Explore the Superior branch art collection
New art being unveiled at Superior
In Summer 2023, YDL put out a call for artists with the goal of starting a permanent public art collection at the new Superior branch. We’ve selected the first pieces in the collection, which are on display. They are vibrant depictions of our community that help to tell our story. More pieces will be added, but you can learn more about the pieces we have so far.
Questions about the art collection?
Lisa Hoenig, Director
(734) 879-1300
[email protected]
Earl Jackson, The Lily Pond
Jackson took inspiration from a pond near his old neighborhood in Willow Run. “It was mythical because only the older boys would venture to it,” Jackson said. “My brother allowed me to tag along twice.” Earl Jackson is a founding member of the African American Cultural and History Museum of Washtenaw County. He has three pieces of art on display at YDL’s Whittaker branch. His art has been featured at the WCC gallery, U of M’s Museum of Art, and Detroit’s Charles H. Wright History Museum, as well as museums in Chicago, New York City, Georgia, and Senegal.
Maredith Byrd, Unoccupied
This oil painting was inspired by a former high school classmate of Byrd’s. “She is a really kind and sunny person with a beautiful voice,” Byrd explained. “I wanted to bring out her joy with a bright blue clouded sky. Her coolness and comfortableness are for everyone to view and enjoy.” Maredith Byrd is a junior at the University of Michigan who considered herself an artist before she was able to take art classes. In high school, Byrd took oil painting classes at Kalamazoo Institute of Art and attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
Angelica Esquivel, Earth, You Have Returned to Me
This triptych by Esquivel was inspired by the foliage in Ypsilanti, her hometown, and its title is an homage to a poem by Elaine Equi.
“In this poem, the narrator celebrates a reconnection with Earth after years spent suffering from chronic illness. This poem resonated deeply with me when I first read it… and it still does,” said Esquivel.
Beneath the acrylic paint on her piece, Esquivel glued junk mail to form the base of the hills to give the paintings a waviness and “movement” that to Esquivel is “reminiscent of the wind through the leaves, waving hello.”
Angelica Esquivel is a Xicana artist and writer. Her work has appeared in America Magazine, Poet Lore, and Chestnut Review, and she received the 2021 Zocalo Poetry Prize and the 2022 Roadrunner Review Cover Art Prize.
T’onna Clemons, The Lonely Afronaut
Clemons’ piece was inspired by her love of children and cyberpunk. “I want to empower the youth in my community by [representing] that you can do and be anything … We are everywhere, even space,” explained Clemons.
An Ann Arborite, Clemons is a former graphic designer who now works as a freelance painter and muralist specializing in oil and acrylics. She has been painting for over 20 years, and her art focuses on conveying and capturing the emotions of the African American experience.
T’onna Clemons studied Fine Arts at EMU and The Art Institute of San Francisco. She has been traveling around the world for the past several years to develop her own style of mixed media and futuristic textiles.