Rural and Community Art Project Grant

The short term goals of the project are to create and install a mural in a highly visible downtown location in Grand Rapids that features the work of a contemporary Anishinaabe artist. The long-term goals of the project are to emphasize Native American culture as a vibrant and living presence in the region, to contribute to a welcoming and inclusive community, and to enhance perceptions of Grand Rapids as an arts destination. The project will be evaluated over a period of ten months with initial evaluation focusing on the degree to which the project achieved short term goals – including documentation of the completed mural and collecting viewer feedback at mural unveiling event. After the unveiling the evaluation methods will focus on the degree to which the project advanced its long-term goals. Short surveys of residents and tourists will be collected at a variety of locations in Grand Rapids – including both arts and non-arts venues and downtown and non-downtown venues. The surveys will measure visibility of the mural, reactions to the mural, and respondents' views about support for the arts in the Grand Rapids area. Throughout the project, local media coverage of the mural will also be compiled and analyzed for insight into achievement of outcomes.