Detroit Institute of Arts and Osborn Neighborhood Alliance move forward with “Welcome to Osborn” mural project, funded by Knight Arts Challenge grant Onsite art-making workshop July 9; mural unveiling August 5

Updated Jun 24, 2016

June 24, 2016 (Detroit)— The “Welcome to Osborn” project, a joint venture of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance (ONA) funded by a $10,000 Knight Arts Challenge grant, gets underway this summer, transforming Detroit’s eastside Osborn neighborhood into an art destination with a mural created by local artists. There are community activities for all ages, including an onsite art workshop.

The four-story-high and thirty-four-foot-wide mural will be painted on the north wall of the Matrix Human Services building, located at 13560 East McNichols Rd., by Phillip Simpson and Tony Rave, two artists from the Osborn neighborhood. The artists used feedback from community members to create three original sketches, with the winning design chosen by a community vote. The finished mural will be unveiled on Friday, August 5, during the “For the Love of Osborn” Neighborhood Parade. Festivities will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

While Simpson and Rave prepare and paint the mural, Brandon Christopher, founder and CEO of CANVASXDetroit, a mobile art organization that offers on-site classes, will host a “floating mural” workshop in which participants can make works painted on cellophane. The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Saturday, July 9, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., during Art in Osborn Day at the Outdoor Learning Garden located across the street from the mural site. Osborn residents and visitors can take part in the workshop, see Simpson and Rave work on the mural or watch an outdoor, family-friendly movie.

The DIA’s partnership with ONA began last summer with the installation of the museum’s popular Inside|Out open-air gallery in the Osborn neighborhood.

“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance and commitment to the Osborn neighborhood through the ‘Welcome to Osborn’ mural project,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA director. “We aim to support the alliance’s goal of building a stronger sense of community pride by working with local artists and fostering the development of public art. We cannot wait to see the finished mural!”

The “Welcome to Osborn” mural was selected out of a pool of more than 1,000 submissions of art projects. An initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Knight Arts Challenge funds innovative and engaging arts ideas in cities where the foundation is active. 

June 24, 2016 (Detroit)— The “Welcome to Osborn” project, a joint venture of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance (ONA) funded by a $10,000 Knight Arts Challenge grant, gets underway this summer, transforming Detroit’s eastside Osborn neighborhood into an art destination with a mural created by local artists. There are community activities for all ages, including an onsite art workshop.

The four-story-high and thirty-four-foot-wide mural will be painted on the north wall of the Matrix Human Services building, located at 13560 East McNichols Rd., by Phillip Simpson and Tony Rave, two artists from the Osborn neighborhood. The artists used feedback from community members to create three original sketches, with the winning design chosen by a community vote. The finished mural will be unveiled on Friday, August 5, during the “For the Love of Osborn” Neighborhood Parade. Festivities will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

While Simpson and Rave prepare and paint the mural, Brandon Christopher, founder and CEO of CANVASXDetroit, a mobile art organization that offers on-site classes, will host a “floating mural” workshop in which participants can make works painted on cellophane. The workshop, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Saturday, July 9, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., during Art in Osborn Day at the Outdoor Learning Garden located across the street from the mural site. Osborn residents and visitors can take part in the workshop, see Simpson and Rave work on the mural or watch an outdoor, family-friendly movie.

The DIA’s partnership with ONA began last summer with the installation of the museum’s popular Inside|Out open-air gallery in the Osborn neighborhood.

“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance and commitment to the Osborn neighborhood through the ‘Welcome to Osborn’ mural project,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA director. “We aim to support the alliance’s goal of building a stronger sense of community pride by working with local artists and fostering the development of public art. We cannot wait to see the finished mural!”

The “Welcome to Osborn” mural was selected out of a pool of more than 1,000 submissions of art projects. An initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Knight Arts Challenge funds innovative and engaging arts ideas in cities where the foundation is active.