A mural in downtown Dryden depicts moments in the community's history.
Fans of public art…here’s your chance to bring more of it to the communities where you live, work, play and learn!
Thumb Art Spark is a regional initiative encompassing Michigan’s Thumb that aims to connect communities, property owners, artists and funders with the goal of bringing public art to life today and for the future.
Four County Community Foundation (4CCF) and our partners at neighboring community foundations have committed grant funding to create new public art projects and stand ready to accept requests for proposals to create murals, sculptures, mosaics, and more.
Thumbartspark.com is the platform that brings all the players together. Visitors to the website can register as artists and create portfolios, project hosts and community members can list a potential location for a project and public art supporters can donate to support an artists’ work.
The website and its plethora of tools were developed by Thumb Art Spark organizer Jody Parmann. There are funding tool kits, sample artist contracts, a mural calculator, project builder forms and more. A step-by-step guide allows non-profits and municipalities to build a project proposal that can be included with a grant application submitted to 4CCF as part of our quarterly grant cycle.
“The tools coach applicants on how to ask for support and then creates a one-page pdf proposal with budget numbers and options for how to stack funding for a proposed project,” Parmann said in a presentation to 4CCF’s Proactive Committee earlier this year.
4CCF’s service area includes southeastern Lapeer County, western St. Clair County, northern Macomb County, and northeastern Oakland County and would welcome public art grant applications for projects being planned in any of these areas. A complete map and list of zip codes can be found here.
Why are 4CCF and our neighboring community foundations choosing to invest in public art? Public art draws foot traffic to local businesses, raises the perceived value of nearby property, reduces blight and repeat vandalism, builds resident pride, generates free marketing through shared photos and strengthens a community's case for outside grant funding.
The regional project will conclude in September 2027 with a week-long Thumb Art Spark Celebration featuring public art reveals, live experiences, gatherings and much more.
4CCF’s next grant application deadline is October 1, 2026. We welcome municipalities, non-profit and school groups from our service area to apply for a public art project and encourage them to use the tools found at thumbartspark.com to submit a request for funding. To access 4CCF’s grant portal visit https://www.4ccf.org/grantees/apply/.
Questions? Reach out to 4CCF Executive Director Kathy Dickens at kdickens@4ccf.org or 810-444-8852.