Detroit artist winning artwork featured on downtown billboard

DETROIT (FOX 2) - There's new artwork shining near downtown Detroit.

The artist behind it beat out 20 others to have his work featured high above ground. 

Redd, a Detroit artist, can't believe his artwork is up on this billboard near the Lodge and Grand River in Detroit.

"Yeah, I’ve actually driven by a couple of times on the highway. I wish I could stop in the middle of the highway and just watch," said Redd. "I’m not trying to cause any accidents. But no, it’s super beautiful, and I’ve taken my friends and have also posted all over social media pictures and videos."

The backstory:

Back in September 2024, Redd took part in the MARKtd: Art on Canvas program, an art competition in which 20 artists were given one hour to take a blank canvas and turn it into art, all in front of a live audience.

Afterward, four judges evaluated each piece. Redd was named one of the winners. The reward was the billboard.

"The billboard really felt like the cherry on top, really like the icing on the cake because there’s something about being able to get that level of exposure in the place where you’re doing the majority of your work, like real native Detroiters," Redd said.

Local perspective:

Pensole Lewis College, the National Black Footwear Forum, and AAA hosted the competition. 

They say real Detroit artists and original content is what they were going for.

That exposure was putting the winners' work on AAA billboards around town, says the company's field VP David Campbell.

"It was done here locally, right in the heart of Detroit, and it was about helping some of the new, younger artists get some opportunity for some exposure," said Campbell. "It’s a different way for AAA to engage in the community. It’s not necessarily a space that you would assume to see an insurance company being involved in."

He says they were grateful to be a part of the inaugural competition, grateful to highlight Detroit's art scene and the good going on in the city.

"When we really tap into that and invest into it, there’s a lot that can happen that truly shifts the narrative, the negative narrative that people may have about Detroit," Redd said.

What you can do:

If you'd like to see it, you've got a little bit of time. But FOX 2 is hearing they're going to take it down soon.

If you want to compete in the next contest, Pensole Lewis College says information will be coming out about that in September.