Monuments
A2SF and the Ann Arbor District Library will celebrate some of our community’s most impactful leaders with Monuments by Australian-based visual artist Craig Walsh from September 4-8 in Ann Arbor. 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.
The community leaders recognized as the subjects for Monuments as part of A200’s Living History will include: Peace Neighborhood Center’s Executive Director Bonnie Billups, Jr., President/CEO of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County Joyce Hunter, and community activists Keith Orr & Martin Contreras.
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.
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.
Craig Walsh will be giving a special artist talk at the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Branch on Wednesday, September 4 from 6:30-7:30PM. Learn more.
About Craig Walsh: Craig Walsh is a visual artist based in Brisbane, AUS. Over the last 30 years, Walsh has become widely known for his pioneering works – including innovative approaches to projection mapping in unconventional sites. His site-responsive works have animated natural environments and features such as trees, rivers and mountains, as well as public art projects in urban and architectural space. He is also renowned for his site interventions at live events, including iconic works at music festivals across Australia and internationally. Craig Walsh’s website.
Biographies
Bonnie Billups, Jr.
A life-long resident of Ann Arbor, Bonnie Billups, Jr. has spent most of his life and career at Peace Neighborhood Center helping young people and families overcome extraordinary challenges that stem from generational poverty and social and economic inequality. Bonnie first attended Peace’s Summer Camp as a young teenager, and got his first job at Peace at the age of 15. Over the last 33 years, he has served as the agency’s Program Director and as Executive Director since 2006. Under Bonnie’s leadership, Peace Neighborhood Center has grown exponentially, expanding its programming and services to support youth and families across Washtenaw County. As a respected community leader, Bonnie has received countless accolades and brings a credible voice and perspective on what it takes to help people break generational cycles of poverty. In addition to his role at Peace, he lends his expertise to a number of local nonprofits, boards, and community groups including: the Ann Arbor Independent Community Police Oversight Commission, Washtenaw Alliance for Children and Youth, Girls Group, My Brother’s Keeper, and A Brighter Way.
Joyce Hunter
Joyce Hunter spent 37 years as an educator, administrator, and community advocate in Ann Arbor Public Schools, impacting the community as a special education teacher, assistant principal, superintendent for secondary education, and the district’s first educator to teach computing, programming, and accounting classes while at Huron High School. Joyce is the co-founder, president, and CEO of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum (AACHM) of Washtenaw County, dedicated to celebrating and preserving African American local history. AACHM’s partnerships with community organizations and the Ann Arbor District Library have helped create collaborations like the ongoing Living Oral History Project and the Family Foundations exhibit and historical book. Through her decades of service to the community, Joyce has been active with the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the National Association of Negro Business Women, Girls Group, The Links, and Bethel AME.
Keith Orr and Martin Contreras
Martin Contreras was running the La Casita de Lupe Mexican restaurant with his mother while having conversations with his partner Keith Orr about opening a bar in Ann Arbor that was bright, positive, affirming, open, and for the LGBTQ+ community. When La Casita de Lupe became /aut/ Bar, Keith and Martin couldn’t have dreamed of the immense impact their special sanctuary would have on the community. Keith and Martin expanded their haven with the Common Language bookstore creating a natural gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community in Kerrytown’s Braun Court that invited everyone and welcomed all. Ketih and Martin have also been active in advocacy, fundraising, and political efforts for LGBTQ+ causes, including work with the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project, HIV/AIDS Resource Center, and Jim Toy Community Center.