Detroit unveils huge cleat art installation, kicking off NFL Draft excitement
UPDATE: Following the NFL Draft, an online auction is being held for the pieces included in the "DCLEATED" art installation. The auction allows people to place bids on the cleats through 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8.
(CBS DETROIT) – With the NFL Draft 35 days away, Detroit is beginning to get decked out for the occasion.
On Thursday, the city unveiled more than a dozen pieces of unique artwork that visitors will see throughout downtown and beyond.
As part of the City Walls "DCLEATED" art installation, get ready to see 20 colossal cleats hit the streets of Detroit.
"To get to paint something as unique as a giant shoe is something you don't get to do every day as an artist," Robin Speth, one of the artists who participated, said.
The bright, bold artwork for the NFL draft captures the good happening in the community.
Each artist partnered with local nonprofits to incorporate their mission into the cleat's design; Trae Issac chose The Children's Center.
"They do a lot of work that I like to describe as helping kids turn their trauma into triumph. That's something I had to do as a child, when I found art at the age of 16, in order to come up with ways to cope with the loss of my baby brother, my mother," Issac said.
READ: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer highlights benefits of 2024 NFL Draft for Michigan
Artist Laura Mettam did her cleat for the Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan.
"One of my daughters' troop was one of them involved, and so these handprints that you see on the cleat are from actual Girl Scouts. So you know, it would be great if the girls could see themselves represented in this cleat and part of the community and this exciting event," Mettam said.
The cleats will be displayed in and around downtown Detroit leading up to the NFL Draft and then auctioned off to benefit the nonprofits shortly after the three-day event.
"The reputation for Detroit for so long has been a city of, you know, struggling, but now we're thriving. And in order to create a high level of art, you have to be at a point where you're thriving," Chazz Miller, another participating artist, said.