East Canfield Art Sidewalk Festival

Project Location:

East Canfield Village, Detroit, MI

Briefly Describe Your Project Idea:

Canfield Consortium is partnering with Sidewalk Detroit for their bi-annual Sidewalk Festival. We were chosen to open the month long festival. and plan to install a community name sign to commemorate the event. We will work with two local artists, a muralist and a poet to create a one of a kind unveiling experience. The muralist will create a unique way to inscribe our community’s name on a location decided by community members. The poet will write a dedication poem focused on our community

Why does your community need this project?

For so long our neighborhood did not have a name. We would describe our neighborhood by is proximity to other neighborhoods or markers. In 2019, after working with the City and a series of community meetings & polls. we adopted the name East Canfield Village. This project will announce our name.

What do you hope to achieve through this project?

We hope to install a sense of pride in our community and solidify the community’s name while highlighting our work over the past several years. Much attention is paid to renovations being done in well funded neighborhoods but community led development continues to be overlooked. This project will celebrate our work and the perseverance of residents who did not leave but believed in the promise our the community’s resurgence.