DIA, Harrison Township unveil mural

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — Township officials and staff from the Detroit Institute of Arts gathered on June 5 to unveil a mural at Waterfront Park in Harrison Township.

The mural is part of the Partners in Public Art program at the DIA.

Ani Garabedian, community engagement manager at the museum, said the program started in 2018. Garabedian said the Harrison Township piece started in 2024 and that during the year they completed six pieces. The timeline for completion varies from place to place.

“If communities are interested in a mural, we have a process, we have a submission form online at dia.org. They can fill that out. I reach out to them. We talk about a timeline,” Garabedian said.

She said once planning starts, things can move along quickly.

“It always depends on the artist’s schedule as well and their availability, but the goal is to complete the project in the calendar year,” Garabedian said.

Communities often have artists in mind, but Garabedian has a list of artists who can complete murals.

Harrison Township Beautification Commission member Sue Keehn said the process started in 2023 at the end of the year. They got accepted last year, and they also drove around to pick a place for the mural.

“We drove around and found this and just thought the public would really like it,” Keehn said.

The mural was completed in September.

Pat Perry, the muralist, said a large part of the process starts before any paint hits the wall.

“That’s a surprise for people that haven’t painted one before,” Perry said.

He went on to say he had to think about what the community wants as well as what he wants.

Perry has an expansive portfolio with around 20 murals painted in various communities. He said each experience is brand-new with different challenges and new groups of people.

“You want it to blend in where you’re painting it. You have to, each time, kind of start fresh,” Perry said.

Though the experience was fun, Perry said it was a lot of hard work.

Harrison Township Supervisor Kenneth Verkest said the park itself still had some things that needed to be completed. He called it little stuff such as electrical and bath house implementations. The first event they planned to have at the park was a concert on June 26.

The board also approved renaming the park Don and Candice Miller Park.

Verkest said he was impressed by the mural.

“I think art is one of those things that stimulates conversation,” Verkest said.

He gave an example of a young family seeing the mural from a distance and up close, saying it expands minds.

“You’re getting people to think about things that they don’t otherwise think about,” Verkest said.

He said the mural, the sculptures and the occasional DIA project in the city would not have happened without Sue and Jim Keehn, Beautification Commission members. He said what makes a community are the people in it, not the cool stuff.

“People that spend their time fixing up little gardens and applying for grants and putting in that extra effort to make a community where people want to live,” Verkest said.