The East Canfield Village neighborhood of Detroit is not the most likely place to encounter a monumental sculpture of an African crown glittering with gold lowrider paint and soaring high into the trees. Weber’s sculpture, “New Forest, Ancient Thrones,” in the newly designed East Canfield Art Park, was unveiled May 18 in a procession led by West African drummers. The sculpture melds crowns worn by two African queens — Ranavalona III of 19th-century Madagascar, who led her kingdom’s resistance to French colonizers before being exiled, and Idia of Benin, whose military derring-do during her son’s reign in the 16th century helped fend off tribal invaders. Weber’s métier is working in industrial corridors in redlined neighborhoods helping communities of color heal from the effects of environmental and social ills, often a lengthy and collaborative process. He is part of a growing movement called regenerative art, which seeks to revitalize links between communities and their ecosystems.

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Persons: Jordan Weber, — Ranavalona III Organizations: Canfield Art, West Locations: Canfield Village, Detroit, Canfield, Madagascar, Benin