Impact
Muskegon has had many challenges in the last several decades, moving from an amazing era of manufacturing and industrial giants, from the days of lumbering to the incredible output of WWII, to a much more diversified business environment in the 21st Century. None of that transition has been simple, and in the ensuing years, Muskegon developed quite a negative image of itself. That has begun to turn around, beginning in part with the Watch Muskegon campaign which launched in 2015.
In 2005, the Community Foundation began the Downtown Arts Committee, a group of community leaders, and charged them with advocating, supporting, and assuring that public art was to be part of our newly redeveloping downtown. In 2018, the Community Foundation began the MuskegonCity Public Art Initiative, which was charged with adding 10 new monumentally scaled works of public art.
The DAC has studied the public art collection and has helped to support the addition of 25 works of public art, including the ten MCPAI projects completed since 2018.
We now would like to create a coffee-table style book that features all of the public art of Muskegon, 1892-2025. complete with the stories of how each piece came to be, community response, and the artists responsible. We are committed to doing this because we think it will add to the sense of community pride in what and who is Muskegon.
Since beginning the MCPAI project, we have seen great support for our work; we have also seen an enhanced sense of pride in and for our community. One cannot travel anywhere in our city without seeing art: sculptures, murals, and now more commercial applications. We believe that documenting the public art journey of this community will be inspiring and informative. We also believe that this book will support the newly emerging identity of this community as vibrant, growing, and innovative . One cannot be surrounded by public art and not have it support a feeling of pride, and likely, more art!
What I'll do with $5,000
The funds from this effort will be used to assist in paying for the design and editing of the book. The Project Director of MCPAI will write the book, but we will need high-level photography, editing, and design services to bring it to a reality for publication. We are in the process now of looking for funding that will help this book become a reality.
Quick Bio
Director, MuskegonCity Public Art Initiative, 2018 to Present
Executive Director, Muskegon Museum of Art, 2003-2017
Administrator, Muskegon Public Schools, 1989-'03
E.D. Every Woman's Place,1984-'89