Evidence of Urban Fairies
This was fun show with a bit of history.
June 17 through September 6, 2019
The University of Michigan Hospital
Ann Arbor, MI

This show had one of the most comprehensive collections of urban-fairy artifacts on display.

Getting set up with early visitors coming by.

The items on display here are just fragments of the phenomenon of urban-fairies and the advent of what has become popularly known as “fairy doors”.

The first fairy door was discovered in the home of Jonathan & Kathleen Wright in 1993, shortly before the birth of their first daughter. Subsequently several other fairy doors and spaces appeared in their home. In the Spring of 2005, wee doors began showing up in down town Ann Arbor, Michigan. At this time Jonathan began documenting their appearance and became certified as a fairyologist.

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An early fairy door was at The Ark, a live music venue on Main Street in Ann Arbor. A few feet away from the door was a ticket window, which dispensed human scaled tickets. These tickets were self-serve, though no one seems to know when and where the events were held, at least no one has returned to give a review.

The Ark of the covenant.

The urban-fairies of The Ark down sized (and that's something for a fairiy!) after the renovation of The Ark building on Main Street in Ann Arbor. These are the original panels, door and ticket window.

The photo on the side shows how the original urban-fairy installation appeared.

There is also a collection of some of the various tickets that had been dispensed from the ticket window over the years,

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Although there is evidence that the fairies are functional illiterates, they do seem to grasp meaning and intent in sincere messages. They also understand the power in the written word, and story telling, so it is not surprising that they had made a “reading” room within a cluster of books at the Ann Arbor District Library, in the Fairy Tale Section, naturally. Unfortunately those books became very damaged, and had to be replaced. Only recently have they been (mostly) restored, and you can see the “reading” room here.

The original urban-fairy "reading" room

Initially, the door to the reading room pierced the side of the shelf in the Folk Lore and Fairy Tales section of the Children's Department of the Ann Arbor District Library, but since their eviction a door was necessary in the cover of the large end book.

Some interior work was also required, as well as repairs to the exterior, which was damged through rough handling.

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The doors appear suddenly and without any fanfare. They also disappear as quickly. There is an annual door, an entire flying fairy cottage in the form of a pumpkin, which arrives just before Halloween and departs shortly afterwards! Although largely similar each (since 2006) it is always a fresh pumpkin. The Faux Flying Fairy-Pumpkin Cottage is a close approximation, but will stay fresh for the duration of the show.

The Faux Flying Fairy-Pumpkin Cottage <(the original)

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An interesting quirk of the fairy doors was the “fairy droppings”. These are not anything like other wildlife droppings, and are not left by the urban fairies, they are left for the fairies. Often on the stoops of the doors one can find; coins, beads, messages, candy, all sorts of trinkets, much like what one might find in the pockets of five year olds. A portion of these droppings are displayed here as part of the Fairy Hoard (The urban-fairies are hoarders).

A Portion of the Urban-Fairy Hoard. The "fairy droppings"

It's a bit of an "I Spy" to find some of the fun things left for the fairies.

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Not all evidence of urban fairies comes in the form of a door (or window), there is also the Urban Fairies Operations (U.F.O.) Cumooter, alternative fuel (Mentos® & Vernors®) fairy vehicle, which has been making appearances at the Rolling Sculpture Car Show in Ann Arbor, each Summer since 2006. It is not a practical vehicle, frankly a winged fairy does not really need such a machine, but it sure is fun and impressive. On the rare occasions when something heavy needs to be moved, there is the “Booty” (trailer).

The U.F.O. Cumooter, alternative fuel fairy vehicle.

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As a certified fairyologist, Jonathan has often been asked if he has ever seen a fairy. The answer is not as simple as one might think. Folklore describes fairies as being elusive and difficult to see or recognize for what they are, even using “glamor” to disguise their appearance. That being said there are quite a few children who have been very insistent about fairy sightings. Some of these encounters have been recorded in drawings. Generally, children lack certain “polish” in their drawing. Jonathan has done a bit of polishing of drawing technique over the years, and collected many first hand drawings of fairies in journal/guest books left at fairy host locations. His book, “Who’s Behind the Fairy Door?” shows the original drawings along side Jonathan’s more polished interpretations, while trying to remain true to the visions.

BOOK/Journal-guestbook Display Case