ANN ARBOR — A2SF and AADL announced Executive Director of the Peace Neighborhood Center Bonnie Billups, President/CEO of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County, Joyce Hunter, and community leaders and activists Keith Orr & Martin Contreras as part of A200’s Living History. Monuments by Craig Walsh will run 8pm nightly, September 4-8 in Wheeler Park (200 Depot Street) in Ann Arbor. Full bios for each honoree can be found at A2SF.ORG/MONUMENTS.
Monuments arrives in Ann Arbor during our Bicentennial Year and celebrates the Living History of four individuals who create welcoming spaces within the community. Monuments illuminates Wheeler Park with leaders’ faces who represent the continuity between the place Ann Arbor has been and the place it will become. These honorees represent nearly 200 years of combined service and transformational change. They inspire us to work – as they have – to create a future Ann Arbor that truly welcomes all.
AADL Executive Director Eli Neiburger shared:
AADL is so thrilled to be working with A2SF to bring Craig Walsh’s Monuments to Ann Arbor as part of our Bicentennial celebration. AADL’s Ann Arbor 200 project is all about highlighting and celebrating history in unique and unexpected ways, and we’re excited to see the Living History of our community, illuminated and larger than life, at Wheeler Park this September. We appreciate the generous contributions of the Friends of AADL and the Ladies’ Library Association for helping to make this very special installation possible.
A2SF Executive Director Mike Michelon added:
Bonnie, Joyce, Keith, and Martin have made invaluable contributions to our community, and we’re delighted to celebrate them with AADL through this stunning project that will illuminate Wheeler Park.
About Monuments:
Built for the great outdoors, Craig Walsh’s Monuments celebrates selected individuals through large-scale, nighttime projected portraits onto live trees in public spaces for stunning effect. Monuments challenges traditional expectations of public monuments and the selective history represented in our public spaces. The installations present a haunting synergy between the human form, nature, and the act of viewing. Enormous night-time projections transform trees into sculptural monuments. Host sites select subjects to celebrate and honor through their stunning portraitures. Recent Monuments include installations for: Arizona Arts Live, Tucson; Without Walls Festival, in San Diego; and Moss Arts Center in Blacksburg, VA.
Monuments is presented by A2SF and Ann Arbor District Library, with support from the University of Michigan Arts Initiative, The Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, and the Ladies Library Association.
About Ann Arbor 200:
In 2024, Ann Arbor is celebrating its bicentennial year, the 200th anniversary of its founding. To mark this occasion, the Ann Arbor District Library is undertaking a project called Ann Arbor 200.
Over the course of 2024, 200 digital content releases that explore topics from Ann Arbor’s history will be assembled–some created by AADL staff, and some commissioned from artists, filmmakers, and writers around the community, and some are created through partnerships with organizations throughout the city. Learn more here.
A2SF champions performing arts, outdoor entertainment, and community spirit. In addition to a nearly four-week festival each June that attracts a diverse audience of over 80,000 people and offers over 200 concerts, art exhibitions, kids activities, spectacle, and film screenings, A2SF presents compelling experiences throughout the year on the campus of the University of Michigan and throughout Washtenaw County.
The mission of A2SF is to present a world-class celebration of arts and entertainment that enriches the cultural, economic, and social vitality of the region. A2SF was founded as a partnership between the University of Michigan and the City of Ann Arbor and produced its first season in 1984. For more information on all events, please visit A2SF.ORG.
