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Renowned Detroit artist Charles McGee, 92, designs 11-story mural

Credit Courtesy of Charles McGee
The mural's design

Painter Charles McGee is a Detroit icon whose art can be seen everywhere from the Detroit Institute of Art to the People Mover's Broadway station. 

His latest work is a mural called “Unity” that is being painted on a new redevelopment by Bedrock, one of Dan Gilbert’s companies.

The 28 Grand building is at 28 West Grand River Avenue.

“Unity” will cover 11 stories on the building's north side. The mural is a black and white design that McGee’s fans will instantly recognize. 

“The work comes out of, I guess you’d say, a philosophical kind of underpinning of togetherness,” McGee said. “I believe that nature put us all here with something that’s kind of unique to each individual.”

"Unity" will be unveiled on June 1, 2017. That day the Library Street Collective and Bedrock Detroit are also presenting an exhibit of Charles McGee's work  at 1505 Woodward Avenue. You can find more information about that event here.

Stateside’s Lester Graham went to visit the Detroit icon and talk about his latest project. Listen above for the full interview. 

This summary was updated to include information about the McGee exhibit.

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Lester Graham reports for The Environment Report. He has reported on public policy, politics, and issues regarding race and gender inequity. He was previously with The Environment Report at Michigan Public from 1998-2010.
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