The Lincoln Street Art Park is a sculpture garden and outdoor art gallery located in the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. The Lincoln Street Art Park includes murals, street art, site-specific installations made from salvaged materials, and a stage. It is behind the Recycle Here! drop-off facility, and parts of the park pass under a railroad viaduct.[1]
| Lincoln Street Art Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Sculpture park |
| Location | 5962 Lincoln Street, Detroit, Michigan, 48208, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 42°21′42″N 83°04′57″W / 42.36162778856851°N 83.0825270098648°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Founder | Matthew Naimi |
| Operated by | Make Art Work |
| Open | October 30, 2011 |
| Website | makeartworkdetroit |
The property includes the Warren Motor Car Company Building a once Lincoln Motor Car Company factory, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.[2]
History
editThe Lincoln Street Art Park started as a 2011 community effort to clean up an industrial, vacant area on the Recycle Here! recycling center property. The efforts to remove illegally-dumped material from the lot were organized by Matthew Naimi, James Willer, and Michelle Demercuria. Some of the material from the vacant lot was salvaged and used for Park building materials, including pathways and a bonfire pit. Organizers then worked with local muralists and sculpture artists to refurbish existing structures, and developed spaces for outdoor recreation and cultural events. A Kickstarter campaign helped support the initial creation of the park.
On October 30, 2011, the park opened under the name, “The Lincoln Street Sculpture Garden”. The park was renamed to Lincoln Street Art Park in 2012. Over the course of the Park's history, community members continue to organize and steer events/programming, with the requirement that activities within the space adopt 3 principles: Never exclude anyone from a gathering; Never sell anything or charge any money on the property; and “Share your candy."
In 2017, the nonprofit Make Art Work was formed by organizer Matthew Naimi, to give structure to the ideas of community-space making and sustainability. In 2020, the Lincoln Street Art Park closed for remodeling and redesign, and was reopened in July, 2023.
In 2022, work began on Dreamtroit, a mixed-use affordable living complex located on the property.[3][4] The development involves building a new structure within the Warren Motor Car Company Building.[5]
Recycle Here!
editRecycle Here! is a recycling center and drop-off facility located at the Lincoln Street Art Park, that opened in 2007.[6]
In 2010 the 501c3, Green Living Science, was created by Recycle Here! to extend the work of the recycling center into educational outreach in the Detroit Public Schools and other public programs.[7]
Art and Installations
editArtistic projects at Lincoln Street Art Park are commonly made of salvaged materials, some sourced from the Recycle Here! recycling center.[8]
"The content of the park is constantly changing and as a result generates a new urban landscape constantly in flux where the public can enjoy some of the salvaged materials that Recycle Here offers [as] a medium to the local creative community."
— Ana Morcillo Pallares, "Hold, Denote or Reserve: Spatial Strategies in Detroit’s Available Space", (2016)[9]
Permanent works
edit- Freak Beacon (2017), Artists: Ryan Doyle, Ben Wolfe, Jon Isbell, and Zeph Alcala. Brendan Burke designed permanent lighting for the installation.[10]
Former/temporary works
edit- Metal sculptures by Robert Sestock, Sean Hages, John Sauve, and Eddy Bullock
- Murals by Malt, WC Bevan, Carl Oxley III, Ghostbeard, Bana Kablan, and TEADout
Reception
editThe Lincoln Street Art Park has been described by press sources as an accessible, autonomous space focused on encouraging self-expression and community engagement. Playground Detroit called the space, “one of the city’s most beloved destinations for not only recyclers, but artists and creatives."[11]
Brian Brown discussed the city of Detroit's support of “neighborhood-based public art" as part of a city-wide urban planning and revitalization strategy.[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Recycle Here! Drop-off Facility". Detroit Department of Public Works. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ Williams, Candice (11 January 2012). "Art Park vies for $25K grant - Humble Detroit project gains steam, national recognition" (PDF). The Detroit News.
- ^ Pinho, Kirk (27 March 2023). "At a new Detroit apartment project, 2 unlikely developers fight to keep the city funky". Crains Detroit. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ Sharp, Sarah Rose (March 15, 2023). "The Artist Helping Resolve Detroit's Housing Problems". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ Sarah Williams (October 20, 2020). "How Dreamtroit could be a case study for places stemming loss of culture, affordability". Model D Media.
- ^ "Recycle Here! Drop-off Facility". Detroit Department of Public Works. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ Steinberg, Stephanie (19 August 2017). "Programs target kids to boost recycling in Detroit" (PDF). The Detroit News.
- ^ Steinberg, Stephanie (19 August 2017). "Programs target kids to boost recycling in Detroit" (PDF). The Detroit News.
- ^ Morcillo Pallares, Ana (2016). "Hold, Denote or Reserve: Spatial Strategies in Detroit's Available Space". 104th ACSA Annual Meeting Proceedings, Shaping New Knowledges.
- ^ Sharp, Rosie (25 May 2016). "Lincoln Street Art Park gets massive new sculpture and learning center". Knight Foundation. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "Dreamtroit to Transform Lincoln Street Art Park + Recycle Here Creating Affordable Live/Make Artist Community". Playground Detroit. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ Brown, Brian (2017). "Re-Picturing the "Post-Fordist" Motor City: Commissioned Street Art in Downtown Detroit" (PDF). Architecture_MPS. 12 (1). Retrieved 15 August 2023.