Detroit murals are a must-see when visiting the Motor City. You can find beautiful murals throughout the city of Detroit and the metro area. Check out some of my favorite Detroit city street art!
A few weeks ago, my friend Jess invited me to participate in an Instagram Takeover for her blog The Creative Armory. She asked me if I could share three of my favorite Detroit murals with her followers.
This topic was one that I had no problem contributing to because I love mural art, especially city street art!
You can check out the Instagram Takeover here if you like.
The small Tennessee city I’m from doesn’t have murals like Detroit.
I remember when we first came to Detroit and I saw the city street art, I was really amazed.
I had seen mural art in movies and on TV shows but never in person. The first Detroit mural I saw was the Detroit Chimera (seen below).
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MURALS IN THE MARKET IS A GREAT PLACE TO FIND DETROIT MURALS
DETROIT MURALS ARE A MUST-SEE ATTRACTION
Detroit murals are a must-see when visiting the D. You can find them throughout the city and various neighborhoods or in the Eastern Market District of Detroit.
One of the most popular places to start your search for Detroit’s city street art is with Murals in the Market.
Each September, 1xRUN hosts Murals in the Market in Detroit’s Eastern Market.
A group of local, national, and international artists are invited to paint murals or create other artwork to be displayed throughout Eastern Market.
The festival launched in September 2015, and there are now over 100 murals found in Eastern Market.
In 2018, the Smithsonian dubbed the city street art festival as one of the best mural festivals in the world!
DETROIT MURALS: BLKOUT WALLS MURAL FESTIVAL 2021
Since writing my post in July 2020, another large mural festival took place in the city of Detroit– BLKOUT Walls Mural Festival.
I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural festival in July 2021, and it was an amazing experience to see how this profound mural festival came to fruition from start to finish.
BLKOUT Walls was co-founded by mural artists Sydney G. James, Max Sansing, and Thomas “Detour 303” Evans in 2021. It kicked off in the North End community in Detroit, and the plan is to continue the mural festival bi-annually.
There are over 20 murals featured in the 2021 BLKOUT Walls Fest, and the murals are stunning!
The week-long festival is the first all-Black led mural festival in the United States.
According to the organization, 75% of the participating mural artists and event producers were Black and/or people of color “mirroring the demographics of the city of Detroit and thereby creating a cohort of artists representing equity and inclusion.”
You have to go see the BLKOUT Walls murals if you’re ever in the area. Click here for more details about BLKOUT Walls Mural Festival.
DETROIT MURALS ALSO FOUND THROUGHOUT THE CITY
Eastern Market isn’t the only place in Detroit where you can find city street art.
Detroit murals are also located throughout the city and metro area, in different Detroit neighborhoods, and in Downtown Detroit.
I have discovered beautiful murals in Southwest Detroit (also known as Mexicantown), Hamtramck (a suburb of Detroit), Downtown Detroit, North End, and Corktown.
CITY STREET ART SHARES IMPORTANT SOCIAL MESSAGES
One of the things I love about city street art is that many of the artists share important social messages through their art.
From positive and uplifting messages to a call to action on social injustice issues, mural art is often created to encourage people to make changes in their life and community.
DETROIT MURAL: MICHELLE TANGUAY’S MURAL OF POUSSEY WASHINGTON
In 2017, Netflix commissioned Detroit artist Michelle Tanguay to paint a mural of Poussey Washington, one of the characters from the hit Netflix series Orange Is the New Black (OITNB).
Local artists Jesse Kassel, Shaina Kasztelan, and Jake Swyer also helped Michelle paint the beautiful mural.
Although this mural is no longer featured in Downtown Detroit, it is still one of my favorite Detroit murals because I love OITNB.
Poussey (who was played by actress Samira Wiley) was one of my favorite characters, and the story about what happened to Poussey was an important one.
It helped bring more awareness to the abuse, racism, and violence womxn face while incarcerated.
DETROIT MURAL: #WHATLIFTSYOU BY KELSEY MONTAGUE
Street artist Kelsey Montague launched the What Lifts You campaign in 2014 to encourage people to share stories of inspiration.
On her official website, Montague wrote:
“I never expected the response I would receive. After just a week in NYC my first set of What Lifts You wings had a line down the street of people wanting to take a picture with the piece and post about what inspires them in their life. I realized that people love the opportunity to become a ‘living work of art’ by stepping into the wings and they love getting the chance to talk about what inspires them in their lives!”
The What Lifts You mural can be found on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit.
SOUTHWEST DETROIT MURAL: NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL BY MARILYN RONDON
In September 2017, the El Club (a popular nightclub in Southwest Detroit) hosted fundraisers in response to President Trump ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).
Marilyn Rondon painted the “No Human is Illegal” mural outside of the club, a powerful message in solidarity with the issues many immigrants face when coming to the U.S.
DETROIT MURAL: APPROPRIATED NOT APPRECIATED BY SYDNEY G. JAMES
Detroit artist Sydney G. James is known to create beautiful city street art that features powerful images and messages about social justice issues. Her piece “Appropriated Not Appreciated: is one of my favorite Detroit murals.
In the image, the Black woman is seen holding a piece of paper that reads:
“The Definitive List of Everything That Will Keep You Safe As A Black Woman Being In America.”
It’s a quote by Detroit artist and writer Scheherazade Washington Parrish.
Featured in Murals in the Market 2016 festival, you can find “Appropriated Not Appreciated” in Eastern Market, Detroit.
MALICE GREEN MURAL BY SYDNEY G. JAMES
Another powerful piece by Sydney G. James is the Malice Green mural. Along with her team, she recently painted the mural a few weeks ago.
Last weekend, Travis and I went to Highland Park to view it in person.
In 1992, Malice Green, an unarmed Black man, was beaten to death by two Detroit police officers. James created the mural in honor of Green and other Black Americans who were killed by police brutality or because of racism.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Sydney said of the mural:
“I told someone at the beginning of this, I was like, this is going to be the most beautiful, ugly thing that I’ve ever painted, and that’s exactly what it is. The further along we go with it, the more painful it is to do.”
Detroit Artist Sydney G. James
I breathed a heavy sigh as I looked over the list of names featured on the Malice Green mural.
Just as I read George Floyd’s and Elijah McClain’s last words, my heart sank as I looked at each name in the mural.
To know this list is much longer than the one painted on the brick wall, is heartbreaking, to say the least.
You can find the Malice Green mural in Highland Park at Hamilton and Puritan.
MORE DETROIT MURALS THAT I LOVE
Do you love city street art, too? Which Detroit mural is your favorite?
All photographs were taken by Jennifer Hamra for Good Life Detroit. This post was updated on 12/6/23.
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