Murals of Royal Oak Celebration Planned at School

Royal Oak Schools will host a Community Murals Celebration at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, to commemorate the 80th year of the initiation of the historic Depression-era murals.

The event will be held at Royal Oak Middle School (ROMS) and will feature a showing of the award-winning PBS documentary “The Murals of Royal Oak.” This documentary film traces the 70-year journey of the murals and the grass-roots community effort to resurrect and restore these local treasures that had been lost for decades. There will be an opportunity for reflections on the murals restoration project, with a reception following the video.

The murals were financed by government programs that provided work relief for many unemployed persons during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Part of the program encouraged the creative arts and provided opportunities for unemployed artists to create music, drama and artworks such as the Royal Oak murals. The Royal Oak Mural Project was the largest government-funded art project in Michigan.

In the spring of 2004, the Royal Oak Murals were rediscovered after being in storage for over 25 years. The three 11x23- foot oil-on-canvas murals offer an artistic glimpse at the history and future of the Royal Oak community.

Today the three murals proudly hang once again in the auditorium of Royal Oak Middle School. They have become a symbol for community members who recognize the value of their shared past and celebrate the vitality of working together for a common goal. The first mural centers on the cultural arts. The second mural, entitled “The Naming of Royal Oak,” depicts early Michigan Territorial Gov. Lewis Cass. The third mural offers a glimpse of the community in the mid-1930s, including the old Royal Oak High School, along with a look at various professions that then-graduates might pursue.

Filmmaker Ruben Rodriguez of VideoWorks Inc. followed the work of the murals committee for five years, resulting in the one-hour documentary “The Murals of Royal Oak.” “The film is a look at how a diverse and sometimes divided community came together for a single purpose and rediscovered itself along the way,” said Rodriguez.

For further information contact Paula Sutterfield, Administrative Assistant to the School Board and Superintendent, at (248) 435-8400, ext. 1228.

______

“Career Path” is one of the murals painted as part of the Royal Oak Mural Project. (Photo submitted)