The closure of Design99's Hamtramck storefront has prompted the opening of a new gallery space, Public Pool, in the same Caniff location. A collective, spearheaded by Design99 contributor and 'zine publisher Steve Hughes, has leased the space for a year and will launch a series of contemporary art experiences with Take a Chance on Rock and Roll, a solo installation and dance party by collective member and artist
Tim Hailey.
The engine behind Public Pool is comprised of Hughes and his wife, artist Anne Harrington-Hughes; Hailey, who's also the former co-director of New York City nonprofit gallery HEREart; advertising creatives Mary Trybus and Jim Boyle; author and Team Detroit creative director Toby Barlow; and Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit board member Jessie Doan. "We have artists, writers, marketing, advertising ... a lot of overlapping skills, yet it's very natural," says Trybus. "We are friends first and partners in this venture second."
Trybus envisions Public Pool continuing in much the same vein as Design99 in the sense that the gallery's focus will be on "innovative, experimental, accessible shows." She says their predecessor had a "very casual atmosphere that we all really liked." As the team moves forward, she says their goal is "to strike a balance between being organized and being organic."
Public Pool will have regular gallery hours of 5-8 p.m. Fridays and 1-5 p.m. Saturdays. The space will be staffed by a rotating cast of the collective and friends. For more information, email
[email protected]. Public Pool is located at 3309 Caniff, just east of Gallagher.
Related:
Design 99 has not ceased; they have just altered their focus. Their latest project, a three-month residency at the Detroit Institute of Arts Gibbs Gallery, will close on March 28.
Source: Mary Trybus, Public Pool
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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