political and public support. The significance of thirty doors is that it represents Habitat Detroit celebrating 30 years of impact in Detroit neighborhoods.

This campaign will be a traveling art exhibit around the city of Detroit and other targeted areas to bring attention to the need for affordable housing and encouraging people to move back to the neighborhoods of Detroit. The exhibit will center on wooden doors donated from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and will be designed, decorated and/or otherwise embellished to represent the need for rebuilding the neighborhoods and affordable home ownership in Detroit.

“We are very excited to partner with Habitat for Humanity Detroit on this project to raise the consciousness of the general public around the issue of housing and the need for neighborhood revitalization in the city of Detroit,” says Vince Carducci, Dean of Undergraduate Studies at College for Creative Studies.

It is envisioned that these doors will be placed in large traffic areas in the city of Detroit where passersby will stop, admire and engage with their personal stake in the redevelopment of Detroit’s neighborhoods. These doors will truly reflect the opportunities in waiting for a city reborn through its neighborhoods.

Each door will be individually designed as part of a contest for students at CCS. Students will have a chance to select a door, design and embellish it as each artist sees fit, then will enter it as a contestant where a juried panel as well as the public will have a chance to vote on the best designed door. The gallery exhibit opening will coincide with Habitat Detroit’s Red Carpet Bash on February 27. The top 3 winners will be announced at the event and will receive a scholarship toward their college tuition.

For doors that are appropriate to fit and suitable for installation, they could end up in a Habitat for Humanity home to be built in 2016.

“We’re honored and grateful to College for Creative Studies for helping us generate awareness for our mission to build safe, affordable housing in Detroit neighborhoods,” says Ken Cockrel, Jr., Executive Director at Habitat for Humanity Detroit.

If your company or organization would like more information about displaying one or more of these doors after Red Carpet Bash on February 27, please contact Lisa Prince at Habitat for Humanity Detroit (lprince@habitatdetroit.org).

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About Habitat for Humanity Detroit

Habitat for Humanity Detroit is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit ecumenical Christian housing ministry providing decent, safe and affordable housing to low-income families in Detroit. Since 1986, the Detroit affiliate has rehabilitated and/or built new houses in partnership with more than 350 families. Financial support, gift-in-kind donations and volunteer labor allow Habitat for Humanity Detroit to continue building affordable homes with those in need of improved housing. For more information please visit www.habitatdetroit.org or call (313) 521-6691.

For information on Red Carpet Bash, please visit www.redcarpetbashdetroit.com

For information on Metro ReStores, please visit www.metrorestores.org

About College for Creative Studies

Located in the heart of Detroit, the College for Creative Studies (CCS) educates artists and designers to be leaders in the creative professions. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls more than 1,400 students pursuing Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees.

Students in the BFA program can major in Advertising: Copywriting, Advertising Design, Crafts, Entertainment Arts, Fashion Accessories Design, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design, and Transportation Design, in addition to a dual major Art Education program. Students in the MFA program can major in Color and Materials Design, Interaction Design, Integrated Design, and Transportation Design. The College also offers non-credit courses in the visual arts through its Continuing and Precollege Studies programs and opportunities for youth through its Community Arts Partnerships programs.