Kresge publishes 'Tyree's Time,' a monograph on Tyree Guyton's 40 years at the Heidelberg Project

The Kresge Foundation has released "Tyree's Time," a monograph on Detroit artist Tyree Guyton, its 2026 Kresge Eminent Artist. The book reflects Guyton's lifelong exploration of time in his artistic practice while marking what he declares a defining moment of his career.

Guyton founded the Heidelberg Project, an internationally recognized public art environment, on Detroit's eastside in 1986. This year, 2026, marks the project's 40th anniversary.

The Eminent Artist Award includes an unrestricted $100,000 prize and a short documentary film alongside the monograph. Guyton is the 18th artist to receive the Eminent Artist title. His Eminent Artist film, directed by Zachary Cunningham, premiered on Detroit PBS in spring 2026.

The monograph was led by writer, editor and creative director Nichole Christian, with book design by art director Ed Ryan. Christian framed the award landing on the anniversary as both career-defining and "supernatural."

Kresge Foundation President and CEO Rip Rapson presented Guyton with the first copy of the monograph during a late-summer celebration at The Eastern. "As much as any one individual, Tyree embodies that Detroit art energy," Rapson said. "On Heidelberg Street he confronted the disinvestment and neglect and hostility to the city's poor, Black neighborhoods. He harnessed rubbish to make art."

Guyton put the moment in his own terms. "If we just hold on, time connects everything, every dot, every lesson," he said. "All things happen at the right time."

Readers can see the work for themselves. A free digital copy of "Tyree's Time" is available through Kresge's website, at kresge.org/resource/tyree-guyton-2026-kresge-eminent-artist-monograph-tyrees-time, and complimentary print copies can be ordered while supplies last.