Our Second Year of Programming at the Artisan Studio!

Hope for Flowers Artisan Studio has proudly completed another year of creativity, sustainability, and community programming! Mandisa Smith, Art Enrichment Director, and Taylor Childs, Youth Art Enrichment  Instructor, continue to provide a safe space for Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck creatives of all ages, to gather and build community while learning a variety of art techniques.

Taylor Childs, Youth Art Enrichment instructor, works with students

This year included the hallmark of moving into the new Hope for Flowers studio space at 119 Garfield in the Freelon building. In August, we held two Grand Openings: an official celebration with Mayor Duggan and 150 guests,  and a Community Welcome. The Community Welcome included an acrylic painting workshop led by Joye Ofei, one of our teaching-artists. Visitors stopped by to check out the new studio and all of its amenities, including a curated installation featuring art created by our youth and adult participants, much of which was focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The gallery display will change periodically to give participants a space to proudly display their creative talents.

The curated installation featuring art created by our youth and adult participants at the Hope for Flowers Artisan Studio

The Artisan Studio is a green workspace that keeps pace with advancements in environmentally friendly practices. The innovative studio design, and the stability of a permanent location, increase our capacity to grow our team, enhance our programming, maximize our production capacity, and broaden our community engagement efforts. Our new space gleams inspiration for young artists and fashion designers in the city. As we grow as a company and into our space, we imagine our facility as a space for creatives to embark on their practices, collaborate with Hope for Flowers and with one another and envision a sustainable future. 

Weaving in the Adult Art Enrichment class

Creating a sustainable community is core to all of Hope for Flowers programming. Our Art Enrichment Programming exposes participants to an array of talented Detroit-based BIPOC teaching artists, local, national and international BIPOC artists, and various art mediums. Importantly, all of our classes and workshops, include conversation about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are a set of 17 global goals designed to promote sustainable development worldwide. By incorporating the UNSDGs into our curriculum, we hope to promote lifelong sustainability principles among community members that enable all of us to be positive change agents. These learning experiences bring valuable perspectives and ideas to what a just future is and can be. 

The Hope for Flowers Artisan Studio engaged 252 participants in 2023 through youth and adult classes and Community Sustainability Workshops. 

A paintings from the Artisan Studio Community Welcome class

In addition to incorporating the UNSDGs, the students have been learning about BIPOC artists and using their work to inspire the class projects. In our Youth Art Enrichment Programming this year, we have found inspiration in the work many artists who have produced culturally significant works of art, including  Bettye Saar, Daniel LaRuee Johnson, David Hammons, Matt Corbin, Sam Gilliam, Deborah Roberts, the Gee’s Bend Quilters, Mickalene Thomas, Tzu Pore and many more. 

Students show off their art from the Youth Art Enrichment Class 

Hope for Flowers Adult Art Enrichment classes are taught by local artists who introduced various mediums including; weaving, wet felting, doll making, bookbinding, watercolor, and acrylic painting.

This year, in our Community Sustainability workshop series,  the Artisan Studio has hosted two gardening workshops in partnership with Keep Growing Detroit, a clothes-mending workshop and a session dedicated to creating art inspired by the UNSDGs. Our upcoming workshops include wardrobe upcycling, home energy efficiency, winter shoe care, and holiday gift and ornament making using recycled materials.

A student adds detail to their work

Visit the Hope for Flowers Artisan Studio and be in good company with eco-enthusiasts and artists of all ages as we work towards creating a more sustainable future! Check out our upcoming Sustainability Workshops for the remainder of 2023 below! Be sure to mark your calendar as space is limited. We hope to see you there!

We are proud of creating a welcoming, equitable space for the local community of artists in Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck to gather and share experiences and look forward to doing even more in 2024! 

Thank you to our community members and partners for their continuous support.