Members of the Southeast Michigan Communicators Network gathered at SEMCOG’s office on October 28 for their final meeting of 2026. Attendees heard from SEMCOG staff, communications peers, and artists themselves before concluding the day’s events with a walking tour of some of Downtown Detroit’s murals. To kick off the meeting, communicators from across our region introduced themselves and briefly shared some of their favorite arts and culture locations from across Southeast Michigan. Examples include the Cranbrook Art Museum, Depot Town in Ypsilanti, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Eastern Market, the Michigan Flight Museum, and various local / neighborhood sculptures and murals across the region.
Celebrating Southeast Michigan Newsletter
Before the public art presentations began, Trevor Layton, Manager, SEMCOG Communications, asked for input on a newsletter that will target the Communicators Network. Launching this winter, SEMCOG’s newest monthly newsletter will feature success stories from across our region, as well as helpful materials, ideas, and inspiration for the region’s local government communicators. We invite your ideas, feedback, and input on what content and information would be most helpful to your community and communications efforts. If you have any questions or would like to provide input for the newsletter, please contact Trevor below.
Contact Trevor Layton, SEMCOG Communications ManagerHow to Make a Place that Connects
Noah Bussell, AICP, Planner II, SEMCOG Economic and Community Vitality, presented on the role of public art, cultural institutions, museums, and other regional fixtures like events and architecture in placemaking and local economic development. This was a follow-up to the SEMCOG University Noah organized this past July on Murals and Public Art.
Placemaking is a practice that engages community members in creating and shaping their public spaces. Intentional placemaking influences how neighborhoods and businesses are built, as well as a general sense of connection derived from how people feel about the places in which they reside and spend time. Cuisine, museums, and art can all influence the making of a place. Public art is particularly impactful in defining the character and identity of a place.
Above: Title IX Plaza, Dexter, Dexter-Huron Metropark
Public art and cultural resources powerfully impact the ways people feel and relate to a place. They create tangible aesthetics to associate with the brand or identity of communities and neighborhoods. When successful, public art and cultural attractions provide meaningful and enduring additions to the community. They tell residents and visitors stories in which they can find their history along with inspiration for contributing to a place’s future.
Above: Colony Tower, Clay Township
View Noah’s PresentationHow to Keep a Place Connected
Place keeping is not only the physical upkeep of the place, but also ensuring the place still reflects and resonates with its residents and culture. Public art, as well as features such as monuments and fountains, can make powerful statements about a place. Active community engagement is critical in making sure that these installations reflect that vision and how it evolves over time. Noah also discussed the role of participatory art, which actively involves the community through festivals and interactive artworks.
Above: The Street Art Encounter, Ann Arbor
Participatory art is an effective placemaking and place keeping strategy because it invites active participation from community members, imbuing the art – and therefore the place itself – with the culture and people living there.
Effective placemaking should commemorate good times while remembering hard times. It should define who we were before, who we are now, and who we want to be in the future. For example, Detroit’s motto — featured on the City Seal and above the Spirit of Detroit statue — reads, Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus, Latin for “We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From The Ashes.”
Early Detroit resident Father Gabriel Richard wrote those words after the 1805 fire that razed the city, after which Judge Augustus Woodward drafted one of the first plans for the city. Those words still resonate today. As Detroit and the region continue to grow and redefine themselves through times of boom and bust, these words and this spirit of resilience have become synonymous with our place in the world.
Making the Case for Art in a World of Limited Resources and Competing Priorities
While it may be difficult to gather the funding and interest required to create art installations, these efforts often pay significant dividends for community investment and growth. One of the examples cited by the audience was Millennium Park in Chicago, home to the Cloud Gate sculpture, known affectionately to Chicagoans and beyond as “The Bean.”
Above: The Bean’s unique reflective shape provides a literal opportunity for visitors to see themselves in the iconic place surrounding it.
While the sculpture had many critics upon its installation, it has become a distinctive feature of the city and a destination for millions of visitors. While taking a selfie with the Bean is free, visits contribute millions of dollars annually in associated local spending and commercial activity.
Above: J.T. Lambrou, June 27, 2022, The Historical Marker Database
Some longstanding public art features are intentional, such as the Freighter Propeller plaza in Marine City’s Nautical Mile Park. “Temporary” installations can also become beloved fixtures that define the community, such as the Commerce Drive-In Sign, which is used as entryway signage for Commerce Township.
Even our infrastructure can contribute to placemaking and a location’s identity. Examples include the Blue Water Bridge, Dundee’s Old Mill Museum, and even the dam at the Henry Ford Estate.
Events are also effective tools for placemaking and often provide tentpoles in a place’s economy and culture. Farmers’ markets, parades, and festivals are all examples of how special connections are forged at the intersection of time and place.
Placemaking Case Studies
Following Noah’s presentation, the Communicators Network heard from three communities on different aspects and avenues of placemaking and public art.
City of Detroit
Bethany Howard, MCD, Program Director; and Ericka Alexander, Detroit Transportation Corporation Communications and Outreach Manager, Detroit City Walls, presented on initiatives, partnerships, and outreach strategies to beautify the city and grow its community through murals and other public art installations. They also led the walking-and-People Mover tour across Downtown, highlighting a few of the many works across Detroit and demonstrating the impact to attendees.
From giant murals on sides of buildings to reusing electrical boxes on sidewalks of the city, Downtown Detroit is an excellent example of using public art as a placemaking tool. Murals can be found within and around Detroit People Mover stops around the city. In preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft, the city also commissioned artists to paint electrical boxes in honor of Detroit’s sports figures.
Taking something people walk past on a daily basis – such as an electrical box or an empty wall – and making it a piece of art residents and visitors take a moment to notice and take photos of is placemaking in action.
Downtown Farmington
Jess Westendorf, Executive Director, Farmington Downtown Development Authority discussed how public art and placemaking have been at the forefront of Downtown Farmington’s growth and redevelopment. As a winner of the 2026 Great American Main Street Award, Downtown Farmington repurposed multiple areas into public gathering spaces, including Riley Park, Dinan Park, Mason’s Corner, and the Art Park Promenade, home to Make A Wave, a powerful participatory art piece made of 672 tiles engraved by community members and assembled by local studio Fired and Fused.
These improvements have opened the door for gathering spaces in Downtown Farmington and capacity to hold events designed to bring people together. View their presentation below to learn more about their projects.
Downtown Farmington PresentationMacomb County
Steve Hewett, GIS Specialist; and Megan Ochamnek, Marketing and Communications Project Manager, Macomb County Department of Planning and Economic Development (MCPED), presented the County’s Public Art Map tool. This tool is an excellent example of providing easy-to-access locations and information on public arts and culture attractions. A strong commitment to maintenance, along with an interactive element, support Macomb County’s place keeping efforts.
The map was developed as part of a revamped promotions plan and includes a form for submitting pictures and details of various public artworks across the county. The County launched the map in 2018 with a public art event, including a live demonstration of the map and allowed residents to submit their favorite public art pieces for inclusion on the map. The map and submission tool are linked below, alongside other information available from MCPED.
View the MapPublic Artist Panel
The Communicators Network next heard from some of the talented artists who are tasked with turning community visions into a reality.
Left to right: Trevor Layton, panel facilitator; Israel Nordin, sculptor, Detroit Design Center; Austen Brantley, sculptor; Erik Nordin, sculptor, Detroit Design Center.
Not pictured: Quinn Faylor, muralist, and Mike Ross, muralist, also spoke on the panel and took questions.
Takeaways from the panel
- Public art can serve as a storytelling medium and a way for a community to heal pain
- Art can serve as a mutual gift both to the people and the place
- A community’s art should be authentic in its representation of the location
- Communities should factor in the artist’s passion and excitement as they engage, which can be additive in and of themselves
Mural Tour of Detroit
Following the meeting’s presentations and discissions, Bethany Howard and Ericka Alexander led attendees on a tour of some of Downtown Detroit’s many murals. Some of the pieces visited include:
- The Sound of Change Has Many Voices, Hera, Rear Wall of Hotel Indigo at 1020 Washington Blvd
- A Slice of Life in Detroit: Tribute to the Working Class, Nicole McDonald, 408 W. Fort St
- Mural by Fel’le, 312 Michigan Ave
- Detroit Moves people, Nick Pizaña, 600 Civic Center Dr
- Detroit Music Legends, Anthony Lee, Corner of Brush St. and Congress St., Bricktown People Mover Station
Above: A Slice of Life in Detroit, Nicole McDonald
If you’re interested in taking your own tour, use the webmap below.
Walking Tour MapIf you have any questions or would like more information on SEMCOG’s involvement in placemaking, Main Street and downtown revitalization, or similar economic development initiatives, please contact Noah Bussell below.
Contact NoahNext Communicators Network
The location and time of the next Communicators Network meeting will be announced soon. It will take place in early 2027, and a link to register will be shared when available. We hope to see you there!
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