Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Murals in the Market in Detroit

$50,000 goal to win matching grant through MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places initiative

LANSING, Mich. – More than 30 simple walls in Detroit’s Eastern Market will be transformed into vibrant vistas through a new crowdfunding campaign, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Eastern Market Corporation announced today. The campaign is being offered through Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity.

If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $50,000 by August 13, the project will win a matching grant with funds made possible by MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program. For project details and to donate, please visit: http://www.patronicity.com/muralsinthemarket

“Public Spaces Community Places is about providing a platform for communities to express and reinvigorate themselves,” said MEDC Senior Vice President of Community Development Katharine Czarnecki. “We are pleased to partner with Eastern Market as the talented artists behind Murals in the Market bring color and creativity that will make a lasting impact on the community.”

Public art has always been an integral part of Detroit’s Historic Eastern Market district. Just as one of the United States’ oldest farmers market provides quality food for people from all walks of life, the Murals in the Market festival brings groundbreaking artistic and cultural activations to the district, showcasing hundreds of public works that are free and open to the public. Murals in the Market utilizes the power of public art to unify residents, visitors, stakeholders and business owners of Detroit’s historic Eastern Market.

Each year, Murals in the Market adds to a growing number of murals throughout the district. City residents and visitors from the metro area and across the world visit Eastern Market year-round to take in the city’s largest outdoor public art installation.

With the funds raised from this campaign and the MEDC match, Murals in the Market will be able to add another 50-plus murals in 2018, bringing the total to 150 large-scale murals across a one-mile area.

“We are thrilled to be partnering once again with the amazing team at 1xRUN for the fourth annual Murals in the Market festival. The murals are a huge draw, attracting people to the market that contribute to the vibrancy and authenticity of the district, and they have been a boon to local artists and businesses,” said Eastern Market Corporation Grants and Program Support Director Lydia Levinson. “Murals in the Market has been a catalyst of opportunity for the artists, for the businesses, for the community, and for Eastern Market. Crowdfunding for the murals makes sense because it is art for the people, and now patrons and fans can contribute to the future sustainability of the festival with a donation that will be matched by the MEDC.”

Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity, in which local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, nonprofits and other business entities can apply at https://patronicity.com/puremichigan.

“Accessible public art is a vital placemaking element in to create vibrancy in communities,” said Dan Gilmartin, CEO and executive director of the Michigan Municipal League. “Eastern Market’s Murals in the Market festival not only creates an exciting annual event, but adds to the area’s growing collection of murals that attract residents and visitors from around the world.”

The Public Spaces Community Places initiative started in 2014 with MEDC providing matched funding of up to $50,000 for community improvement projects throughout Michigan. As of June 5, 2018, MEDC has provided $4,938,166 in matching grants. Since the launch of the program, 166 projects have been successful in reaching their goal, with $5.9 million raised from 30,187 individual donors.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.