Memorial related to COVID-19 losses to move

Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read

It's a serene space tucked inside the walls of a convention center and near a Detroit People Mover station.

Rows of squares, each containing tiny pouches delicately attached.

A huge cornucopia of colors, shapes and styles.

The pouches are made of fabric. Some contain string or ribbon and beads.

All hold dear memories of someone or something lost by metro Detroiters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Healing Memorial, which contains thousands of pouches created by metro Detroiters to recognize loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2022. It will be moving from inside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills.
The Healing Memorial, which contains thousands of pouches created by metro Detroiters to recognize loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2022. It will be moving from inside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills.

What is this wall?

The Healing Memorial contains more than 4,000 pouches made by residents of metro Detroit to recognize various types of losses during the pandemic.

Residents wrote a personal memory, note or intention on a piece of paper, wrapped the paper in fabric and attached a bead to create a living testimony to what was lost and how people can come together as a community, according to an informational sign near the memorial inside Huntington Place during a visit in October.

Residents were encouraged to create pouches, which fit in the palm of the hand, using fabric from their loved ones or donated material, according to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy's website. The installation covers a 20-by-20-foot wall.

The Healing Memorial, which contains thousands of pouches created by metro Detroiters to recognize loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2022. It will be moving from inside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills.
The Healing Memorial, which contains thousands of pouches created by metro Detroiters to recognize loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2022. It will be moving from inside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills.

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What's happening with the memorial?

The Healing Memorial will be moving from the third level of Huntington Place, near the Detroit People Mover station, in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, about 35 minutes away in Oakland County, according to a news release Thursday from the city of Detroit.

It will be featured as part of world-renowned artist Sonya Clark's exhibition at the art museum this summer. During that time, people will be able to contribute more memorial pouches to the exhibit, according to the release.

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The idea for the memorial was conceived by Clark and curated by the Cranbrook museum in partnership with the city of Detroit's Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

The Healing Memorial is a site-specific adaptation of Clark's Beaded Prayers Project, which has traveled the world for more than two decades, according to the Cranbrook Art Museum's website.

An informational sign about The Healing Memorial, which contains thousands of pouches created by metro Detroiters to recognize loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2022. The memorial will be moving from inside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills.
An informational sign about The Healing Memorial, which contains thousands of pouches created by metro Detroiters to recognize loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2022. The memorial will be moving from inside Huntington Place in downtown Detroit to the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills.

The memorial was dedicated Aug. 31, 2021, one year after a memorial on Belle Isle on Aug. 31, 2020, which Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan declared Detroit Memorial Day. At that time, more than 1,500 Detroiters had lost their lives to COVID-19, per the release.

Michigan has had more than 3 million confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic more than three years ago and 42,749 deaths, according to state health department data updated Tuesday.

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Can I see the memorial before it moves?

Yes. Those who want to take a last glimpse of the memorial in Detroit should stop by Huntington Place through Sunday. Enter the convention center on Congress Street.

Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, per the release.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Memorial related to COVID-19 losses to move. Here's where it's going.