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Detroit Grand Prix crowns poster contest winner for race’s return to downtown
Posted by Talbot Payne on April 19, 2023
Detroit — The 2023 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear is back downtown in new digs, and it has a new poster to commemorate the move.
Adrian Keeler, a junior at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, won the Grand Prix Official Poster competition this week with a stunning design.
Framed by a winner’s laurel wreath, the vertical poster features an IndyCar racing across a Renaissance Center backdrop. The wreath is beautifully rendered with flowers in a rainbow of colors.
“I took a lot of inspiration from the art nouveau era, which incorporates a lot of structural line work with floral embellishments,” said Keeler about his winning entry. “The sunflowers in the design represent loyalty — I was thinking that fans love this event that’s been going on in Detroit for years. The amaryllis flowers represent determination, which is for the racers competing on track. And the orange salmon roses represent enthusiasm, which the Grand Prix brings to Detroit every year.”
Dating back to the first, 1982 Formula One race in Motown’s streets, the Detroit GP has produced memorable poster designs to honor each year’s event. For the last 11 races, the poster has been designed by a CCS student in the school’s art department.
The department winnows student designs to five finalists, whose entries are then judged by a panel of judges representing the local art community, media and the Grand Prix.
“The winning design was a departure from what we normally see, which made this design stand out,” said judge Antone Amye, senior design editor for The Detroit News. “Not only is the design beautiful, it has great symbolism that represents the rebirth of Detroit, inclusivity and new beginnings for the GP once again racing on downtown streets.”
Judges were amazed by Keeler’s presentation, technical skills and message. The work of all five entries contained winning elements. Runner-up went to Qianhua Bower, a sophomore at CCS. Third place went to sophomore Megan O’Kane, while Julia Shuler, a senior, and sophomore Spencer Elter took home honorable mentions.
Keeler’s artwork will be refined over the next few weeks for publication — and then produced in a limited run of official 2023 posters. They will be available in May for purchase online via the event’s official website, www.DetroitGP.com.
“I just recently moved to the Detroit area, so I’ve never been to the Grand Prix before but I’ve always heard about the event and I can’t wait to go this year,” said Keener, who calls Dearborn home.
The June 2-4 event, the seventh on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar, follows the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. It promises to be a memorable race as it moves from its home of the last three decades, Belle Isle, to a 1.7-mile, 10-turn street circuit that encircles the Renaissance Center. The new course features crowd draws like a 180-mph straightaway down Jefferson Avenue and the sport’s only dual-pit lane running north along Franklin Street.
More than half of the event’s footprint along Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit riverfront will be open free to the public. That includes complimentary access to fan activation areas at Spirit Plaza, Hart Plaza as well as the Riverwalk. In addition to the feature IndyCar race, fans will get a dose of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and Trans Am Presented by Pirelli.
“As someone who is really not into cars, I think the Grand Prix is just a great event for coming together with family and friends,” Keener said. “I wanted my design to show how the event is accessible to everyone and not just people who love cars.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.