Tyree Guyton (born August 24, 1955) is an artist from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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. He is married to Jenenne Whitfield and continues to live in Detroit. Before becoming an artist, Guyton worked as a firefighter and an autoworker and served in the

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. He studied art at Marygrove College,

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

, and the Center for Creative Studies—now

College for Creative Studies The College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a private art school in Detroit, Michigan. It enrolls more than 1,400 students and focuses on arts education. The college is also active in offering art education to children through its Community Arts ...

. Guyton counts his grandfather, Sam Mackey, and Detroit artist Charles McGee as his greatest influences.

Early life into adulthood

Guyton was raised on Heidelberg Street, a residential neighborhood on Detroit's east side, which influenced him throughout his life. in his childhood, he frequently visited the Detroit Institute of the Arts with his grandfather. Guyton also grew up during the Detroit riots of 1967. He proceeded to complete high school and serve in the U.S. Army. After his time in the military he decided to pursue his dreams of being an artist. He began taking night classes under the artist Charles McGee, at the College for Creative Studies.

Art career

Since creating the Heidelberg Project with his grandfather in 1986, Guyton has received international recognition as an artist, educator, and community leader. The Heidelberg Project is slated to close due to his desire to focus on other projects. Although he is an honorary director on the Heidelberg Project board of directors, in recent years he has concentrated his efforts on his art exhibitions as well as on lecturing and teaching. In 2007, he accepted a position teaching an honors program at the

. Guyton's work has been installed and displayed across the world, including a feature in 1999 by the

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in the Art in Embassies Program with an exhibition in the American Embassy in

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. Permanent installations of his work have been established in

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, at the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

, and in

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. Tyree Guyton has received the following awards for his contributions as an artist and humanitarian: Wayne County International Artist Award (2003), Award of Recognition, Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Repre ...

(2002), Best Known Artist in Metro Detroit,

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(2001), "Michigan Artist of the Year," Governor

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American politician, lawyer, businessman, and lobbyist who served as the 46th governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. Considered one of the country's top lobbyists, he is a member of the Republi ...

State of Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

(1992), Humanity in the Arts Award,

(1992), "Michiganian of the Year Award,"

(1991), David A. Harmond Memorial Scholarship (1990), "Testimonial Resolution Award," Wayne County,

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

(1990), "Spirit of Detroit Award," Detroit City Council,

(1989). In 1999, Tyree Guyton was the subject of an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Films documentary, "Come Unto Me: The Faces of Tyree Guyton". This film won numerous honors, including an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for editing in 2000 and honorable mention at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

for director Nicole Cattell. In 2005, Guyton and the Heidelberg Project were featured on the

Vision TV VisionTV is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language Category A services, Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is ...

documentary "Urban Shrines", produced by Toronto-based Markham Street Films. In 2007 Guyton's work was included in the French documentary ''Detroit: The Cycles of the Mental Machine'', featuring

Techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

artists Mike Banks and

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, directed by Jacqueline Caux. The illustrated children's book ''Magic Trash'', by Jane Shapiro, covers Guyton's biography and the Heidelberg Project.Magic Trash: New children's book tells story of Heidelberg Project creator Tyree Guyton
AP, October 07, 2011.

References

External links

The Heidelberg Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guyton, Tyrese 1955 births Artists from Detroit Marygrove College alumni College for Creative Studies alumni Wayne State University alumni Living people African-American contemporary artists American contemporary artists 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American artists