Art on the Block - Arte en la Cuadra is a community public art initiative in Southwest Detroit.

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AOB seeks to achieve a significant visual and social impact on the neighborhood by highlighting an array of public spaces and transforming them into a representation of the community’s vision of itself and its hopes for the future.

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The festival engages with the community to collaboratively create murals and events that are reflective of its identity, heritage, and overall appreciation for many forms of artistic expression including; art, music, food and culture. By bringing all these components together, and allowing people to play an active part in the creation of something, they learn to take pride not only in themselves and in their roles as positive members of their community, but also in the art that is left for them to “engage” with in their day-to-day lives. 

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From murals on local businesses to art in parks, streets and on residential homes, Art on the Block - Arte en la Cuadra is about “coloring our streets” with the same kind of diversity and creativity we see in the people who live and work in the area.

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As a community, we believe that when individuals are proud of their surroundings, a natural process of positive self-imaging begins to take place, which ultimately affects the overall safety, empowerment and cohesion of a community.The murals and activities throughout the festival will bring multiple generations together to explore their shared experiences and create a common ground for continued relationship building and connectivity.