The Scene: Craft in Detroit | Places and Spaces
The Scene: Craft in Detroit | Places and Spaces
The Russell Industrial Center, spanning several buildings and millions of square feet, provides artist work space. Photo courtesy of Russell Industrial Center.
Where to Buy Supplies
“I go to Acrylic Specialties & Plastics in Madison Heights when I need acrylic for projects,” says Almajidi.
“I do woodwork. I use Armstrong Millworks. It’s a fourth-generation, family-owned business. They are supportive and really nice, and they have a great selection of wood,” says Sandifer.
“I get most of my metalsmithing and jewelry making supplies from Armstrong Tool & Supply in Livonia and CR Hill Co. in Berkley,” says Almajidi.
“Federal Pipe & Supply Co. is right down the street from our shop on East McNichols for most of our steel and metal needs,” says Koupal. Craig adds, “Leon and Debbe Saperstein are the proprietors. It’s been a locally owned business” since 1920.
“We go to Hamtramck Hardware for basic tools and supplies and to Larry’s Welding Supply for gas and propane,” says Koupal.
“A big shout-out to my dudes in the warehouse at Performance Packaging in Taylor, Michigan, where we get bubble wrap,” says Koupal.
“I go to Rovin Ceramics in Ann Arbor for supplies and Dick Blick in Detroit,” says LaVonne.
Founder and curator Olayami Dabls at the Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum in Detroit. Photos courtesy of Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum.
The museum covers nearly a city block. Photos courtesy of Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum.
Museums
The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn is dedicated to recording the Arab American experience through its extensive collections of historical documents, artifacts, and Arab American art.
“Local artist Olayami Dabls and his ongoing installation and museum, Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum, should be high on the list for any local or visiting craftsperson,” says Koupal.
The venerable Detroit Institute of Arts is located in a century-old Beaux-Arts building covered in white marble; several years of renovations were completed in 2007.
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn features interactive exhibits on agricultural machinery, American furniture, presidential vehicles, Buckminster Fuller’s circular aluminum house, and more.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, housed in a 22,000-square-foot former auto dealership reimagined by architect Andrew Zago, features exhibitions and public events that further social change and understanding.
Artists’ Spaces
“Although potentially unrecognizable to many artists who came up in its community, the Cass Corridor has to be mentioned as an immensely important artistic hub,” says Koupal.
“Simone DeSousa Gallery often exhibits longtime Detroit artists and craftspeople who honed their careers there. Dally in the Alley, an arts and music festival in the neighborhood,” has been taking place for more than four decades.
“Omnicorp Detroit is a mixed studio space,” says LaVonne. “My boyfriend works out of this studio, which is located in Eastern Market. It’s a really interesting space, with a mix of metalsmiths, furniture makers, mapmakers, and photographers working alongside each other.”
“Although going through changes, the Russell Industrial Center still houses hundreds of artists and musicians in a sprawling multimillion-square-foot former auto plant. One of its longtime tenants, Michigan Hot Glass Workshop, hosts events that bring the local glass community together,” says Koupal. June’s Michigan Glass Project festival is also scheduled to take
place there.
The Scarab Club, founded in 1907 by a group of artists and patrons, includes a gallery, studios, a walled garden, and community space where groups such as the Fiber Club gather.
“Spot Lite basically became one of the hottest spaces, period. They curate art exhibitions, music shows—all genres get played there. It’s one of those places where I will see quite a bit of art that’s outside of a designated gallery,” says Massey.
Talking Dolls is an experimental studio and community space on Detroit’s eastside.
Schools and Workshops
“At Ceramics School, which is the studio I work out of, Henry and Virginia have created a really lovely community environment and hold classes in throwing and hand-
building. They also have several artists in residence throughout the year,” says LaVonne. Schanck adds, “Ceramics School teaches classes to community members and artists and also has a residency program. They are incredibly generous and talented. Their practice is centered on how their lives and work dovetail to make a more familiar community.”
“The College for Creative Studies and Wayne State University are directly next to each other and have each fostered countless artists, designers, and musicians in their classrooms and studios,” says Koupal. “The Woodward Lecture Series is an unbelievable example of CCS showcasing visiting speakers, all free to the public.”
Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, with its classes, programming, and art museum, is a significant part of Detroit’s creative ecosystem.
Pewabic Pottery is a ceramic art and architectural tile studio and school established in 1903. One of the oldest continuously operating potteries in the country, Pewabic played a significant role in Detroit’s Arts and Crafts Movement.
“I suggest POST, which is a shop as well as a space that holds workshops on embroidery, screen printing, tapestry weaving, woodworking, and jewelry,” says LaVonne.
The communal studio at Ceramics School in Hamtramck. Photo courtesy of Ceramics School.
POST’s shop features marbled wood candleholders, hand-dyed valet trays, and centerpiece trays made of reclaimed wood by Mutual Adoration; ceramics by Abigail Murray; and bath and body products by Whispering Willow. Photo by Wayne Maki.
Galleries, Studios, and Markets
David Klein Gallery, with locations in Detroit and Birmingham, champions local and national craft artists.
The nonprofit DetroitArtists Market, founded in 1932, showcases local work in its gallery and gift shop.
The Detroit Urban Craft Fair, launched almost two decades ago by Carey Gustafson and Bethany Nixon of Handmade Detroit, features everything from jewelry to leather goods. It takes place every December.
“One space where you can sell your goods is Eastern Market. It’s one of the oldest markets in the country. On the weekend, you can go and get fresh vegetables. People sell craftwork, too. It’s a pretty big space. It comes alive on the weekend,” says Sandifer.
Established in 1971, Habatat Detroit Fine Art in Royal Oak is the largest and oldest glass art gallery in the country.
Hatch Art, housed in a former police headquarters in Hamtramck, is a gallery with studios and a shared workspace that hosts events and classes. It also maintains the folk art installation Hamtramck Disneyland.
I.M. Weiss Gallery is on a mission to nurture a new generation of Detroit craft artists and designers.
Library Street Collective presents programming and exhibitions that connect local and international arts communities and support the work of nonprofits.
Playground Detroit is a creative agency, art gallery, and event space.
“Popps Packing has been a pioneer in fostering the community around them. They rehabilitated a foreclosed home into a gallery and residency program,” says Schanck.
Signal-Return is a nonprofit print shop that preserves and teaches traditional letterpress techniques, selling prints, posters, cards, and maps.
Wasserman Projects is an evolving program of art, design, and music that hosts exhibitions and conversations.
Inside Habatat Detroit Fine Art, featuring North Carolina artist Alex Bernstein’s Neo Half-Moon, 2019, cast and cut glass, 6 x 18 x 2 in. Photo courtesy of Habatat Detroit.
Vendors at the historic Eastern Market sell craft, produce, and flowers. Photo courtesy of Eastern Market.
Graem Whyte’s Sorry, No Nude Descending, 2013–20, reclaimed wood, plexiglass, 16 x 6 x 10.7 ft., serves as the residency staircase at Popps Packing. Photo by Scott Hocking.
The Apparatus Room at the Detroit Foundation Hotel. Photo courtesy of the Detroit Foundation Hotel.
Coffee, Donuts, Two Cafes, a Bar, and a Hotel
The Congregation is a coffee shop in a converted and restored church that features a stainless steel art window made by renowned local sculptors the Nordin Brothers.
“The Detroit Foundation Hotel has a beautiful bar and restaurant in an old converted firehouse. Kim Harty, head of glass at the College for Creative Studies and co-chair of the GAS conference, has a glass installation of ‘cumulus bulbs’ on the first floor,” says Clark.
“The Skip bar, which is an alley full of public art and tables, is a wonderful place to hang out and talk and spend an evening,” says Clark.
Trinosophes is an artist-run cafe inside a former spice-processing warehouse that serves vegetarian fare and hosts exhibitions, readings, concerts, and film screenings. The affiliated Trinosophes Projects runs a record label and publishes a quarterly arts and literary journal.
“This place I hang out, Two Birds, is a little bar. It’s a hole in the wall. They are just selling drinks. They sell soft serve, too. It’s in a family-oriented neighborhood. Everybody gets what they want. They do pop-ups. Every day there is a new small business selling food there,” says Massey.
“When I’m in a conference city, I feel that I have to try out bars and restaurants. One of my favorites is Yellow Light Coffee &
Donuts, which is owned by Niko Dimitrijevic, a former glassmaker who became a donut maker,” says Clark.
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