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HAZEL PARK — Over the years, the Detroit Institute of Arts has partnered with cities across the tri-county area to transform building exteriors into spectacular outdoor murals. Now, the DIA is looking to do the same in Hazel Park, and your feedback is needed.
The Hazel Park District Library, located at 123 E. Nine Mile Road, has a survey available through March 15. The questionnaire is simple, asking what ideas or themes should be incorporated into the artwork to best represent the community of Hazel Park.
“Public art is just a good thing for your community to have. It gives pedestrians and bicyclists a destination to go where they can see something cool and take selfies. It’s a landmark, something that is good for placemaking,” said Hazel Park City Councilman Andy LeCureaux.
“It’s an aesthetic improvement, and it helps the library be a place that attracts kids, too. It’s just another piece that will make the entire area more pleasing,” he said. “That area is already a gathering point and backdrop for our memorial services and pride flag ceremonies. So, it will be nice to see.”
Corrine Stocker, the library director, said the final piece will be a reflection of what patrons love about their community. Maybe it will be themed around the library that serves as the piece’s canvas. Or maybe it will evoke other elements of Hazel Park, such as its motto “The Friendly City,” or maybe the horse races that once took place there, or something else entirely.
“The recurring themes and images suggested by the majority of survey respondents will determine what themes and images are ultimately present in the mural,” Stocker said.
Just as the subject matter is still being decided, so, too, is the location of the mural.
“We’re not decided on the final position of the mural on the building at this time, but I would like it to be visible from both John R and Nine Mile roads, to break up the sea of beige with some much-needed color and inspirational images,” Stocker said. “There is an angled exterior wall that is the most likely space being discussed at this time, where our ground sign resides.”
She said the DIA is funding the entire mural. Any required maintenance in the coming years will be the sole responsibility of the library.
Once the content of the mural is decided, the Hazel Park Arts Council will lead the search for an artist in Oakland County to actually render it, implementing ideas provided by community input.
The city, DIA and library will provide feedback, and the artist will adjust the design as needed. But the artist will still have latitude to express their own style.
“Because the library’s exterior is composed of brick, we are specifically looking for a spray paint artist,” Stocker said. “We hope to have the art and artist decided upon this spring, and to ultimately start on the mural in May.
“Some of my staff are hoping that the artist will do something that is interactive, where people can pose for pictures. But we’ll see,” she said. “It’s overwhelming, the number of responses we’ve been receiving. Many of the people responding want to see an infusion of color.”
The PIPA program started in 2018. According to Ani Garabedian, the DIA’s manager of community engagement programs, the focus has been public buildings such as libraries, town halls and fire stations. Murals have been painted across Southeast Michigan in communities such as Berkley, Rochester, Mount Clemens, New Haven and Wyandotte.
Outdoor murals have also been a trend for neighboring Madison Heights. The Arts Board there has commissioned pieces spanning the walls of the shelter building at Civic Center Park, the concession stand at Rosie’s Park, the shelter building at Huffman Park and more.
Amy Beem, a librarian at the Hazel Park library, said she’s excited for the end result, and would personally like to see something with a 3D effect, so that people can have fun taking selfies.
“This project is so exciting,” Beem said via email. “It will make the wall pop!”
