what was the mission?

michigan flower growers cooperative is a collective of flower farmers in southeast michigan, offering local and seasonal flowers to floral designers through a wholesale marketplace. i served on the cooperative board for its first three years, and believe it is an important organization to have in our community. 

like so many small businesses during the pandemic, MFGC needed financial support to survive. this would normally have been a profitable time for local farms, selling spring flowers for weddings and other events, but rightfully so, all gatherings were postponed indefinitely. 

in all of this challenge, i saw an opportunity to help, safely.

every week, from the last week of may to the first week of july, the series of themed installations directly supported farmers through revenue from weekly flower sales. i worked alone in safety gear to produce clandestine floral installations, in unique places within the city limits of detroit, chosen by the editors of belle isle to eight mile: an insiders guide to detroit.

press

the installations

WEEK ONE: PERSEVERANCE
location: the former home of marvin gaye, 3067 w outer drive, detroit
farms supported: marilla field and flora, seeley farm, forget me not farms
playlist: perserverance: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success

what’s special about this location?
from belle isle to eight mile: marvin gaye spent the late 60s and early 70s in thie sleek mid-century ranch. his seminal 1971 hit “what’s going on” was conceived here, on a gold grand piano in the home’s sunken living room.

installation notes from lisa:
the shape is two-fold: an homage to the fabled gold piano in the home’s sunken living room where ‘what’s going on’ was conceived as well as the arc of us collectively ‘flattening the curve’ of coronavirus thru safe actions.

WEEK TWO: TRUTH
location: the birwood wall at alfonso wells memorial park
farms supported: luella acres
playlist: truth: the big flower friend playlist

what’s special about this location?
nearly half a mile long, the birwood wall was constructed in 1941, as the federal government would not approve mortgages for whites in neighborhoods where black people were living. it is a artifact of "redlining" where maps were color-coded as decisions were made who could (or could not) live in certain areas of detroit.

installation notes from lisa: this installation isn’t about the installation; it’s about getting you to visit and learn about this artifact which still stands today—a physical, visible embodiment of racism. conversations, books, films: there are countless resources for us to learn the truth of history, whether distant, recent, or yesterday. in detroit, we live among people and places we can learn from. arrive. engage. listen.

WEEK THREE: HONOR
location: the corner of west warren and 23rd, detroit
farms supported: marilla field & flora, luella acres, the farm on jennings, gnome grown flower farm, foxtail flower farm, seeley farm
playlist: honor: the big flower friend playlist

what’s special about this location?
from the editors of the detroit guidebook, belle isle to eight mile: “at this site in november 1992, malice green, an unarmed 35-year-old black man, was brutally beaten to death with a flashlight by two white detroit police officers, while parked in front of a suspected drug house. this event, which came just months after the murder of rodney king in los angeles, still reverberates today, and is a reminder of how little progress has been made in ending racially motivated police violence throughout the country." truthfully, i did not know of malice green until the editors of the guidebook suggested the location to me. i read many articles about the memorial at the site, the trial, and even learned about the current malice green mural-in-progress by @sydneygjames. during install, i met people who live in the neighborhood and knew malice. i’m grateful for their generosity in sharing their stories. from malice green’s headstone: “in his untimely death, he shall live forever in history”

installation notes from lisa:
i’ve been thinking a lot about how we honor stolen lives. for this installation, i learned about malice green, and, like many others, i see the similarities between his death and george floyd’s—with one exception: the video. it’s undeniable what is happening to black bodies, lives, and communities—not that it wasn’t clear in 1991 when rodney king was beaten on tape. shame on us. but, we’re here now, and there is a movement and a momentum. it’s time to honor our dead, killed young, violently, from a place of hate.

if you are local, go to the site where malice green was murdered by two white police officers in 1992, struck 14 times in the head with a flashlight. west warren and 23rd. i put some flowers there so you have a soft landing, but allow yourself to imagine blood on the pavement. if you are lucky, like i was, some of the neighbors will stop and share their stories about malice. listen. read. and my very specific advice—find a list of black people murdered (heartbreakingly, this is easy) and google them. look at their faces, read their stories, watch the horrific videos you never wanted to watch. i did this as i prepared for this installation and it wrecked me. but just because i’m feeling this way—deeply sickened—doesn’t mean this is the beginning. get in here. now is not too late. but next week, or tomorrow, might be. 

i’m interested in protest art, and how beautiful memorials are—though both are heartbreaking to behold. the idea for this week’s installation was meta—a memorial to memorials. but as i googled each name, and watched their face emerge from the printer, i read their story and watched a video of a horrific death. i am deeply embarrassed to admit that while i was showing up for anti-racist work “as often as possible” in the past few years, it took a stack of portraits for me to realize that we need to honor *every* single one of these people who gave their lives—and therefore built the momentum we feel now—by doing something *every* day to stop the violence on black lives.

WEEK FOUR: FROM TENSION, CHANGE
location: 12th + clairmount (gordon park)
farms supported: marilla field & flora, gnome grown flower farm, seeley farm
playlist: from tension, change: the big flower friend playlist

what’s special about this location?
from the editors of the detroit guidebook, belle isle to eight mile: "this corner played an integral role in the city's history as a point of origin for the 1967 riots. in the early morning hours of july 23, 1967, detroit police officers raided an after hours party at blind pig celebrating the return of two vietnam veterans. crowd anger over the raid escalated into widespread clashes resulting in five days of looting, police brutality, and mob violence that saw 43 people killed, 467 injured, 7,231 arrested, and 2,509 buildings burned or looted. the us army and national guard troops were deployed to quell the rioting. ultimately, nearly a quarter of the city was physically affected by the violence and destruction, but its impact as in evocative symbol of contemporary racial discrimination and conflict was felt around the country and still resonates in the city today. although most frequently described as riots, today, some now refer to the grim event as a rebellion, uprising, or civil disturbance to reflect a more nuanced view of the circumstances and context leading up to the violence."

installation notes from lisa:
for this installation, i wanted to work in the beautiful trees grown in two parallel lines in the park. i strung paracord (leftover from 2015’s flower house!) to create a minimal web 8’ above the ground, then, where the cord crossed and pulled against itself, installed flowers (project photographer emily berger said they looked like birds) and bundles of sticks gathered from the park’s floor. i do believe that change does not come about without tension, and while the 1967 uprising was a violent one, it relieved some tension and shed light on issues previously not discussed. as with most folks pushing the black lives movement forward, i hope that the tension we’re breaking now brings about a change in this country.

WEEK FIVE: HOPE
location: second baptist church, monroe + beaubien
farms supported: willa rose flower farm
playlist: coming soon from guest DJ jax anderson

what’s special about this location?
from the editors of the detroit guidebook, belle isle to eight mile: "founded in 1836, the historic second baptist church is the oldest african-american congregation in the midwest. the church conducts tours which detail its history in detroit's black community as the last stop before canada on the underground railroad and a center for civil rights leadership."

installation notes from lisa:
i first learned of this important place from jamon jordan of black scroll tours on a tour of underground railroad sites in detroit, and this project had me revisiting my interest as i worked with the editors of the detroit guidebook, belle isle to eight mile to choose installation locations. the night before the installation, my deep-learning-encourager friend katie read this passage to me from colson whitehead's novel the underground railroad: "cora didn't know what optimistic meant. she asked the other girls that night if they were familiar with the word. none of them had heard it before. she decided that it meant 'trying'." hope is fleeting lately. if you are having trouble feeling optimistic, that's understandable. but the time is now (an unimaginably overdue NOW) to use your skills to further the black lives movement. so let's just try, every day. hope lives in momentum, and trying can get you there. 
one additional note—the fabric i used in this installation was scrap from a mask-making frenzy i undertook in march, sewing over 300 masks for friends, family, and neighbors. if you still need one, let me know here.

WEEK SIX: THIS IS DETROIT
location: city bird
farms supported: willa rose flower farm, marilla field & flora, luella acres, the farm on jennings, gnome grown flower farm, seeley farm, growing hope, forget me not farms

playlist: coming soon

what’s special about this location?
from the editors of the detroit guidebook, belle isle to eight mile, are also the owners of city bird (and nest) in detroit’s midtown neighborhood. these two shops sell handmade and designy items. emily linn and her brother andy linn are seventh-generation (!) detroiters and their stores are beloved in the city. their brother rob also edited the guidebook with them, and director of inventory at the detroit land bank.

i partnered with the linns for this project so they could steer me to detroit locations that are important in black culture and civil rights history.

installation notes from lisa: on this week of our country’s holiday which we observe our founding, i created a version of the american flag celebrating all colors. i invited friends and neighbors to join me at the conclusion of my installing the flowers to have their portraits taken in the spirit of this week’s theme: this is detroit. see the photos by emily berger on @lisawaudbotanicalartist.