The Detroit Institute of Arts is planning an unveiling day for the seven works of art that will be installed in outdoor locations around Belleville in mid September and stay up until after Winterfest in November.
Kerreen Conley, chairman of the Belleville Downtown Development Authority, said at the DDA’s Aug. 17 meeting that the DIA had said it would select five to seven sites and has selected seven.
The artworks will be placed at outdoor locations at: Horizon Park, Pro Hardware, the museum, the Bayou Grill, Higgerson & Neal Funeral Home, Belleville Milling, and Belleville City Hall.
Conley said, perhaps, a walking tour of the artworks could be planned for after the next DDA meeting, Sept. 14.
Mayor Richard Smith said he got an email from the DIA advising the city that the DIA would like to do a presentation to the City Council at one of its September meetings.
It is expected at that meeting that the city will be advised of the date of the Free Sunday for Belleville residents at the DIA.
The Inside/Outside program of the DIA is in its second year and is reaching 44 cities over the two years. Eighty reproductions of DIA paintings are erected along the streets and in the parks of communities in the greater metro Detroit area.
The framed artworks are clustered within walking or bike-riding distance to form a “grand, open-air gallery,” according to the DIA website.
The artworks are loaned to the communities and erected without charge. Currently, the final legal agreements are being arranged between the property owners and the DIA so installation can begin.