“Put a Roof on the Mother” is a 7-month grassroots public funding campaign to raise $150,000 to put a new roof on Black Portal. Black Portal is a multi-year project to transform an abandoned movie cinema into an immersive arts performance venue and creative incubator for Black artists experimenting in tech, music, and performance. The transformation will take place in three phases: being, becoming, and emergence. This project is a new work of speculative architecture in Northeast Detroit. This project extends the Talking Dolls ecosystem in Northeast Detroit. This building borders Conant Gardens, a place that has produced Detroit music legends such as The Four Tops, The Dramatics, The Jones Girls, J Dilla, and Amp Fiddler (to name a few).

In 2023, we purchased the 8,500-square-foot decaying building, located on E Davison, the nation’s oldest urban highway. The building has been out of operation since the early 2000s, when it was the ceremonial hall for the Masonic Order of the Eastern Stars. 

The total cost for the new roof is roughly $100,000.00. We will also need additional funds for the necessary demo and building security. For the first phase, we are currently looking to raise $150,000 from friends and family to contribute to the repair in the next 7 months. A roof replacement now will prevent extensive damage that could occur over the winter and allow significant progress in the spring, avoiding expensive setbacks that could prolong the project.

KEEP POSTED FOR DROPS THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN