Ann Arbor Art Center plans for large public art project on Stadium Blvd

People walking to and from Michigan Stadium on a football Saturday have probably walked past a large retaining wall on Stadium Boulevard and not noticed it. The Ann Arbor Art Center and the city of Ann Arbor want to change that.

The city and the local non-profit that advocates for the arts are working together to build a large public art installation on that wall when city rebuilds Stadium Boulevard next year.

“It’s a large space,” says Omari Rush, director of community engagement for the Ann Arbor Art Center. “This installation has the ability to be highly dramatic and highly visibility, too.”

The city plans to spend $115,000 on the installation on the retaining wall on the south side of Stadium next to the Ann Arbor Golf Course. The retaining wall it between 6 feet and 9 feet tall at its high points. The Ann Arbor Art Center is soliciting proposals for large art installations that incorporate art into the retaining wall, sidewalk, and other elements of the streetscape. Proposals will be assessed on criteria ranging from aesthetics to durability.

“We are open to a wide variety of possibilities and excited about what the artists will come up with,” Rush says.

The Ann Arbor Art Center started the process of selecting an artist and artwork last month and expect to pick a winner by December. The reconstruction of Stadium is expected to take place in the summer of 2017.

Source: Omari Rush, director of community engagement for the Ann Arbor Art Center
Writer: Jon Zemke

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