Project Name: Living and Loving Our Village of Laurium
What is your first and last name?
Ian Lewis
What are your preferred pronouns?
He/him/his
What city or village do you live in?
[534]Does your neighborhood have a name? If so what is it?
[535]Are you connected with anyone in your local government?
[536]Are you applying as a business owner, artist, non-profit, DDA, or Commercial Improvement District?
[280]Where will your project take place?
Village of Laurium Downtown
Briefly describe your project idea:
The Village of Laurium is looking to beautify our downtown through murals, which would be painted by local artists that live within our community and region. My role as the Village Manager would be to make sure that the murals reflect on the history of our community and the mining days.
How will you be involved in this project? Who will you worth with?
We will engage the community by holding a community group session and by asking the community to provide picture or memories of how the Laurium community used to be. Furthermore, we will ask the Keweenaw National Historical Parks organization to provide the artists with some historical pictures that they have in their archives.
This will provide the artists with the resources needed to create the murals.
Describe the artist’s or artists’ work. This is not about credentials—what do they do as an artist?
Paige is a trained artist who specializes in traditional painting, portraits, figures, animation design and has done multiple large-scale murals as well as set painting for theaters and venues.
Please upload a letter of support for your project from your local governing body:
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Additional Attachments (if any)
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Why does your community need this project?
Our community’s infrastructure is deteriorating and the outside of the buildings throughout our downtown district are becoming incredibly outdated. Therefore, the village and its planning committee want to rejuvenate the community through some positive changes, while still making sure that our community’s history is not forgotten going into the future. We believe that this can be accomplished through murals and reflecting on our history as “Copper Country.”
What do you hope to achieve through this project?
The Village looks to start a trend a revitalization within our downtown and throughout our community. Our council and planning commission believe that if we show the community that we are trying to improve the image of our downtown, then the other surrounding businesses will follow our lead. As the new village manager, I want to reflect back on our community’s rich history dating back to the mining days and bring our past into the future. I believe this micro-grant can help start our village on the path of downtown revitalization.
How do you plan to spend the $5,000 microgrant?
The micro-grant would be used to purchase materials needed to paint on the structures that the Village and its partners have deemed to be good locations for murals to be painted. More specifically the money would be used to purchase supplies such as paint, brushes, trays, sealer, drops cloths, rollers, and to also pay the local artists for their time and talents to design and complete the murals.
What resources do you already have to make this project successful? Resources could include things like time, partners, expertise, donated goods/materials/space, matching funds, and more. Please approximate the in-kind value if possible.
We have local artists and business owners that are on board with the idea of creating murals throughout our downtown. Therefore, we have the time, the artists, the expertise, the space, and the community partners that could help make this project happen.
Will your project require special permits from the community you are in? For example, anything that requires a street closure or installing a permanent art piece will likely require a special permit from your local governing body or zoning board. If your project is funded, the MML Foundation is happy to help you navigate that process. Please note that all applicants must obtain any necessary permits for their projects, if selected for funding. *
Yes
Anticipated project launch date:
July 22, 2023
Will you serve as the primary point of contact for this application?
[291]Lead Artist First and Last Name:
Paige Blain
Lead Artist Website (If Applicable):
Business 1: Business Name:
Salon 1281
Business 1: Business Type:
Service
Business 1: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Amy Schneiderhan
Business 1: Physical Location Address
434 Hecla St. Laurium, MI
Business 1: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 1: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
https;//www.facebook.com/salon1281
Business 1: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
Business 2: Business Name:
Miller’s Recreation
Business 2: Business Type:
Restaurant
Business 2: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Loralee Miller
Business 2: Business Physical Location Address:
309 Hecla St. Laurium, Mi
Business 2: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 2: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
https://www.facebook.com/millerslanes/
Business 2: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
Business 3: Business Name:
[325]Business 3: Business Type:
[507]Business 3: Business Owner First and Last Name:
[326]Business 3: Physical Location Address
[327]Business 3: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
[374]Business 3: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
[373]Business 3: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
[383]Please list the names of any additional partners:
[336]Image Caption 1 (if any): The Village Hall on the Main street of Laurium
Image 1 (if any):
Image Caption 2 (if any): Looking down Hecla St. the mainstreet of Laurium.
Image 2 (if any):
Image Caption 3 (if any): The garage doors of the Village Hall where the 3 part mural would be placed.
Image 3 (if any):
Image Caption 4 (if any): The side of the Village Hall, another possible location of a mural.
Image 4 (if any):
Image Caption 5 (if any): The other direction of Hecla St, a continuation of our downtown main street area.
Image 5 (if any):
