7 New Public Art Installations You Can Find In Royal Oak

ROYAL OAK, MI — Downtown Royal Oak has been a canvas for local artists for several years now and for the upcoming year, seven new art installations have been put up.

The Royal Oak Commission for the Arts unveiled the pieces for the 2019-2020 Art Explored Program. The Art Explored Program is a platform for artists to submit bold, imaginative work to add to the vibrancy of downtown Royal Oak, organizers said.

Here are the pieces you can now see in Royal Oak:

• Fractured Excavations Tile Series by Nick Wecker is located on the Royal Oak Library Building at 222 East Eleven Mile Road

• Ben Jamin by Steve Miller is located on the Center Street Parking Deck at 300 South Center Street

• Pullin your Weight by Michael Errigo is located on the Sullivan Building at 225 South Main Street

• Baptized in Dirty Water by Onzie Norman is located on the SMART Transit Center on the South Lafayette side of the structure

• Assembly Line by Francis Vallejo is located on the Little Bros Restaurant at 201 W 4th Street

• House on the Hill by Lisa Goedert is located on Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle at 310 South Troy Street

• Quixotic Vision by David Petrakovitz is located on the sidewalk at Center Street and 4th Street

Jason Gittinger, chair of the Royal Oak Commission for the Arts is eager to share this year’s selections with residents, he said.

"Our fantastic Royal Oak Commission for the Arts team of volunteers have spent a great deal of time curating some amazing pieces for this year’s collection," Gittinger explained. "They had a tough task to pick from the fantastic works submitted. Moreover, there are some great partners in the community that lend their facades and sidewalks for the good of the program. We can’t thank them enough. It is so encouraging to see how art brings these differing pieces of our community together”.

The Art Explored program is presented by the Commission for the Arts with support from the Royal Oak Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the City of Royal Oak. The Royal Oak Commission for the Arts was created in 2012 to support arts and culture in the City of Royal Oak.

The commission for the arts is responsible for events such as the Summer Concert Series, Art Explored, Public Piano Project and East 11 Mile Road Public Art Program.

The art is currently on display for public viewing throughout downtown until July 2020.