Detroit Creative Placemaking
September is Detroit Month of Design, a citywide celebration of creativity and transformation. This year marks the first phase of a two-year health-focused project to reimagine Corktown, Detroit, as a living gallery of survival, resilience, and hope.
Creating Lasting Community Connection & Change
Lions & Rabbits is partnering with the American Cancer Society (ACS), Detroit Month of Design, Black Women’s Voices, and more to ignite creative placemaking. We’re taking a walk that already brings thousands together and cultivating a physical environment that inspires and unites the community it serves.
The results:
Corktown gets lasting public art that changes how the neighborhood feels.
The American Cancer Society gets a walk route that embodies its mission.
Detroit gets proof that we can talk about hard things in public spaces.
Everyone who participates becomes part of making difficult truths more visible.
Project Partners
The 2025 Walk Experience
Instead of passing abandoned spaces, walkers will encounter art in progress: portraits being painted, community murals taking shape, and the first pieces of a Floral Forest installation.
Portrait Collection: 116 Detroit-based artists will create unique portraits honoring Corktown survivors and families, based on the work of local photographers.
Floral Forest: Painted panels and native plants will be staged along the walk route as a pilot for a permanent installation.
Community Paint-By-Numbers Mural: Walkers and residents will help create a freestanding community paint-by-numbers mural live on race day.
Detroit Events
2025 Events
Detroit Month of Design, September 2025
Eastern Market After Dark, September 18, 2025
ACS Taste of Hope Gala, September 29, 2025
ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, October 11, 2025
2026 Events
International Placemaking Conference, June 2026
Interactive Art, Portraits, and Mural Installation, Spring, 2026
Detroit Month of Design, September, 2026
ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, October 12, 2026
Transforming Michigan Ave. & 14th St.
In 2026, the project will evolve from temporary activations to permanent installations at Michigan Ave. & 14th St.
All 116 portraits will be installed over boarded windows as a lasting community tribute.
The “Floral Forest” will expand to permanently transform the streetscape into an immersive, long-lasting environment.
An interactive audio installation will create a living archive of voices and experiences under the building’s awning.
The freestanding mural will find its permanent Corktown home, ensuring the community’s contribution remains at its heart.
Project Spotlight
Voices: Building an Archive
At upcoming events, including 2025 Eastern Market After Dark and the ACS Gala, Lions & Rabbits is introducing community phones with a little bit of magic.
These aren’t abandoned payphones; they’re a powerful way to share and hear personal stories of cancer and messages of hope. Imagine a growing archive of voices — each one a testament to strength, resilience, and community.
How it works:
Three unique phones will be installed under the awning of the transformed building at Michigan & 14th as a permanent audio installation.
Two play a continuous loop of recorded messages to engage with. The third phone offers you a chance to record your own short message, adding your voice to this expanding collection.
Bar Menu
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