DETROIT – A new mural in Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers area is helping to share some of that community’s story.
The mural at 14229 Jefferson Avenue was formally dedicated on Tuesday (Oct. 24). The artist, Nicole Macdonald, said the mural is a story about the environment.
“Everything that is a part of Jefferson Chalmers, this area of Detroit, is on that wall,” said neighbor Myrtle Thompson Curtis.
The mural is on the eastern wall of a blighted building. Macdonald said that canvas allowed her to capture images of some local community leaders.
“These people contributed a large part of their life to bettering the community, bettering the land, and restoring the environment,” Macdonald said.
The mural highlights people like Tammy Black, who is raising awareness about solar energy on Detroit’s east side.
“I am numb to see myself on a wall for doing things that I love to do,” said Black.
The mural features a few folks who are making and shaping the community.
Tom Milano and his wife, Nancy, re-purposed vacant land into a cut-flower farm in the area.
“There’s a renaissance going on in the city,” said Milano. “From my perspective, it’s not just on the surface, it’s us coming to understand just how much we’re all family, absolute equals.”
The environmental message in the mural is deeper for other neighbors, like Wayne Curtis, who is part of the story on the mural. He and his wife operate a community garden.
“It’s like we went through a war of unemployment, schools closing, neighborhoods closing (butt to), so, the rebuilding of our neighborhoods is vitally important,” said Curtis.
The new mural is the 200th work in Detroit’s City Walls initiative. That program gives local artists the opportunity to beautify places that have long been neglected.
“We’re putting them everywhere,” said Bethany Howard, Project Manager of City Walls. “So, if we have community members who are building owners and who happen to be Detroit residents, we thrive on those wall donations that we receive.”
Some neighbors say murals like this can help give a community a splash of good energy.
“You know what, I think that art brings things to life,” said Black. “And this blighted building needed life. And that’s what art does. And it’s happening all around the city.”
City Walls will be searching for local artists to complete works around Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day.
To learn more about City Walls, Howard says you could follow City Walls Detroit on Instagram.