A2SF and the Ann Arbor District Library celebrated some of our community’s most impactful leaders with Monuments by Australian-based visual artist Craig Walsh in early September. It was held in Ann Arbor at Wheeler Park.

Built for the great outdoors, Craig Walsh’s Monuments celebrated selected individuals through large-scale, nighttime projected portraits onto live trees in public spaces for stunning effect.

The community leaders recognized as the subjects for Monuments included:

• Joyce Hunter, President/CEO of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County
• Bonnie Billups, Jr., Peace Neighborhood Center’s Executive Director
• Keith Orr & Martin Contreras, Community activists

Monuments celebrated the Living History of these four individuals who created welcoming spaces within the community.

These honorees represent nearly 200 years of combined service and transformational change. They inspire us to work – as they have – to create a future Ann Arbor that truly welcomes all.”

A2SF

Joyce Hunter Bio

Joyce Hunter spent 37 years as an educator, administrator, and community advocate in Ann Arbor Public Schools, impacting the community as a special education teacher, assistant principal, superintendent for secondary education, and the district’s first educator to teach computing, programming, and accounting classes while at Huron High School. Joyce is the co-founder, president, and CEO of the African American Cultural and Historical Museum (AACHM) of Washtenaw County, dedicated to celebrating and preserving African American local history. AACHM’s partnerships with community organizations and the Ann Arbor District Library have helped create collaborations like the ongoing Living Oral History Project and the Family Foundations exhibit and historical book. Through her decades of service to the community, Joyce has been active with the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the National Association of Negro Business Women, Girls Group, The Links, and Bethel AME.