DIA Brings Art to the Streets and Parks of Birmingham

Birmingham’s scenery will become a bit more artistic in coming months, with the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) picking the city for the next round of its Inside|Out program.

The program, now in its second year and sponsored by the DTE Energy Foundation, brings 40 framed, life-size digital reproductions of paintings from the DIA collection to the streets and parks of Metro Detroit. The paintings will be on display beginning in September through November in various communities throughout Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties.

In Birmingham, reproductions will be placed at , , the North Old Woodward Parking Garage as well as on four private properties throughout downtown. Christian Weurth, assistant to the city manager, said the city is currently finalizing agreements with those property owners.

Birmingham is part of the second round of the Inside|Out program this year. The first round this summer featured installations in Rochester, Novi and Sterling Heights, among others.

“Once again, we are delighted with the public’s response,” DIA Director Graham W. J. Beal said in a press release. “There is a genuine sense of community ownership around the installations ... We are happy to be able to continue the momentum with the new installations this fall.”

At the Aug. 22 meeting of the Birmingham City Commission, resident Dorothy Conrad asked that the city notify neighborhood associations when the artwork is installed. Weurth said the city would do so, noting that the installations would go up after Labor Day.

Weurth also said the DIA hasn’t yet picked which artworks will be on display in Birmingham, though those decisions should be made early next week. Whatever the decision, Weurth said the program can only be good for Birmingham.

“This gives us a chance to get something from the DIA here in town,” he said.

The DIA and city will host various educational programs in Birmingham to accompany the art, including a discussion on the role of public art at 7 p.m. at , co-hosted by the library and the city’s Public Arts Board.

Birmingham residents will also have free admission to the DIA on Nov. 6 so they can experience “their” works of art in person.