The Mission
To establish a creative center where artists live, work, and interact with their community in an innovative and educational environment
To achieve our mission, we set 5 concrete goals that drive our projects and services. We aim for these services to be accessible to local and international artists and creative entrepreneurs, as well as youth and families.
Affordable Studio Space
At 555 Arts, we provide affordable space to let your creative juices out. Spaces range in size and we are working to build more studios at our new location on Warren. Stay tuned for updates!
High-Quality, Affordable Arts Education
At 555, we believe you should never stop growing and pushing yourself as an artist - but you should not have to drain your savings to learn. We provide classes and workshops at affordable rates to help you constantly develop artistically.
Exhibition & Performance Space
From walls for exhibiting your art to spaces to perform your production, 555 can facilitate displaying your creativity. Spaces range in size and type, and we are currently constructing more at our new Eastside Detroit location. Stay tuned for more details!
Community-Based Artist Residency
In addition to spaces to work and perform, 555 is home to artists in residence - providing a place to live in and work in community with other artists. We hope our residency program fosters collaboration and provides a safe space for artists to be creative.
Art for Public Spaces
We at 555 believe that art should not be confined to indoor spaces where you live or work and that it has infinite power to affect the community. We support art for public spaces around Detroit and beyond. Our new Art Park space will provide space for public installations and a Foundry to create new works.
The Story
Our Roots
555 Nonprofit Gallery & Studios is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Detroit, Michigan. The organization was originally founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2002 by Carl W. Goines, Jacob "Monte" Martinez, and Andres Garces. After working together and getting to know one another at the University of Michigan the three found themselves cleaning up 50 years of industrial grime to create a gallery and studio space for exhibiting their works as well as local, national, and international artists, activists, and musicians . From its beginnings as a small artist studio collective, 555 quickly grew to include multiple artists and began hosting events that offered an alternative for emerging artists to show work in the Ann Arbor area.
After the city decided to reclaim the building 555 inhabited, the group moved to Ypsilanti in 2003 to renovate an old warehouse on Michigan Avenue. The group continued to grow and mature, until the city of Ypsilanti decided to create condos where the warehouse stood. So once again in 2004, 555 was on the move - and this time chose to make the leap to Detroit. The move to Detroit expanded the audience and diversified artist membership for the organization. 555 Arts has made the city of Detroit it’s home.
Where You Saw us Last.....
555 most recently occupied the former Detroit Police Department's Third Precinct in southwest Detroit where we converted the precinct into gallery and event space, the jail cells into artists studios, held educational arts programming, created public art, and collaborated with the community in as many ways as possible on a shoe string budget. As an all-volunteer-operated organization, the people of 555 are passionate and devoted to their mission and values, and continue to create community, new public works, and opportunities to learn and connect.
Where We Are Now
We are renovating a 30,000 sq.ft. commercial building, an outdoor art park with Foundry, and a residential home on the East side of Detroit. Together with the community, we seek to build living and working space for artists, commercial and event space for the community, an outdoor park for events and public art displays, and a Foundry to bring even more talented creators to the area. We envision a permanent safe-haven for artists, prioritizing their needs and building relationships in the community.
