Mural to breathe new life into exterior of Hazel Park library

HAZEL PARK — The Hazel Park District Library is receiving a fresh new look.

At press time Sept. 18, work was underway on a massive mural on the building at 123 E. Nine Mile Road. The painting, estimated to measure about 60 feet by 25 feet, occupies the angled side of the library closest to John R Road, making it also visible from Nine Mile Road.

The artist, Zach Curtis of White Lake, started painting the week of Sept. 6. He specializes in aerosol and acrylic painting and has gained recognition across the U.S. and Mexico for his large-scale building murals and canvas paintings, describing his style as “painterly realism.”

The work is funded by $25,000 from the Detroit Institute of Art’s Partners in Public Art program, with subject matter determined by community feedback surveys.

The Hazel Park Arts Council led the search for an artist in Oakland County. Any required maintenance in the future will be the responsibility of the library. The building is owned by the city, so the Hazel Park City Council had to sign off on it, which they did at a meeting Aug. 13.

“The great thing is that at each level, approval has been unanimous from everyone,” said Alissa Sullivan, the mayor pro tem of Hazel Park.

Among the most cited words and phrases in the survey were “past, present and future,” “colorful,” “diversity,” “children” and “library.”

These ideas informed the design, which will feature an image of a boy and a girl sitting closely together reading a book with a sense of wonder on their faces. A horse appears to be springing forth from the pages of the book — a nod to Hazel Park’s history with harness racing. The children are said to reflect the diversity of the community.

But according to the artist, there are many ways to appreciate the piece.

“I wanted to insinuate that the children were reading about a piece of history from Hazel Park. Since the horse racing tracks were here in the city, I thought it was the perfect story to tell while keeping the mural fun and exciting,” Curtis said in an email. “For me, that is the main concept of the painting. However, I always leave my work up to interpretation, so if somebody walks away with another perspective, that’s great, as well.”

The PIPA program started in 2018, with a focus on bringing art to public buildings such as libraries, town halls and fire stations. PIPA murals have been painted across Southeast Michigan in communities including Berkley, Rochester, Mount Clemens, New Haven and Wyandotte.

Corrine Stocker, the library director, said that Sullivan and the Hazel Park Arts Council were instrumental in arranging the project, as was Ani Garabedian, the DIA’s manager of community engagement programs. She thanked the City Council and City Manager Ed Klobucher as well.

“I also need to mention our (library board) trustee, Barbara Winter, who tenaciously applied for this project over the course of years,” Stocker said in an email. “Without her passion and persistence, we would not have this opportunity.”

Since the library’s facade is brick, the mural is being spray-painted onto the surface.

“I created my design before painting, so far as covering the space, I use my sketch as my guide while remaining adaptive and tweaking this as I go to ensure the painting is as visible as possible from the main road and through the trees,” Curtis said. “Every mural I get to create is a privilege. I’m very honored to have been chosen for this project. Working with the DIA has always been on my creative bucket list and will definitely be one to remember.”

Sullivan said she looks forward to the finished product.

“I really advocated for this artist. His work is beautiful. He’s done murals all around the state,” Sullivan said. “I think that we are trying to be cognizant of the city’s past, and respectful of that with this mural. Just because we’re moving forward doesn’t make the past irrelevant. But in addition to commemorating the past, this is also about the future, children, expectations, imagination, diversity. All of those elements are incorporated into the art.”