Apr 13, 2026 - Culture

Frame Work: DIA brings art outside for the 17th year

Annalise Frank

A painting framed and hammered into the ground on a stake in front of a giant lawn on Mackinac, with lakewater visible in the background — "Tarantella at Mergellina" by Filippo Falciatore, pictured last year on Mackinac Island. Photo: Annalise Frank/Axios

It may be surprising to find a framed Van Gogh while strolling in a park, but that's the work of the Detroit Institute of Arts' Inside Out program.

The big picture: In its 17th year of Inside Out, the DIA is once again installing reproductions of its art collection in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties — plus on Mackinac Island, for the second year.

Zoom in: Locations include the Southwest Greenway in Corktown, Macomb Community College, Meadow Brook Hall at Oakland University, the Selfridge Military Air Museum, and more than two dozen other spots.

The program's funding comes from Ford Philanthropy and a regional millage. Communities don't pay to participate.
A public map of locations should be available on the DIA's website by late May, when all pieces are expected to have been installed.

What they're saying: It's about residents getting to see art in their "own backyards," DIA spokesperson Julie McFarland said in a news release.

"We hope that seeing art in this way inspires people to visit the museum to experience the original works — and the full breadth of the collection — in person."

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Frame Work: DIA brings art outside for the 17th year

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