“Michigan Passageway” to Welcome Broad Visitors to Downtown East Lansing Mural Dedication and Artist Reception to be Held Nov. 8, 2012
EAST LANSING, Mich. — As part of a continued community effort to celebrate the opening of the Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum, the East Lansing Arts Commission will dedicate a new public art mural at noon on Thursday, Nov. 8 in downtown East Lansing. The mural, entitled “Michigan Passageway” by local artist Tony Hendrick, will be installed in the south stairwell of the Division Street Parking Garage, 430 Albert Avenue. The public art piece, spanning52 feet in width and 7 feet in height, was commissioned by the City of East Lansing to welcome visitors to downtown East Lansing. It has been strategically placed in the parking garage Broad Art Museum visitors are anticipated to utilize.”My vision for the mural was to create a welcoming space for East Lansing visitors that would reflect a love of the great state of Michigan,” said Hendrick. “I also wanted to soften the experience of a concrete parking structure by juxtaposing it with the beauty of nature.”The mural dedication will take place in the pedestrian alley between Charles and Division streets (behind the Student Book Store). Speakers will include East Lansing Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett, East Lansing Arts Commission Chairperson Kevin Epling and artist Tony Hendrick. The dedication will be followed by an artist reception, featuring additional artwork by Hendrick, at 12:15 p.m. at (SCENE) Metrospace, 110 Charles St. About the ArtistTony Hendrick has been recognized for his murals nationally and globally, including an award for the World’s Largest Indoor Mural by Guinness World Records at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo.He has created art and murals locally for many businesses and organizations, including Cooley Law School, Lansing State Journal, REO Town Commercial Association, Westside YMCA and his hometown, the City of Grand Ledge. Hendrick leads community mural projects and teaches workshops for individual artists using spiritual and intuitive tools for painting. He has exhibited his paintings in many group and solo exhibitions, including a show at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Note to MediaPreceding the mural dedication, a ribbon cutting ceremony will take place officially opening a new Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau (GLCVB) Visitor Center in downtown East Lansing on Thursday, Nov.8 at 11:30 a.m. at 549 E. Grand River Ave. The Visitor Center opening is a proactive response to the influx of visitors expected at the Broad Art Museum and the ever-increasing number of international students and their families on the Michigan State University campus. The staffed, 400-square-foot center will have visitor information pertaining to the entire Greater Lansing region and will also have the ability to showcase special events and projects.Members of the media are encouraged to attend both the GLCVB Visitor Center ribbon cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. and the public art mural dedication at noon on Thursday, Nov. 8.