Greater Flint Arts Council

It all started with a beloved, three-story Vernors mural in Downtown Flint. First painted in 1932 by General Signs workers John Gonsowski and Keith Martin to advertise the Michigan staple, the mural on the north side of a building at 816 Saginaw Street endured for decades and became an integral part of the Flint community.

So much so that when a fire damaged the building in 1995 and its demolition was imminent, the community’s rallying support to save the mural inspired the Greater Flint Arts Council (GFAC) to hold a town hall meeting to discuss solutions. With over 80 people in attendance providing overwhelming support, it was agreed the best way to save the mural was for GFAC to purchase the building and make it the council’s new home.

GFAC bought the building in 1996 and moved in two years later, serving local artists, art agencies, art educators and the public.

“I wasn’t able to raise enough money to renovate the entire building back in 1996 when we bought it, so we’ve been occupying the first floor all these years,” said Greg Fiedler, president and CEO of GFAC. “We moved in here in 1998 and have worked with artists constantly. I work with over 1,000 artists a year – probably about 500 visual artists and the same amount of performing artists, mostly musicians. We’ve known what their needs were from all those years working with them and responding to their requests.”

Nearly 30 years later, GFAC and the Flint community will see the full potential of the historic three-story building and meet the needs of local artists, thanks to support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and local partners, including the Mott Foundation.

A Blank Canvas

According to Fiedler, circumstances beyond GFAC’s control delayed their plans for renovations. Just as GFAC was prepared to launch a capital campaign in 2008, the recession hit. “I had a grant that paid for consultants and everything, but we had to ditch our plans because of the financial situation,” he said. Then from 2014-2019, the community was coping with the Flint Water Crisis, further delaying the project.

In 2023, GFAC got the boost it needed to move forward with the renovations. The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) awarded a $10 million Revitalization and Placemaking program (RAP) grant to the Flint and Genesee Chamber Foundation to support four projects in the city’s downtown, including GFAC’s building improvements; in 2024, the MSF Board approved a $250,000 increase in the RAP grant to further funding the projects.

Of the $10.25 million in total RAP funds, GFAC received $1,354,000. Fiedler says the MEDC’s early support was a catalyst for the rest of the funding needed to complete the proposed renovations, including $1.25 million from the Mott Foundation.

“I needed close to $3 million for the entire project, and the MEDC funding was almost half,” Fiedler said. “The Mott Foundation awarded the project $1.25 million, and then several other groups in the community came through with funding. There was a lot of motivation for them to want to match the funds. The RAP program was very instrumental in helping me raise the lion's share of the funds that came through.”

With the RAP funding, GFAC converted 16,000 square feet of unusable space to include additional offices, gallery space and classrooms. Fiedler says that in the past he hasn’t been able to do as much as he’d like for performing artists in the building; the renovations are addressing that need as well.

“The only space we had for performances was very small downstairs in the front of our gallery. We have dedicated the whole third floor to performing arts with a small theater and a stage, and then a dance studio/theater rehearsal room in the back,” Fiedler said. “Now we have 6,000 square feet of dedicated performing arts space.”

A Work of Art

After over two years of construction, final preparations are being made to celebrate the project’s completion, including a ribbon cutting and open house for the community on Sept. 11. The events will also coincide with GFAC’s popular Second Friday ArtWalk, a monthly art crawl through more than 20 downtown Flint venues that draws thousands to downtown Flint. 

Fiedler says dozens of groups have already expressed interest in using the new spaces, including the GFAC-supported Buckham Alley Theatre, which plans to perform a full season in the new performing arts space.

What began as a Hail Mary attempt to save the famous Vernors mural over 30 years ago has become a fresh start for GFAC thanks in part to the MEDC – painting a picture of the future for Downtown Flint’s local arts scene.

Learn how the MEDC supports the vibrancy and growth of communities across Michigan.