In the tradition of our annual Angel’s Night event at The Alley Project neighbors, youth, local artists, and visitors gathered this year to acknowledge and admire a collaborative community ofrenda.
The ofrenda—facilitated by Open Studio artist Dalia Reyes and our neighbors, the Romero family—converted more than 20 feet of window space into a lighted, multi-level, sacred space of remembrance visible to the community at our building on Avis and Elsmere.
Throughout the day families completed ofrendas while also sharing food, photographs, and time with each other. Children painted and carved pumpkins donated by Detroit Southwest Pride. Messes and memories were made and a beautiful byproduct remains for the neighborhood to enjoy.
Background
We began hosting our annual “Angel’s Night” event in 2012 in response to city-wide curfews issued and enforced around Halloween as part of the City of Detroit’s ongoing crime reduction initiative of the same name on Devil’s Night—an infamous Detroit tradition that saw rampant arson and other incidents on the evening before Halloween.
The Alley Project’s first annual ‘Angel’s Night’ gathering. Avis near Woodmere, Southwest Detroit. (2012)
While aspiring to reduce crime this curfew made it illegal for unaccompanied minors to be outside in their neighborhoods, some years beginning as early as 4:30pm, criminalizing youth participating in otherwise legal, routine behavior. Often youth with no prior offenses were picked up for curfew violations, issued citations, and sometimes ended up in court and/or fined affecting the whole family.
Our annual event was initiated to create a safe space where youth and adults can gather, sharing time and place, without fear of criminalization.
The city recently retired its Angel’s Night initiatives, including the city-wide curfew. But each year we continue to build in the days ahead of Halloween, All Saints Day, and Dia de Los Muertos honoring the traditions and memory of those who have come before us. We do this in a way true to our Angels Night event’s roots of intersectional, multi-generational gathering to build community.
Over the years our gathering has evolved as a creative expression of coming together to remember—that we need each other, that we are grateful for those who came before us, and that we keep us safe.