A North Farmington High School graduate is among 20 artists whose artwork on life-sized football cleat sculptures are on display in and around Detroit for the NFL Draft.
Juliana Rabban is finishing her last semester at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Her cleat, on display at Detroit City Airport, features large purple flames surrounding a roaring lion’s head.
The decorated cleats are part of City Walls, a project by the city of Detroit to enhance public spaces. Each artist chosen to participate selected a charity that will benefit when the cleats are auctioned after the NFL Draft.
Rabban chose Kids Without Cancer, and the design on her cleat reflects her admiration for those fighting the disease.
“I wanted to do something that related to lions because of the Detroit football team, but also because of what lions represent,” she said, adding that the animals and the flames in her design are symbols of a never-say-quit attitude.
She also used liberal amounts of purple because it is the universal color for all cancer types.
Rabban said she has advocated for cancer patients since second grade, selling keychains in the shape of cancer ribbons in grocery stores that her father and uncles owned.
Rabban submitted an application for the City Walls program and was delighted when she learned she was selected.
She is studying advertising, graphic design and entrepreneurship at CCS. She started a business, Just by Juliana, that features murals and other forms of art, and plans to continue it after she graduates.
The 32 teams in the National Football League are gathering in Detroit this year to choose their newest players. The event runs Thursday through Saturday, April 25-27, and is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city.
For more information on the cleat sculpture program, visit https://detroitmi.gov/departments/general-services-department/city-walls/dcleated-sculpture-project.
The cleats are up for auction until May 3. To bid or make a donation, go to https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/76802683-2884-47cc-a2aa-534ca33c0442/events/vevt:cdd34f5b-6f9b-4aed-b90b-e2cf4ad56a91/auctions/silent-auction.
For information about Kids Without Cancer, visit https://www.kidswithoutcancer.org/.
