Friday Eye Candy: Portraits Made Public—For Community Awareness and Placemaking

The "Inside Out Project: We Are Edison" installation posted large portraits of residents in the Kalamazoo neighborhood of Edison on the side of a building. The exhibition invites the community to take a look at itself.

1 minute read

September 1, 2017, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


San Francisco Mural

A similar portrait project in San Francisco during September 2015. | EQRoy / Shutterstock

"If you ever wanted to know who lives in the Edison Neighborhood, you don't have to go any farther than the 1300 block of Portage Street," reports Al Jones.

"Portraits of more than 100 residents of Kalamazoo's largest neighborhood [were] displayed there over the next two weeks to showcase the diversity and interest of people in Edison," adds Jones.

The portraits were hung on the sides and windows of various buildings around the neighborhood, including 50 images on the former Kalamazoo Color Lab building. That building, vacant for more than two years, was recently donated to the Kalamazoo County Land Bank.

Although the exhibition wrapped up earlier in August, it's an idea that likely hasn't seen its last application. Inside Out is actively taking more portraits—updates on that work are available on Twitter.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017 in MLive

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