The Very Thought of You Outdoor Installation in Harmonie Park Commissioned by the Carr Center Now Open
 
DETROIT, MI - From July 13, through September 23, 2014, in collaboration with the City of Detroit Department of Recreation and in support of Summer in the Park, the Carr Center will again enhance arts programming in Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley by combining music and dance in a temporary outdoor design installation. The opening celebration will be held on Sunday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m. Dance music will be provided by Uprizin’ Steel Band. The installation is free and open to the public through September 2014.
 
The commissioned architectural installation entitled, The Very Thought of You, is designed by the firm Anya Sirota + Akoaki and produced through the Carr Center’s collaboration with the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning. The project creates an outdoor ballroom where park visitors will enjoy concerts, dance and experience a visual arts exhibition. The Very Thought of You was created specifically for the Carr Center and its front yard..."
 
The installation was created with the assistance of University of Michigan Carr Center Design Fellows and manufactured at the Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning Fab Lan.
 
“This is a unique opportunity to create an inhabitable cultural marker in downtown Detroit. Our programming is multidisciplinary, inclusive, exciting – and the installation previews some of the amazing things to come”, said Oliver Ragsdale, Jr., President, The Carr Center.
 
“The connection between the Carr Center and Harmonie Park is really unique in the city. Very few institutions in Detroit have the opportunity to engage outdoor public programming in this way. The ballroom is designed to be playful, open and vivid. It’s a marker for the Carr Center and a showcase for the arts in the city.” Anya Sirota, principal, Akoaki 
 
Construction
The Very Thought of You is produced by dressing a light steel structure with a double-sided skin. Perforated vinyl on the interior of the park expresses classical baroque ornament. The exterior facade, designed in collaboration with a group of contemporary artists, including Carr Center Emergent Arts Fellow Erin Falker reflects the multicultural energy of the city of Detroit. The result is the patterns and graphic elements produces a novel visual and three-dimensional effect where visitors can move through a welcoming landscape.

The Summer in the Park Concert Series begun in June, also in the Carr Center’s Paradise Valley front yard. It includes two lunch time concerts each week. A weekly Dancing in Paradise dance party on Saturday evenings begin July 19 at 8:00 p.m.

In partnership with DPTV Channel 56 Carr Center Live will live stream28 Carr Center outdoor and indoor concerts and educational programs beginning with the Detroit 313 celebration concert on July 24 at 11:30 a.m.
 
The Very Thought of You installation begins Friday, July 11 and will be completed the morning of Sunday, July 13. The designer, artists and The Arts League representative will be available for interviews onsite Sunday morning.

For additional information on the Carr Center, log on to www.thecarrcenter.org.