An Imperfect Union

A commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the US. A large-scale, on-site collaborative public art mural project over the August 28-30 weekend.  15-20 artists will be invited to participate.

How do we celebrate the 250th, anniversary of our country while addressing the difficulties we faced along the way and the polarizing challenges we face today? This collaborative public art project seeks to find out in a thoughtful, community-centric, way through the creation of three on site mural panels. 

 The Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, MI (a community in Metro Detroit) is graciously offering up a large space in its Grand Hall for 3 collaborative murals to sequentially hang in permanent display: a 6’x 8’ two panel mural depicting our country’s current challenges, a 4’ x 18’ three panel mural depicting our country’s past, and a 6’x 8’ two panel mural depicting your collective vision for the future.

 The project is to be held on site over the weekend of Aug 28-30th (Friday- Sunday). Friday August 28th will consist of invited speakers, project discussion, self-organizing, planning, and a paid shopping trip to Blick for procuring supplies. Collaborative painting will occur on Saturday and Sunday.  15-20 project artists will be invited to participate, and each participating artist will receive $250 for their work upon completion of the project. 

 Participating artists will need to be comfortable engaging and collaborating with their fellow artists to create this project over the weekend. 

 There is also homework before hand with a syllabus for online exploration and a recommended minimum artist time of 3-5 hours. Artists are certainly welcome to go beyond this minimum with reading and online content.

 We have also arranged for artists to visit the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) Friday evening, August 28th for a docent explanation of the Diego Rivera Court fresco series murals.

 Application Deadline: Midnight August 12

 Artists will be notified of invites by Monday night, August 17th.

5-10 photos of your artwork to be juried and a 250-500 word essay on your interest in participating in this project.

US citizens and residents over 18