Lansing's newest street art will stretch across the city, 'build a bit of a story'

LANSING — You can catch a glimpse of Dustin Hunt's newest mark on the Lansing cityscape before you're there.

A purple corner of a south-facing wall off Wise Road in South Lansing was all you could make out from a block away on a recent Wednesday. But by this week, more layers of paint, more color and more vibrancy will adorn the wall overlooking a playground at the Alfreda Schmidt Community Center.

Hunt's most-recent mural is one of a three-part project titled "Lansing Shaped." The murals will depict three generations of a Lansing family — children, parents and grandparents — on three former Lansing schools — Verlinden Elementary, Otto Middle, and Harry Hill High where Hunt worked last week — to tell the story of how the city shaped the family.

"We're on the south side right now and there's very little public art down here," Hunt said. "The north side is different. The west side is different. So I'm trying to drive folks through the city to see different parts of the city. I think it's all layered with history and conversation."

Hunt, who has at least 10 other murals in Lansing, said the plan is to complete all three new ones by October, followed by a public event to formally reveal the works. His work isn't limited to painting. He also teaches art and has painted murals outside Michigan, through his Muralmatics brand.

A Lansing Arts Impact Grant, facilitated by the Arts Council of Greater Lansing using city money set aside for public art projects, is funding the $75,000 for Hunt's murals. The three works are each expected to be about 625 square feet.

The grant is one of several the city has and funds "a permanent art installation that enhances a neighborhood's appearance." The idea is that public art is a public good, making Lansing a nicer place to live and work.

"(People) start seeing more and more of it and then want more and more of it because it improves the livability of the community," said Meghan Martin, executive director of Arts Council of Greater Lansing.

"And it also helps us tell the story of the community."

'Build a bit of a story around it'

Some cities have found that public art can do more than just brighten a neighborhood or building.

In Cincinnati, recently named by USA Today as a top 10 city for street art, the hundreds of murals have also had an economic benefit for the city, neighborhoods and people who live near the art.

ArtWorks Cincinnati, a nonprofit that started in 1996, hires young people from the neighborhoods where murals are being painted to help. Modeled after a public arts program in Chicago, the goal for ArtWorks is to make the city more beautiful and provide resources for young people that need them, said Jill Dunne, the agency's director of marketing.

ArtWorks started commissioning murals in 2006, she added, and incrementally increased the number each year. They're now responsible for dozens each year, employing more and more young people, and are now looking toward longer-term projects.

Other Cincinnati organizations have started funding public art, Dunne said, adding that as more public art has gone up, vandalism and littering have decreased and a sense of safety in the neighborhoods has increased.

"People are seeing those murals on the wall and it helps them value their community more and more," she said.

Public art also brings paintings and sculptures out of museums and into the community where more people can see and appreciate the work. And as impactful as that can be, there are still limits.

Hunt has other murals throughout the city, including a handful downtown.

There's one along a driveway on the east side of the Capital Area District Libraries' downtown branch, another in the alley just west of Washington Square and a third on the side of a building at East Michigan Avenue and South Grand Avenue.

He also helped another 10 or so go up in Lansing during the 2019 Below the Stacks mural festival, of which he was a co-director. The event included artists from Michigan, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.

As Hunt planned out his "Lansing Shaped" project, he knew he wanted to find a way around the limits of paint on a wall.

"You drive by. You walk by. And that's it," he said. "I'm interested in hooking folks in and building context around the mural so they can understand why it's here, what it means. And just build a bit of a story around it."

He’ll do some of that by including lines and design cues into the paintings that will draw a viewer’s eyes to a QR code, which, if scanned, will take them to a website with a video portal with instructions on how to further explore the works and the theme.

But just as important is the story Hunt is telling with paint and brick walls: The story of a city, its schools, its residents, their differing perspectives of the world and how it's all contained in one family.

"Street art is a globally accepted art form," he said. "I think bringing that alone into cities would be valuable."

Where can you see public art in Lansing?

Hunt isn't the only artist whose works is on display throughout Lansing.

There are dozens of pieces of public art — murals, sculptures, painted electrical boxes — including many that are within walking distance in downtown.

Here's a look at where you can see some of the work, plus a map of even more:

Portrait of a Dreamer

The sculpture near Jackson Field, home of the Lansing Lugnuts, is likely among the more recognizable. Like the "Lansing Shaped" project Hunt hopes to unveil in October, this sculpture was funded with a Lansing Arts Impact Grant.

Artist Ivan Iler has another sculpture called "Mother Tree" in Lansing's Hunter Park.

Shiawassee Street Mosaic Tile Project

The Arts Impact Grant also paid for the "Shiawassee Street Mosaic Project," located along the side of the Shiawassee Street bridge near the river trail. The 650-square-foot mosaic tile mural came together in 2022, after pandemic-related delays.

More than 1,000 volunteers helped with the mosaic project. And right nearby the work, under the Shiawassee Street bridge along the river trail, are four other murals.

Lansing river trail's ArtPath

Lansing's river trail is full of art and each year the city and the Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center put on the ArtPath program, formally from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The 2.5-mile river trail from the Turner Dodge House in Old Town south includes more than 20 pieces of art.

Below the Stacks mural festival

In 2019, Hunt helped put on the Below the Stacks mural festival in Lansing. The event ended with 11 new murals in Lansing, with artists coming to the city from New York and Los Angeles to paint.

The finished work are now on display in REO Town, Old Town and elsewhere.

Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing's newest three-part street art will stretch across the city