Detroit — Detroit artist and muralist Olayami Dabls has lost hope the building serving as an exhibition of his work will be saved from city-ordered demolition.
“No miracle can save it now,” Dabls said of the building that has stood at the corner of Grand River and West Grand Boulevard for more than 25 years. “I can’t fight them. I don’t have any resources to fight them and they know that.”
The 2022 Kresge Arts Fellow is attempting to raise $200,000 for the first phase of renovations through a GoFundMe to create Dabls’ vision of a space for African-based exhibitions and arts education programs for local children and community groups.
The unique exterior is a essentially a large, colorful mural that took Dabls a year and a half to complete. It features beads, African symbols, artwork and jagged mirrors that cover the building. He said he uses mirrors because they give people a chance to look at themselves in perhaps a way they never have.
Since, 1998, the museum has drawn thousands of visitors from around the world. But Dabls never got around to opening the museum in the building. He has a retail shop in the next building. The centerpiece of the museum’s campus is a sculpture garden with 18 installations, all conceived and created by Dabls.
In an online post last week, he issued a call for help to restore the front building but did not expect the city to be drawn to the fully collapsed roof. On Thursday, the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department issued an emergency demolition order for building 101 at 6559 W. Grand River, which is separate from the Dabls retail shop and not slated for demolition.
“At the time the owner of DABLS posted information on social media about his building next to his museum, there was no demolition order related to it. However, since the issue was brought to our attention, we have inspected the building and determined it to be in a state of significant collapse and must be taken down immediately,” said Building director David Bell.
“It is important for people to understand that this is an entirely separate building from the DABLS museum, which is not affected by this order. The building has deteriorated to the point it is no longer salvageable and poses an immediate threat to public safety. Our primary concern is the health, safety and welfare of residents and public who may visit the area,” Bell concluded.
The site is expected to be razed within the next two weeks. The cost of demolition will be determined after the bidding process is complete, said Raquel Harrington, city spokeswoman for the demolition and construction department. The city couldn’t estimate how large the site is.
While he protests the city’s approach, Dabls agrees the building is in major disrepair and at risk of collapse. He wants the city to help in stabilizing the building, which he doesn’t consider “blight.”
The properties were donated to Dabis’ nonprofit in 1997. Before the pandemic, the ceiling collapsed in the building he was using for storage. He questions why there is an emergency demolition order when “it’s been like that for a long time,” he said.
Behind the buildings, the city is constructing one of its Art Alleys, running from Vinewood to Taft streets between Grand River Avenue and Interstate 94, which aims to bring a commercial alley “bordering one of the city’s most iconic arts installations, the DABLS Bead Museum and arts garden,” according to the city. Construction on the alley started last week, Dabis said, and the orange barrels and yellow tape were placed for demolition around the exterior Monday morning.
“(The city has) no sensitivity. Buildings are preserved for all kinds of reasons,” Dabls said. “They spent all that money to restore the train station and that’s been closed for 50 years, but it has a lot of sentimental value to a lot of people. That’s how I thought they were gonna treat me, but … I know when I have to fold because I don’t want to have any more trouble and I’ve made my peace with it.”
The Dabls family is looking to replace the building with an inserted shed gallery space or create another courtyard by buying the building next door, which has trees growing out of its front door. New walls would provide a blank canvas for Dabls to continue his artwork, they said.
The funding also would help stabilize other nearby properties during demolition. Dabls plans to bring the community together Aug. 10 for a Bead Festival from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., which will also serve as the grand opening of the Grand River Art Alley.
He said it’s important for the building exterior to remain because “the design retains the language of the neighborhood context and signals the Museum’s role as a leader in the city’s future.”
On Monday, visitors from Toronto said called the place a hidden gem in the city. Longtime admirers stopped in the shop saying, “We wanted to make sure everything was still here,” said Nyame Selassie, 80.
“I’ve been coming here since he opened and I feel he’s the keeper of the culture and the traditions. He’s worked hard to stay here and this is the only place I know that has authentic jewelry,” said Selassie, who lives at Seven Mile and Southfield. “It would be a real travesty and injustice to the city to see the building demolished. It would just be a very unwise and blatant move.”
“I remember when the city didn’t know what they were gonna do with this place, but I’ll stay as long as I can,” he said. “Everything is designed not to last forever.”
srahal@detroitnews.com
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