Detroit has a new app to help track the city’s hundreds of murals. And it’s free to download.
The app is called CANVS Street Art. The company says it now has more than 2,000 murals listed from over 100 cities.
Detroit is now among them with more than 200 murals added to the city's map.
Rochelle Riley is the Director of Arts and Culture for the city.
"So people can see all the amazing artists we have here. We have artists who are admired around the world who work here and people don’t always know that," Riley said.
Ijania Cortez has painted several murals in the city, including one called "Transference" under a viaduct in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood.
"All of my murals are about community, all of my murals have to do with people who live in the actual communities my murals are seen in," Cortez said.
That sort of information - details about the art and artist - is also included in the app. Anyone with an account can add photos of a mural or any information about the artists. CANVS authorities say they'll monitor what people submit.
The app currently has over 200 murals listed on its map, but city officials are encouraging more folks, who they call "mural hunters" to start adding more of the murals they find.
The city contracted with CANVS for $72,500 to build the app and website as well as provide continued maintenance. Riley says the money was donated by the Ford Foundation.
In August, Detroit was ranked the fourth best city in the county for street art, behind Oklahoma City, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
Riley says she intends to make Detroit the number one destination for street art in the coming years.
