winter scene at Power House Productions headquarters

…established in 2006 by extreme urban-adventure-seeking visionary revolutionary activist artist and architect duo Mitch Cope and Gina Reichert, headquartered in a gradually evolving powerhouse laboratory with veggie garden beds flanking a boat sculpture in front of pastel striped siding topped by a new system of passive/active solar roofing – spawned a whole city quarter (as yet unnamed) of like-minded activity, and was perhaps my most vivid mental image of the ‘new’ Detroit before arriving – where yesterday afternoon Gina graciously gathered a group of neighborhood artist colleagues, then retreating to their nearby storefront/home for tea, including old friend Jon Brumit (of Dflux and The 100$ House), Graem Whyte & Faina Lerman (of Popps Packing – ‘the ultimate laboratory for artists’ – plus the upcoming down-the-street Squash House, a special place for both the vegetable and the sport), Kate Daughdrill (of Detroit Soup and the upcoming Edible Hut), Scott Hocking (whose iconic images of, projects in, and use of materials from, the abandoned buildings of Detroit have become iconic), Zeb Smith, and Dutch visitor Erik Jutten, to help me get a sense of what exactly is going on in this town – and float ideas for the fall 2012 project plans that could possibly involve working with many local collaborative cultural collectives…(and if that wasn’t enough for one day, I earlier met Dabls at his museum; Jon Brumit and Katie McGowan at MOCAD, and later Steve Hughes, Carrie Dickason, and Jessica Frelinghuysen at Public Pool; and finally Leon Johnson and Megan O’Connell for a delicious loftmade dinner and tour of their new start-up press and gallery Signal-Return – now featuring an Alison Knowles show – in the warehouse meat-packing district of Eastern Market….whew – what a town of energetic folks!)

POWER HOUSE PRODUCTIONS
Neighborhood stabilization and revitalization through the arts and creative enterprises. PHP is an incorporated nonprofit whose mission is to develop and implement neighborhood stabilization strategies in a Detroit neighborhood near Hamtramck.  Our program focuses on integrating artists live/work spaces and using art and cultural resources to revitalize the neighborhood. Incorporated in 2009, PHP is a community-based non-profit organization with 501(c)(3).  We currently have two (2) main programs:
1)  Artist residency program – This program provides affordable housing for artists from across the world so they are able to develop long-term creative projects in the City of Detroit and contribute to Detroit’s revitalization
2) Neighborhood stabilization – This program incorporates a broad array of activities ranging from boarding up houses, to marketing vacant houses and creating live/work spaces for artists.