Helping Hands-On
The Study Away program in Detroit welcomes students to work on Ghana Think Tank’s American RIAD project, helping to fabricate and install the riad structure, renovate nearby abandoned homes, and create community events.
American RIAD is an innovative public art and housing justice project that strives to combat social isolation through a space devoted to community connection in Detroit’s North End. The collaborative project will eventually turn an empty 12-unit building, an abandoned house, and the vacant lot that lies between them into eight low-income apartments and six businesses surrounding a Moroccan-inspired shared courtyard, all driven by local community partners. Dozens of Purchase students have participated in this program as part of their coursework.
School of Art+Design Director and Professor Christopher Robbins, a co-founder of Ghana ThinkTank, immediately recognized the project’s learning and social action opportunities for Purchase students, and they’ve been participating every summer since 2016 (aside from 2020 due to the pandemic). A number of skill-shares, workshops, and community events have been held at the site and the construction of the riad structure is nearly complete. They work closely with community organizations to meet their long-term goal of using arts and culture as a driver for economic renewal within the community.