Karen Lippowiths's THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER'S FOUNDRY is a photographic examination of the industrial North, tracing the arc of the American Dream from its manufacturing past to its precarious present toward an uncertain future. Rooted in Detroit and the rust belt's skeletal remains, this body of work captures the quiet dignity of aging workers—symbols of a once-thriving automotive empire—as well as the hope and fading promise of labor and legacy in a younger generation amid the new age of technology.

The images do not mourn as much as reckon with the questions of opportunity forged in foundries like that of Lippowiths's father. Through an investigation of people and place in often tenuous circumstance, the series contrasts a mechanized past with flickers of hope in a new generation who dreams amid the ruins.

This works asks: What is the American Dream? Who inherits that dream when industry collapses? Can hope be rebuilt by those same hands? What has been lost and what is yet to rebuild?

Images from The Promise of My Father's Foundry will be on display as part of Karen Lippowiths's Extended Stay photographic exhibit during the month of April at the Novi Civic Center at 45175 W 10 Mile Rd. All are invited to the opening event Thursday, April 16 6-8 p.m., which features light refreshments. Lippowiths will be on hand for a meet-and-greet as part of the event.