Mikaila Doede still remembers the first time she saw a mural by Son Visual in downtown Grand Rapids. Then she saw another. And another.
“I was like, ‘Oh, nature mural, I like that,’” she says. “And I kept walking around another one, same artist, another one, same artist. That’s when I knew they had weight in the community.”
Now in her third year of studying illustration at Ferris State University’s
Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), Doede is working alongside the artists she once admired from a distance. As an apprentice in the Pleasant Peninsula Mural Festival, she’s part of a growing project that brings together public art, environmental education, and mentorship.
Held in Grand Rapids, the
Pleasant Peninsula Mural Festival features artists from across the country. Their goal is to raise awareness of Michigan’s unique ecological landscape through the accessible and engaging format of public art. The 2025 event will showcase over 20 new murals created by local, regional, and national artists across downtown.
KCAD alum Emily Luyk, who graduated in 2017 with a BFA in illustration, was selected from an international applicant pool to participate. Her mural highlights the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, a native species that lives in Michigan.
“It was a very inspiring environment,” Luyk says, “just really cool being around a bunch of other amazing artists from all over, together for a really cool purpose. That keeps you going.”
Learning through collaboration
Each artist worked with a conservationist or ecological educator to guide their research and support the development of their design. Luyk says that collaboration helped her better understand the subject and shape her creative approach.
“It was really helpful and also just super interesting. It got me even more inspired and in the groove,” she says.
The project gave her a new experience: working within a broader theme and as part of a larger team. “Most murals I’ve done were solo projects,” Luyk says. “This was all about conservation and spotlighting endangered Michigan species, something I care a lot about.”
The mural site, an underpass at U.S. 131 and Front Avenue NW, turned out to be a perfect fit. The concrete walls, arched and evenly spaced, gave each artist a defined space while creating a consistent visual rhythm.
“It looked like it was made for a project like this,” she says.
Doede was one of eight student apprentices chosen to support the professional muralists while developing their own work. Under the guidance of muralist Dustin Hunt, also known as Muralmatics, she created her own 4-by-4-foot mural focused on an ecosystem and the relationship between two species that live within it.
The apprenticeship began weeks before paint touched wall. Apprentices were expected to research, plan, and refine their mural designs in collaboration with mentors throughout the summer.
“The mentorship has been huge,” Doede says. “Dustin has really built me up, and artists like George F. Baker III and Nicole Salgar have been so encouraging. I’ve learned so much just from watching how they work and hearing how they approach their careers.”
Building confidence
The experience helped Doede picture what a creative career might look like, a question many of her classmates are asking as graduation approaches.
“I’ve been asking the muralists how they make it,” she says. “Most do murals in the summer and then teach, plan, or do residencies in the winter. It’s helped me get a real sense of what’s possible.”
Those kinds of conversations are one of the goals of the festival. Organizers want to support established artists and those just starting out by building community and creating opportunities for shared learning.
Doede says one of the biggest takeaways from the experience has been increased confidence.
“I’ve been telling everyone I have a little bit of impostor syndrome,” she says. “But the artists here are like, ‘Why do you feel that way? You’re here with us, and that means something.’”
The event also engaged the public in hands-on ways. Community members visited the mural site during the festival weekend, spoke with conservation experts, and interacted with smaller artworks and artist booths throughout the area.
“Honestly, it sounds corny, but it was magical,” Luyk says. “The community came out, there were booths, conservation tents, and smaller-scale artworks.”
She says Son Visual told her that contacts at the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) told them that the murals “are doing more heavy lifting on behalf of threatened and endangered species than any other initiative in the history of the program.”
Career foundation
Doede, who grew up in Southfield, says her decision to attend KCAD helped her feel more connected to the West Michigan art scene.
Initially, she considered attending the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where three of her siblings had studied. Her large, blended family includes a number of siblings who also chose creative paths.
“A good quarter of the family are artists; the rest are engineers,” she says. “We poke fun at each other for having creative versus practical minds.”
But after visiting KCAD late in her senior year, she felt a strong pull.
“As soon as I walked through the doors, I felt something special,” she says. “It was the right place for me to grow.”
She’s now preparing for her final year of college and thinking about where to go next. Although most of her family lives on the east side of the state, Doede says she’s grown attached to Grand Rapids and its surroundings.
“I’ve been falling in love with this side of the state — how close we are to Lake Michigan, the nature,” she says. “Whether I stay here or not, I feel like I’m part of something bigger now.”
Seizing opportunities
Luyk’s story also includes time spent questioning her path. After high school, she stepped away from art briefly, unsure whether it was realistic to pursue it full-time.
"I'd had many people say it wasn't realistic to make a living as an artist,” she said. “But I moved to San Francisco at 19, kind of on a whim. It was scary, but one of the best things I’ve done. I started creating again and came back more committed.”
She returned to Michigan and enrolled at KCAD, where she began refining her skills and exploring new media. “Kendall made me a better artist, technically and creatively,” she says.
Today, Luyk balances freelance illustration with large-scale mural work and often exhibits with her former mentor, Taylor Mazer, at art fairs.
Both she and Doede describe the mural festival as a turning point — one that sparked new ideas, connections, and plans for the future.
“It just really makes you feel like you’re part of something bigger,” Doede says. “And that’s the kind of energy that keeps you going.”
Organizers plan to build on this year’s success by expanding the 2026 festival, with more artists, murals, and community events. While each artist brings a unique voice, the festival’s mission remains consistent: to celebrate art, educate the public, and give emerging creatives space to grow.
From furniture to shoes, from arts to education to even policy creation, design is everywhere you look. Designed in Michigan, a story series coming out of West Michigan, is devoted to sharing the expansive role design plays in Michigan's past, present and future. It is made possible through the support of Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University.