In September 2016, Wasserman Projects launched an exhibition of Koen Vanmechelen’s work in which his genetically diverse Cosmopolitan Chicken was bred with a common local chicken to provide nutritional and economic empowerment to the community. The resulting Planetary Community Chickens now live at the Walkabout Farm until they move to a renovated vacant property called the ‘Green House’. Vegetable and chicken waste are recovered and re-used to feed the livestock and fertilise future crops. The meat and eggs of the chickens are sold and the profits reinvested back into the farm.

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The Oakland Avenue Urban Farm ‘Green House’ project in Detroit is a pilot initiative to demonstrate how arts, urban agriculture and vocational training can increase access to economic opportunity and strengthen social cohesion in economically distressed communities. It is located in the North End area of the city, an economically precarious, multi-racial community which reflects the challenges, opportunities and tensions that exist in Detroit following the collapse of the car industry.

 

The project also focuses on educational initiatives for children, skills training and the promotion of eco-tourism.

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