TAP -The Alley Project- Gallery

I’d seen this project written up in quite a few articles and journals and was eager to see it on my most recent visit to Detroit — but the reality didn’t live up to the coverage. The decorated garage doors are there, and they’re fun, but they’re few and far between and are looking a little dusty and dilapidated, and one comes away with the impression that whatever flurry of positive activity produced these interesting pieces in 2011 or thereabouts has subsided, or, at least been redirected into less visible outlets. They’re still kind of neat, and worth seeing if you’re in the neighborhood, but the photos here pretty much capture it all (at least what I was able to locate) and I wouldn’t make a special trip.
The more interesting story here may be the surrounding neighborhood of Springwells, which while not exactly flourishing, seems to be holding up better than many other Detroit neighborhoods against foreclosures, vacancies and teardowns. I remember from somewhere that most of the bricks fired in the Detroit area in the late 19^th and early 20^th century came from the Springwells area, which had particularly good clay; maybe I’ll read up a bit more!

The Alley Project, aka TAP, is by far one of the coolest places i recently discovered around Detroit!
I first visited this amazing site, which dare i say rivals the Heidelberg Project, during the Detroit Design Festival. Being a graffiti and street art afficionado, i instantly fell in love with The Alley Project! Not only does this alley feature amazing murals, graffiti, and art (using the garages as the canvas) but it’s the overall mission for community involvement that makes this alley art gallery pretty damn sweet and uniquely Detroit!
TAP also features graffiti competitions, art installations, and rotating murals that are def worth checking out! Take a look at some of the pics i’ve uploaded, which gives just a glimpse into this amazing place!
p. s. it’s located in the alley between Avis & Falcon, but don’t park in the alley, there’s plenty of street parking available.
p. p. s. it’s in the hood, so make sure you visit TAP during daylight hours.