Detroit Public Art Spotlight

Aug 15, 2024 | NEA Lab | 0 comments

By Mary C. Byron, BA.

Detroit is a city full of murals that help shared messages and impact the way people feel about the areas they live. This is a second installation of featured murals and art from the NEA Lab Detroit Public Art database. See the first post here.

[alt text a mural in zussman park in detroit depicting cultural figures that lived in the neighborhood such as randall dudley diana ross and dinah washington]

Unknown

[alt text a mural in zussman park in detroit depicting cultural figures that lived in the neighborhood such as randall dudley diana ross and dinah washington]

[alt text a mural depicting black and white imagery of bootleggers with the quote not only was detroit the first major city to abolish alcohol three years prior to the national ban but michigan was also the first state to appeal the act making the sale of alcohol legal again fifteen years later]

Bootleggers

[alt text a mural depicting black and white imagery of bootleggers with the quote not only was detroit the first major city to abolish alcohol three years prior to the national ban but michigan was also the first state to appeal the act making the sale of alcohol legal again fifteen years later]

[alt text a colorfully painted abstract whale sculpture in a sandy childrens play area]

Riverside Park Whale

[alt text a colorfully painted abstract whale sculpture in a sandy childrens play area]

[alt text colorful mural on a large wall depicting cheerful cartoon style characters skating and the phrase we got good things ahead in bold letters]

WE GOT GOOD THINGS AHEAD

[alt text colorful mural on a large wall depicting cheerful cartoon style characters skating and the phrase we got good things ahead in bold letters]

Artist: Mario Moore

Title: Unknown Year: 2021

Organization/program: City of Detroit’s Neighborhood Strategic Fund

Photo credit to Detroit City Walls

Address: 3959 W Davison St, Detroit, MI 48238 Detroit

Artist Mario Moore worked with Artists Bakpak Durden, Ijania Cortez and Joshua Rainer to create the mural at Zussman Park in Detroit. The mural was inspired by the community and the neighborhood’s history, including former residents Diana Ross and Dinah Washington, among others. The mural is part of several upgrades and improvements to the 2.3-acre Zussman Park in the Russell Woods neighborhood completed in summer of 2021.

[alt text a mural in zussman park in detroit depicting cultural figures that lived in the neighborhood such as randall dudley diana ross and dinah washington]
[alt text a mural depicting black and white imagery of bootleggers with the quote not only was detroit the first major city to abolish alcohol three years prior to the national ban but michigan was also the first state to appeal the act making the sale of alcohol legal again fifteen years later]

Artist: Zak Warmann of Detroit Sign Painters

Title: Bootleggers

Year: 2019

Organization/program: Detroit City Walls Photo credit to Detroit City Walls

Address: 16431 E Warren, Detroit, MI 48224

This mural was created in 2019 by the Detroit Sign Painters led by Zak Warmann and commissioned by the City Walls program. The mural pays tribute to the history of Detroit and the state of Michigan in the 1920s prohibition era. In U.S. history, bootlegging was the illegal manufacture, transport, distribution, or sale of alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition period, which was from 1920 to 1933. During this period these activities were forbidden under the Eighteenth Amendment (1919) to the U.S. Constitution (Britannica).

Artist: Jesse Kassel

Title: Riverside Park Whale

Year: 2021

Photo credit to Detroit City Walls

Address: 3085 W Jefferson, Detroit, MI 48216

This whale sculpture has been a staple to Riverside Park in a children’s play area. However, as the area underwent significant renovations in recent years, the whale was restored structurally and then painted by Detroit illustrator and muralist Jesse Kassel.

[alt text a colorfully painted abstract whale sculpture in a sandy childrens play area]
[alt text colorful mural on a large wall depicting cheerful cartoon style characters skating and the phrase we got good things ahead in bold letters]

Artist: George F. Baker III

Title: WE GOT GOOD THINGS AHEAD

Year: 2022

Organization/program (if any): Handcar

Photo credit to Detroit City Walls

Address: 2211 Riopelle St, Detroit, MI 48207

This vibrant mural was created by former Detroiter and now Atlanta-based artist George F. Baker III. In an instagram post about the work, he commented “Hope it serves as a source of inspiration on those days when life feels too heavy to carry and gives you enough energy to take the next step into your destiny. You are being REMADE and know, it’s all for the future benefit.”

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