All Hands On Deck Mural: Detroit, MI
Summary of Brief
The City of Detroit hosted an open call for artists to submit mural proposals for buildings throughout the city. I was selected as one of the twenty-two artists that were chosen, assigned to a site, and worked through the summer of 2023 to complete our artwork. The brief was “Show Love the Detroit Way: What is Detroit to You?”
Initial thoughts + Sketches
When you think of Detroit, one of the first things that comes to mind, besides cars, is music. Being a techno fan myself, my mind went straight to the history of Detroit’s part in the genre.
When I think about love, I understand it to be a sense of connectedness and unity - a universal experience, feeling, and action. So when I think about Detroit specifically, I picture how we show love through music and the culture surrounding it. Whether you’re at a live show or listening on your phone you feel connected to something bigger than yourself. There’s a connection to past, present, future. A connection to the people dancing around you. A connection to the artists who decades ago first pioneered the sounds that today’s artists continue to build from. For this piece I wanted to celebrate that connectedness, and inspire anyone who walks by to feel that sense of joy and love.
How it started
Address: 10347 Kercheval Ave Detroit, MI 48214
Street view of building:
Final Design
This project was completed in August of 2023
More About This Project
This project was hosted by City Walls, a program run through the city of Detroit. More information can be found here. For context, this is some of the original brief by City Walls:
“When you ask most Detroiters how they feel about Detroit, in their response you will feel the sense of pride that radiates when one speaks about our beloved city! Detroit Love is so tangible, whether you were born here, raised here, and/or currently thrive here you feel the unconditional love for the place we all call home. Keep searching and you will discover gems in history, humble beginnings, stories of love, tales of loss, legacies of determination and boldness, along with countless triumphs that have only served to strengthen our shared community fabric that weaves us all together.
With this open call, Show Love the Detroit Way: What is Detroit to You? we are looking for local artists to highlight and visualize what all this means to them. All themes are on the table. We want to discover and celebrate the inspiration behind Detroit Love and let it shine all across the city.”