KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo County commission has set up a group to curate what could easily become the largest artwork in Kalamazoo.
Even before it has been constructed there are plans for a mural on the north side of the county’s new parking ramp.
Board chair Jen Strebs says its going to be big.
She says the rest of the parking structure will also be wrapped in art.
The “Church St. Parking Garage Public Art Ad-Hoc Committee” will have four county board members and four members of the public from around the county.
It will be their job to recommend the final design to the full county board.
The mural will overlook Martin Luther King Jr. Park and the Amtrak rails, and will be visible from a distance.
Strebs says the assignment for the winning artist will be a challenge.
Vice chair John Taylor stated he would prefer that a local artist get the commission.
Commissioner John Gisler suggested it might boost county revenues if they sold ads instead, but we don’t think he wasn’t being serious.
New York has Banksy. Chicago has its Picasso. Detroit has the fist of Joe Louis. St. Louis has the Gateway Arch. The huge mural could become what people think of when they think of Kalamazoo, or not.
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