Detroit, MI, 2019
Sponsors: KaBOOM! with Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, 2019-2020
Project Summary: Following the success of the Growing a Brighter Tomorrow project in Houston, KaBOOM! asked us to apply for the same grant in Southeast Michigan.
In what has been a “play desert” – a neighborhood with few inviting places for children and their families to engage in active play – an uplifting mural was created on 8 Mile Road. To promote healthy activity and community pride, the installation invites children to “play along the way” – in this case, to a Salvation Army Family Store where many neighborhood families shop for essentials. More than 20 students from nearby Mound Park Elementary School worked with artist Rahmaan Statik to help design, create, and paint the colorful mural.
Outcome: The neighborhood has been elevated by a beautiful, colorful, collaborative community mural on the side of a Salvation Army Family Store & Donation Center. Alongside will be a creative, interactive “play sidewalk” painted for games, encouraging children to play and be active — converting an ordinary sidewalk into an area for play and fitness. The mural and playscape are one of two similar local projects at Salvation Army Family Stores in the Detroit area by UP Art Studio.