Two native Detroit artists, Donald Calloway and Freddy Diaz, will collaborate in an inclusive way with the community to beautify Michigan Avenue as it crossed over the Lodge Freeway. Donald Calloway lives and works in downtown Detroit and Freddy Diaz lives and works in Southwest. Both of artists are sensitive to site, material, and most importantly the communities in which they work. Bridging their deep histories of Downtown and Southwest Detroit, while also weaving in feedback and community’s stories into this new work will create a new kind of experience for all the users of this site: pedestrians, drivers, bikers, visitors, community members, and the artists themselves.
Bridging Histories, Building Futures
A project to use art to help connect downtown and Corktown via the Michigan Avenue bridge over the Lodge Freeway.
How will your solution benefit residents, workers, or visitors in the Michigan Central Station impact area? (1,000 characters)



Describe your solution's stage of development
- Initial Design - you are still exploring the idea and have not tested it with users
Insights from previous testing (500 characters)
Murals and public art have long been a fabric of Detroit, particularly within the last fifteen years to uplift and beautify spaces across the city. Artwork along the Dequindre Cut is a key part that creates a memorable experience in one of the city’s new iconic places. One of DDP’s roles is stewarding public space and promoting equity and inclusion. By enhancing the gateways to Downtown for all users (pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and driver), DDP can encourage more access for all.Tell us about your team or organization (500 characters)
Mr. Calloway, a native Detroiter, has lived in downtown over 20 years. He approaches spaces in a responsive manner, understanding them through people, materials and history. Freddy Diaz is a native Detroiter, living and working in SW Detroit. He builds vibrant narratives with paint on concrete, telling a rich story often from the place where he's working. Project partners DTE and DDP have been collaborating on placemaking projects for the last 5 years from Beacon Park to the Adams Streetscape.Size of your team or organization
- 2-10
Team or Organization URL
Freddy Diaz: https://swfreddyart.com/ Donald Calloway: https://www.facebook.com/donald.calloway Downtown Detroit Partnership: https://downtowndetroit.org/ DTE Force for Growth: https://empoweringmichigan.com/dte-impact/Are you submitting as a student team?
- No
Are you submitting as a team from the Impact Area?
- No
Funding Request
- $50,000
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CommentAndrew Moss