Will Grand Rapids Get Wings? Kelsey Montague Mural Coming to GR’s West Side
What lifts you? That's the question asked by Kelsey Montague's large scale, interactive, internationally popular street art -- which is coming soon to Grand Rapids' West Side.
You've likely seen her awesome work online, as her art wings and other interactive pieces are so Instagrammable.
Well, Montague, who created a butterfly mural for Taylor Swift in Nashville, is planning a new mural for Grand Rapids.
According to Wood TV 8, the group Westside Beautify is partnering with CMF Marketing to commission a Kelsey Montague mural on the side of the Blue Dog Tavern on Stocking Avenue.
Carla Flanders of CMF Marketing tells Wood TV 8,
We thought it would also be a really good destination for people to come to Grand Rapids and say ‘hey, we want to be part of this art here.
There are folks who plan out trips to see Kelsey Montague's murals all over the world, including here in the Mitten State. Her murals can be seen in Muskegon, Ann Arbor, and Detroit.
Montague's murals are reflective of the community in which they're painted. She tells Wood TV 8,
I hide a lot of images within that represent the community. I work with colors or working with different people on the overall concept. So my work really is for a community... I’m so tunnel focused because you want to do something that the community is going to be proud of and is going to recognize different elements of it, even the colors of it. You want it to be like, this is a Grand Rapids piece.
According to a blog post, Montague says she started the #WhatLiftsYou campaign in 2014 to provide people with the opportunity to share more about what inspires them in their lives.
So what would you like to see in a mural on GR's West Side? Not all of Montague's pieces are butterflies, as you can see below.
If you'd like to help bring one of Montague's murals to Grand Rapids, there's still about $25,000 that needs to be raised. According to Wood TV 8, work on the West Side mural could start as early as next month.