From ice, cometh the fire.
Gregory Holm, the creator behind 2010's
Ice House Detroit, will launch a new visual and aural spectacle in an old firehouse from the 1800's located at 1480 Gratiot Ave.
Fire House Detroit is more of a continuation of the Ice House idea than the artistic polar opposite, Holm says.
"The Ice House was an attention getter for a neighborhood," he says. "It made a lot
of sense to have this beacon of dialogue where people could talk around
this space, come out of their homes in a very neglected neighborhood. It
had a lot of roots to very sad situations that were going on."
Fire House, which will open to the public in July, is a project aimed to inspire and activate a new generation of Detroit children, whom Holm will help incorporate into the experience. Young poets, musicians and singers from the city will all take part in crafting a score and compositions for the opening, which will also feature a pyrophone, which uses flames to create sound.
"We're creating the memories where they can look back in five or 10
years and say, "Hey, I was part of this huge production where I
was writing poetry that was sung by another children's group and we
collaborated with contemporary thinkers," Holm says.
While Holm and his crew work to build the Fire House spectacle, he's turned a portion of the Fire House into a new venue, 2:1 Gallery.
"It spun out really organically," says Holm. "It's such a beautiful space, and we
decided to create a space in Detroit that isn't really here, dedicated
just to sound art."
If the Ice House propelled the idea of the Fire House, this new project has spawned not only a gallery, but a new creative aggregate, 2:1 LLC, "where we can provide ideas and act more as a think tank to create interesting concepts, as liasons between brands or foundations and neighborhoods," Holm says.
Look for more sound experiences from 2:1 Gallery this summer, as well as a Neighborhoods Day event, which will take place in late July. "We'll be transforming the neighborhood into a huge day event for children, all based around sound," Holm says.
Source: Gregory Holm, Fire House Detroit
Writer: Ashley C. Woods
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