If you didn’t know to travel down a back alley to peer across an empty field surrounded by three buildings, you might have missed the two-story tall lion mural on the building at the edge of Detroit’s Eastern Market.
The piercing blue eyes of the lion seemed to follow me, no matter what angle I took the photo.
Murals in the Market
Created by Atlanta artist Greg Mike, the mural is part of the second annual Murals at the Market in Detroit, an international mural festival that brought 50+ local and international artists to paint murals live during the 10-day festival in late September.
Over 40 murals were created during the festival, many can be seen as you drive through the market.
And the only reason I discovered the lion mural? It wasn’t on the official map for the festival.
Last Sunday, I drove down to Eastern Market specifically to walk about and see the murals. Everybody was talking about the paintings on Twitter and Facebook.
I parked, saw a group of people talking and pointing to a mural, walked up, and started a conversation with one of the people.
And that’s when I discovered it was a walking tour of the murals in the market. Linda Yellin, who was leading the tour for Feet on the Street Tours, graciously invited me to join the group.
What a great tour!
Not only did I learn about the paintings, I learned about the artists behind the murals. Some of the mural artists were Detroit-based and had created other murals found at Eastern Market buildings.
Other artists traveled from throughout the United States as well as from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy to paint their murals on the sides of buildings, often in alleys you might not see, unless you knew to look.
Go See the Murals!
If you haven’t made it down to Eastern Market to see the murals, I highly recommend you go. Expect to spend a couple hours walking around the market.
And yes, I recommend you walk, not drive, so you can get up close and see the detail on the murals.
Be sure to check out the 2016 mural map so you can discover where the murals are located.
Next year I’m planning to head down early so I can see the murals in progress, as the artists create them!
