INCOMING ART
Reproductions from DIA coming to downtown this spring
Downtown Ferndale will soon be home to reproductions of works from the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Seven locations in the downtown district are being considered for the artworks as part of the DIA’s Inside|Out program, which is now in its 12th year.
Ferndale last had reproductions from the museum’s collection on display about a decade ago.
The reproductions will go up in May and serve as a safe attraction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a good opportunity,” said Lena Stevens, executive director of the City’s Downtown Development Authority. “It’s good for us to have anything like this where we can encourage people to come downtown, not congregate in groups and have social distancing.”
Members of the city’s Arts and Cultural Commission worked to get Ferndale on the list for the DIA’s Inside|Out program this year.
Kara Sokol, Ferndale’s communications director, is the city’s staff liaison to the city arts commission, and said city officials learned Ferndale was selected for the DIA’s program a few months ago.
Arts and Cultural Commission members will do a short presentation for the City Council at its meeting Monday night.
“At this point we have a draft list of locations” for where the art reproductions will be installed, Sokol said. “They include The dot, Schiffer Park, the Ferndale library and four additional privately owned areas in the downtown.”
Negotiations are continuing with businesses or owners of buildings where replica paintings might be placed, she added.
“It’s meant to be something where people can walk to all seven locations,” Sokol said. “It’s also something people can do even during the pandemic.”
Another consideration is that the art reproductions be placed in areas that are accessible to those who use wheelchairs or face mobility challenges. Typically, the DIA clusters its reproductions in areas that are within walking or biking distance.
City and downtown officials are looking forward to the reproductions being mounted outside.
“We hope we can weave it in with Bike Month and other activities downtown to get people out and exploring the downtown safely,” Sokol said.
Increases in the number of COVID-19 vaccines being given and the warmer temperatures around the corner are spurring hopes, especially among downtown businesses that were hit hard by the pandemic and drop off in customers, Stevens said.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been a year,” since the pandemic started, Stevens said. “When the weather breaks it’s on us to support these local businesses and help make up some of the losses from 2020.”
The DIA is bringing reproductions to a total of 24 communities in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties from May through October.
“It’s good for us to have anything like this where we can encourage people to come downtown, not congregate in groups and have social distancing.”
— Lena Stevens, DDA executive director