lly applied for a grant from the Detroit Institute of Arts. The “Inside Out” Grant sends replicas of famous art works housed in the DIA to public places in cities throughout the State of Michigan.

“The DIA’s mission is to create opportunities for all visitors to find personal meaning in the art,” reads a press release shared with the Daily Mining Gazette. “The Inside Out program is a component of the DIA’s community engagement efforts focused on providing a unique way to engage with residents and visitors by bringing art from the DIA to the communities in which they live.”

Hancock was the only City in the State to get the grant.

“We’ve been going around Metro Detroit and doing all of the installations in the cities in that area. We’ve got a guy in Belview and a guy in Ludington doing the work out there,” said Ryan Piontek of the Lauanway Sign company.

Ryan and Jessica Pointek left Detroit early Friday morning and installed the seven full-sized pieces at accessible and public locations throughout Hancock.

While community members can see the pieces on display already, an official launch event is scheduled to take place at Porvoo Park at 5 p.m. on July 30. A replica of “The Trappers’ Return” by George Caleb Bingham is on display at the park so the reception will involve French Voyageurs songs played by Dave Bezotte and Evan Dixon. Further, attendees are encouraged to arrive at the event by non-motorized watercraft.

The other six paintings located in Hancock are “Tiled Niche” by Ustad Mahammad Husayn located in Pocket Park at 105 Quincy Street, “In the Garden” by Mary Cassatt in front of the Salvation Army on 307 Quincy Street, “Tarantella at Mergellina” by Filippo Falciatore and Movement #27 by Kwesi Owusu-Ankomah are both at Quincy Green, and Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait” and “Animals in a Landscape by Franz Marc are both located at Montezuma Park.

Materials for a self-guided walking tour of the art will be available at City Hall and the Copper Country Community Arts Center and other community events involving the art have yet to be announced. The installation will be in place until the end of October.

The Detroit Institute of Art located on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit is home to over 60,000 works of art and is one of the premier art museums in the United States.