The Art of Gathering: Farmington’s Art Promenade turns creativity into community capital

Fresh off the success of Farmington’s 20th Annual Harvest Moon Celebration, the Downtown Development Authority is channeling that creative spark into something forever lasting. 

The new Art Promenade, billed as “The Promenade” and anchored by a community-made glass mural from local studio Fired and Fused, is transforming downtown into a living, walkable gallery that reflects the city’s artistic and economic revival.

The pedestrian-friendly corridor, designed to link Grand River Avenue to Riley Park, will feature public art, performance spaces, and a signature community sculpture composed in part of handmade glass tiles produced at a growing local glass studio, Fired and Fused. Harvest Moon festivalgoers joined in crafting pieces for a collaborative mural that will anchor the new promenade, turning the celebration into both a fundraiser and a “walk in the art” experience.

Reimagining Downtown Farmington

Frank and Helen Agius-Andreae, owners of Fired & Fused, have been creating glass art for nearly two decades. Their latest project brings that passion to the heart of downtown Farmington.

The husband-and-wife team is leading a community-funded sculpture for the new Promenade, incorporating hundreds of glass tiles crafted by residents and regional artists. Through their “Make A Wave” workshops, Fired and Fused invites the public to design and fire their own tiles, transforming the Promenade into a vibrant reflection of collective creativity and community pride.

“We’ve done community art at our studio, where everyone contributes to an overall piece. We love community involvement,” Helen Agius-Andreae says. “With this new installation, people are going to join in, and they’re going to make a little tile out of fused glass, and we are going to add it to a larger piece of hundreds of individual glass tiles that’ll come together to form a collective masterpiece.”

The Art Park Promenade marks another milestone in Farmington’s ongoing effort to reimagine its downtown as a walkable, art-filled destination. Building on the success of Riley Park and the Sundquist Pavilion upgrades, the new promenade will transform a key stretch between Grand River Avenue and the park into a vibrant corridor of public art, performance space, and gathering spots.

The Promenade converts a one-block stretch between Thomas Street and Grand River into a leafy, art-forward walkway intended to extend downtown programming and draw foot traffic into Farmington’s heart.

“The nice thing about this new park location is that it connects different parks together, Riley Park, downtown, and down into Shiawassee, so it makes the community a better walking area. People will be able to walk through downtown to different locations, and it should attract more people into the downtown area as well,” Frank Agius-Andreae says.

Jessica Westendorf, Executive Director of Farmington Downtown Development Authority (DDA), highlighted that the Art Park was made possible through a major placemaking grant from Main Street Oakland County.

“Part of that grant built Mason’s Corner, our last completed public space project. The other half is helping us fund the Art Park, with the Downtown Development Authority covering the rest,” Westendorf says. “Our partners at the city have already secured a $2.1 million grant to extend accessibility from downtown all the way to Shiawassee Park. The Art Park is the first step toward that goal.”

Officials and local business leaders have framed the project as both placemaking and an economic strategy, offering more reasons for locals and visitors to choose downtown Farmington for dining, shopping, and weekend outings.

“Forever Farmington people,” like Sara Majoros and her family, have deep roots in the city. Majoros has supported recent public space projects at Dinan Park and Mason’s Corner and is known for bringing neighbors and friends together to take part in community art initiatives.

“I love that this project brings art into the spaces where people already gather, not just museums or galleries, but outside in the middle of town,” Majoros says. “It gives people a reason to slow down, enjoy each other, and appreciate the beauty around them.”

How People Can Become Involved

The hands-on workshops at Fired and Fused also serve as an arts engagement initiative, inviting residents of all ages to contribute a small, permanent piece of their neighborhood. That participatory angle is a theme across Farmington’s public art; previous DDA programming has commissioned rotating sculpture exhibits and murals to animate public spaces year-round.

“All of this new development, energy, and beauty showing up in Farmington right now is super amazing, and it seems sort of contagious. Once one thing is completed, more goodness comes to this city,” Majoros says.

The Promenade is expected to be an extension of existing downtown festivals, such as ART on the GRAND, and to host pop-ups, makers’ markets, and seasonal programming that could lengthen visitor stays and spread foot traffic to adjacent retailers and restaurants.

As the Promenade moves from construction to programming, Farmington leaders say they’re focused on keeping the project community-led. Public workshops, many of which are hosted at Fired and Fused, remain scheduled through the fall to allow residents the opportunity to create tiles and learn about glass art. The plan is for the installation to go up in the spring of next year. 

“We need hundreds of people to participate. We’ll have pop-up events at our studio to give people a chance to create a tile and donate,” Helen Agius-Andreae says. 

Majoros adds, “I hope projects like this draw more people to our farmers’ market and local businesses. Creativity is contagious. I hope this inspires more art across our town and neighboring communities.”