Westland Arts Foundation unveils public art project "Flight of the Eagles"
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Summary
A newly formed Westland nonprofit, the Westland Arts Foundation, presented a community-led public art initiative to the city council and invited artists and businesses to participate in a May 16 launch and a fall public auction.
The Westland Arts Foundation, a newly formed 501(c)(3) nonprofit, presented a public art project called “Flight of the Eagles” to the Westland City Council during the council’s meeting. Amber Gilbert, a Westland resident and small-business owner, described the initiative and invited student and resident artists to submit designs.
The foundation’s stated mission is “to encourage and support other organizations in the city of Westland that are focused on the arts through fundraising, through business support, education, and community engagement,” Gilbert said. She told the council the foundation’s board consists of three Westland citizens and two honor students from Schoolcraft College and that the group hopes to support existing arts organizations and encourage new ones.
Flight of the Eagles will display artist-designed eagle sculptures around the city and use related programming to draw visitors and businesses, Gilbert said. “Each artist will get to design a specific eagle. So there won't be just one eagle that is just scattered out looking the same. There are three different eagles,” she said. The foundation plans a public launch on Saturday, May 16, a scavenger-hunt element tied to QR codes and explanatory text for each sculpture, several months of public display in the fall, and a public auction afterward where buyers may take purchased sculptures for display.
The foundation said businesses will be able to select an artist’s design to display, and that students will be involved in designing the pieces. Organizers encouraged artists of all ages to submit designs via the foundation’s website and said a book featuring the artists and designs is planned.
Councilwoman Emily Baumann introduced the presentation and the council received the group’s overview without formal action. Gilbert said the foundation had already met with several local arts groups and planned to expand outreach to individual artists and businesses.
The foundation’s website, westlandarts.org, is listed as the contact point for artists and businesses interested in participating.