Downtown Utica’s Art Nook: “Super cool place making”

The city of Utica‘s new downtown Art Nook is already improving this small town’s walkability and connectivity. A public art project funded by a Michigan Municipal League Foundation micro-grant, the Art Nook showcases Utica’s third colorful public-funded mural. The new mural is by Utica artist Kevin Gano, who grew up in Utica and attended Utica Schools. 

“The Michigan Municipal League (The League) came to our city and did a review with our business leaders. Out of that, they offered us a grant to do some super cool place making,” says Utica Mayor Gus Calandrino. “Something that the city had been pursuing for a few years was to do a mural there, and that ended up being the Art Nook.” 

Utica’s first foray into public art commissioned Sterling Heights artist Wendy Popko for a mural on the WeatherTech Consulting building. Next, the city partnered with the Detroit Institute of Arts for a mural by another Sterling Heights artist, Gail Borowski, on the Utica Fire Department building. 

“That was a huge hit. We also added a public sculpture into our downtown,” Calandrino says. 

Utica’s downtown public art projects include murals by Michigan artists Kevin Gano, Wendy Popko, and Gail Borowski and a sculpture by Jonathan Bowling of Greenville, North Carolina. Gano is a Utica native.

The Art Nook ribbon cutting took place in October 2025.

“We’d been talking about this wall. It was dingy. It was in a weird spot — not utilized at all,” Calandrino says. “When The League came in and reviewed our infrastructure, talked to our business owners, one of the key things was that we needed to work on increasing the walkability and the connectivity of our downtown. This project perfectly fit those goals.”

Take a load off

The Art Nook provides pedestrians a pleasant place to sit down and take a break, eat carry-out from a nearby restaurant, or enjoy a cup of joe from a downtown coffee shop. 

“The very morning that the picnic table was installed, I purposely went by the Art Nook. Sure enough, within less than an hour, there’s already a guy on his laptop, drinking a cup of carry-out coffee, enjoying the beautiful summer morning,” Calandrino says. “I was like, ‘I think we nailed it.’  We already are achieving what we hoped we would — visitors finding a place to take a breath, relax, and enjoy our downtown.”

“In downtown Utica, I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie. I know people and people wave. I think Utica’s downtown is the heart of the community. And that’s why people want to be there.”

Stacy Ziarko

Community feedback has been nothing but positive. City leaders are looking forward to seeing both residents and visitors utilize the fresh new space when the weather warms up.

“When we started our public art program, we didn’t know what kind of reaction we were going to get from the residents. You always have some naysayers, a small but vocal minority that, on social media, say, ‘Why are you spending money on this? Why aren’t you lowering our water bills instead?’” Calandrino says. “The feedback we’ve gotten on the Art Nook has really all been positive.”

Collaboration turned dingy into a destination

The mayor credits business support organization Connect Macomb with getting the Art Nook project off the ground because Connect Macomb President and CEO Stacy Ziarko first suggested that Utica collaborate with The League.

“When you can take space that’s underutilized and enhance that in your community, it’s a benefit for everyone. And it is a great way to highlight the city of Utica in a different way,” Ziarko says. “The mural is vibrant. You can see it from M-59. It adds this feeling that Utica is a place where you want to be.”

Serving as the county’s chamber of commerce, Connect Macomb creates networking opportunities like Breakfast & Business, where fellow professionals connect before the workday begins, Young Professionals, and Women Business Alliance. Its Business Resource Alliance Groups have resulted in local businesses giving thousands of referrals to each other, resulting in well over $1million in revenue for participating members.

“We all have to find ways to partner and work together, which is why I think Gus and I and the partnership we have in Utica have been so successful,” Ziarko says.

“The very morning that the picnic table was installed … there’s already a guy on his laptop, drinking a cup of carry-out coffee, enjoying the beautiful summer morning.”

Gus Caladrino

Calandrino notes that if the city had pushed through the Art Nook project on its own, the very businesses that it benefits may have been leery of city government intentions. Because the project was a collaboration with Connect Macomb and reflected the conversations that those businesses and other city leaders had with The League, the project gained legitimacy.

“Because we’re so small, it’s super important for me to partner with groups like Connect McComb. They do a lot of the heavy lifting that I don’t have the bandwidth for,” Calandrino says. “These types of projects tend to fall off the cliff. Connect Macomb has been super helpful in making sure that it got done.”

“We might work a lot with the city, but we’re truly a neutral party,” Ziarko adds. “We usually tell people, ‘We don’t just want you to open a business. We want you to open a business and be able to stay in business.’ Our responsibility is to provide businesses with opportunities, whether that be a grant or small business support services.”

Next summer at the Art Nook

Both Calandrino and Ziarko believe the Art Nook will be a happening space when the weather warms up. Two new nearby businesses, a coffee shop and a bakery, will likely benefit along with the established shops and service providers that call Utica’s downtown home. 

“When there’s music in the park next summer, will people sit there and listen to the music? That’s going to be the fun thing to see,” Ziarko says. “When the weather breaks, how will they utilize it? Are they throwing a little party there? They could do all kinds of things.”

Collaborations connect for success. The Art Nook project succeeded as a collaboration among the city of Utica, Connect Macomb, The Michigan Municipal League, and The Michigan Municipal League Foundation.

Identifying and facilitating opportunities like Utica’s Art Nook improves quality of life for residents, increases the municipal tax base, and grows local businesses.

“We’re lucky enough to have a real downtown. It’s small, but it’s a legitimate downtown,” Calandrino says. “As a city government, we’re always looking for ways to increase the traffic in our downtown, to make it more vibrant, to make it more interesting. Having groups like Connect Macomb, The League, and the Michigan Municipal League Foundation helps us do that.”

Ziarko concludes, “In downtown Utica, I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie. I know people and people wave. I think Utica’s downtown is the heart of the community. And that’s why people want to be there.”

Photos by Leslie Cieplechowicz.

This story is made possible with funding from the Michigan Municipal League Foundation, a nonprofit association dedicated to making Michigan’s communities better by thoughtfully innovating programs, energetically connecting ideas and people, actively serving members with resources and services, and passionately inspiring positive change for Michigan’s greatest centers of potential: its communities.