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LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - The City of Lansing is giving local artists a chance to make their mark on a new city landmark.

The new LANSING sign will feature “mini murals” created by artists who live and work in the city.

Kahleea Washington, a community development fellow with the Lansing Economic Development Corporation, spearheaded the whole idea.

She said, “This is kind of my baby project. I’ve been doing this for about a year.”

Washington was asked what she would say to people who think she’s following the DETROIT sign. She said Lansing’s sign would be different from the Detroit sign.

According to Washington, the LANSING sign will have color, and it’ll be easily accessible for people to stop by and take pictures. “This type of project, like spelling out the city name, is not new.”

“I would say Detroit and Lansing are pretty late to the game with this.”

To get the project rolling, Washington reached out to the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. “To make sure that they had an equitable call to artists. And making sure that our local artists had assistance if they wanted to apply,” said Megan Martin, executive director at the Arts Council.

Martin said the $10,000 budget will allow seven different artists to decorate each individual letter of the public art display.

It’s a project that local creatives like Ryan Holmes said he’s excited about. “The thought of everybody being able to have a place and space on this and who they represent through their culture, through the things that they enjoy, and how they embrace Lansing.”

It’s also a hobby that Holmes said he already does around the city. “So I did the sasquatch and then put him coming out of Quality Diary. I’ve done the creature from the Blue Lagoon down by the Potter Park Zoo when it floods.”

He said he’ll be signing up, hoping to have his work displayed as part of the new sign.

“To put that all on there, I think it will be really unique.”

The LANSING Placemaking Project application is open for submissions and can be found on the Arts Council website.

Submission deadline is July 12, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Selected artists will be notified on July 15, 2024.

Contact Meghan Martin at meghan@lansingarts.org with any questions.

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