ARTOWN DETROIT was conceived and developed for the Apps for Detroit Challenge presented by Code for America, Devtroit and the City of Detroit. A two-week design and development challenge, the goal of Apps for Detroit is to generate functional applications that serve a civic purpose.

As explained to us, this could mean anything from an app using any technology on any platform - from iOS to HTML5 and from shortwave radio to smoke signals and everything in between - and it should address a challenge in Detroit.

In 13 days, our volunteer team of employees at Entrega Systems Group generated a number of intriguing ideas, narrowed them down, and got to work. We perused the challenges presented by a number of non-profits in Detroit, saw a request for an app that would allow users to find and view art in Detroit. Because there was no central source of this information, we tackled a challenge within a challenge; creating our own database of public art and art galleries to leverage within our application.

In its debut release, ARTOWN DETROIT allows you to use a mobile smartphone device to locate public art on a map. Art is categorized by murals, sculpture, statues, graffiti, etc. You can locate yourself within a map if you happen to be located in or near Detroit. Besides locating art and galleries, we provide a little more. Background information is supplied, including a photo, title, artist, medium, year created, and a brief description.

We have created a lengthy list of ideas for new features for ARTOWN DETROIT, and are eager for it to take on a life of its own. Tweet us or email us with your ideas and input.

CREDITS

Detroit Art Resources

There are many resources available to learn about the wide variety of public art in Detroit. Our goal was to ensure that we represent the enormously diverse range of public art that makes Detroit what it is today - featuring centuries-old statuary to brand new community-driven graffiti installations.

We owe thanks to multiple sources for the data included in ARTOWN DETROIT, including (but certainly not limited to):

ArtDetroitNow
Reynolds Farley and Judy Mullin at University of Michigan, who curate Detroit1701.org
community + public arts detroit
ILoveDetroitMichigan.com
323East

Planning, Design and Development

ARTOWN DETROIT was designed and developed by a small
volunteer group at Entrega Systems Group, Inc. At Entrega, deliver is the meaning of our name and what we do every day. From advanced, integrated applications to strategic digital solutions to efficient operations management, we help companies realize the power
of information.

ARTOWN DETROIT Team:

Sam Ajluni, Randy Cummings, Vitaly Gonchar, Kevin Horning,
Jan van der Lee, Brent Mitchell, Meg Morley, Monica Skrzynski,
Nathan Turner, Kurt Waldowski

CONTACT US

While we already have a lengthy list of future updates for ARTOWN DETROIT, we are eager for it to take on a life of its own. We look forward to improving the application and endeavor for it to become an ongoing conversation -- allowing for contributions, feedback and input from you.

Twitter

@artowndetroit
If you're in Detroit and see a piece of public art that is not represented in our app, by all means - tweet us! Tweet us your photo with as much information as possible, including location. We'll add it to ARTOWN DETROIT and credit you for locating it!

Email

info@artowndetroit.com
We want to hear from you! If you see something that should be corrected, added, or properly credited, we want to know. Or, just drop us a line if you have any feedback.