Towards an altruistic design process
About Bleeding Heart Design Founder: Rebecca Bucky Willis, M.Arch ___________________________ :
Advisory Committee Members: Josh Budiongan Laavu Studio Brooke Ellis Architectural Designer Sandra Turner Handy MI Environmental Council Erik Howard Young Nation Sarida Scott Montgomery Community Development Advocates of Detroit James Ribbron City of Detroit Diane Van Buren Zachary & Associates Juana Woodson Milton Manufacturing
“Bleeding Hearts” are people who are less inclined to only think of themselves and those closest to them. Instead they think holistically and are aware of their social responsibilities. The Bleeding Heart Design (b.h.d) organization advocates the use of human centered design methods to inspire people to become more altruistic by using public art, design and architecture as conduits for social change. Founded in 2012, b.h.d has completed a number of placemaking and public art projects in the Lindale Gardens neighborhood of Northeast Detroit. For the Lindale Gardens Art House project during the 2012 b.h.d Art Series, b.h.d gathered volunteers together to drench an entire abandoned house in an array of colorful paint as a temporary art installation. This project asked the question “how can you turn blight into beauty?” to inspire Detroiters to rethink the way they see blight. The neighbors reported that a myriad of people would stop their cars to interact with the installation. For the 2013 Art Series, the organization brought residents together to clean a large abandoned field on State Fair Rd. and build the Lindale Gardens Community Stage in response to the community expressing that it needed a place to gather with neighbors and hold events. Adjacent to this same field, in May of 2014, the b.h.d Call for Entries winner painted a mural with a theme of Love and Forgiveness. The winning design was selected by community members and is the first art mural in the Lindale Gardens neighborhood. Bleeding Heart Design has completed 12 projects and continues to impact the lives of Detroiters. Within the last two years, more than 130 neighbors and volunteers have gathered together for community clean ups and to advocate for art being a more integral part of the community. Bleeding Heart Design believes in collaboration among individuals and organizations. In the past year it has collaborated with other organizations like Challenge Detroit and partnered with the Detroit Collaborative Design Center, which serves as b.h.d’s fiduciary. The entire DCDC staff also serves as advisors to b.h.d in addition to b.h.d’s Advisory Committee Members.
www.BleedingHeartDesign.org Bucky@BleedingHeartDesign.org