back to resourcesCity of Detroit Streetscape Call for Artists
The City of Detroit’s Department of Public Works (DPW) and Planning and Development Department (PDD), are developing a public art program that focuses on strengthening the urban character and identity of Detroit’s neighborhood commercial corridors. The purpose of the program is to ensure that Detroit community and neighborhood history and culture, are reflected in the new streetscapes and neighborhood corridor improvements currently underway in the streetscape improvement/road bond program. DPW will partner with Design Core Detroit (DCD), who will serve as fiduciary for the grant.
The primary focus of the Streetscape Initiative is to rethink what commercial streets have looked like in Detroit over the past 50 years, to revitalize street life through retail attraction, and to improve multi-modal access to the neighborhoods through Complete Street design. DPW, PDD, and Design Core have identified the following three demonstration projects for short-term implementation: (1) 12th Street – Rosa Parks, (2) Riopelle, and (3) Bagley.
applicable to artists working in these mediums:
About City of Detroit Dept. of Public Works (DPW), Planning & Development Dept. (PDD) + Design Core Detroit (DCD)
The primary focus of the Streetscape Initiative is to rethink what commercial streets have looked like in Detroit over the past 50 years, to revitalize street life through retail attraction, and to improve multi-modal access to the neighborhoods through Complete Street design. This capital investment serves as a great opportunity to incorporate unique artistic and cultural elements into neighborhood street design with the following goals:
- Supporting and strengthening the urban character and identity of Detroit’s neighborhood commercial corridors
- Highlighting and offering opportunities to the local arts and culture community, and
- Ensuring that Detroit history and culture are reflected in public realm improvements.
As a first demonstration of this program, DPW, PDD, and DCD seek consultation services from a Detroit-resident artist, or a team of artists (no more than two), to develop distinct concepts for streetscape visual graphics as described in the Scope of Work below. The concepts shall draw from historic context, the neighborhoods, and from community engagement conversations and materials.
These resources will inform the artist of the community’s future vision. The artist provides a critical role to interpret neighborhood identity into graphic form that shall be expressed as a concept from which the community will vote to choose for the implementation in the streetscape project.
The design will be incorporated into the streetscape section which will include improvements to the road and sidewalks, as well as the addition of bike lanes, landscape enhancements, decorative pavement markings, light pole banners, way-finding signage and improved connections to adjacent neighborhoods. These elements will help to create an inspired and lasting reflection on the community. The artwork will be a feature of the streetscapes and will become property of the City of Detroit.