A Bold New Art Hub Is Taking Shape in Detroit’s Little Village

Stanton Yards, a mixed-use waterfront development in Detroit’s Little Village neighborhood, will soon be home to a brand new art space. Lumana, a non-profit arts organization, has been founded by entrepreneur, philanthropist, and art collector Jennifer Gilbert as part of a larger effort to support arts accessibility in the city.

Lumana’s 21,000 square foot structure formerly served as a site for ship building, then as a storage facility. SO–IL architectural firm is adapting the space, which will feature a mixed metal and polycarbonate exterior. The latter material will create a natural glow in line with the foundation’s luminous name. OSD (Office for Strategy + Design) design firm will be responsible for the promenades and larger grounds.

View of Stanton Yards with design contributions from SO–IL and OSD. Photo: bloomimages.

The repurposed Lumana building, slated to open Fall 2027, will house Gilbert’s foundation and feature two separate exhibition halls as well as a central area with a café, bookstore, auditorium, and educational and event spaces. 

Gilbert has been involved behind the scenes in Little Village for many years. When several buildings in Stanton Yards became available, she told me, “I found myself at a new stage in my life where I had a chance to pause… It freed up a lot of time and energy to dream and really consider what could be.”

She plans to leverage her world-class art collection for future shows and, while she’s still confirming plans for the space, she’s envisioning curatorial fellowships that will give access to her collection in order help to commission new, site-specific work. 

Gilbert’s philanthropic endeavors have taken a more public turn in recent months. The founder and principal of Detroit’s Pophouse Design studio has kept her own art collection private for many years. This past October, it went on public display for the first time. ”It’s much more fulfilling to be able to put it out there and to share it,” she said. Laura Mott, Chief Curator at Cranbrook Art Museum, and artist Nick Cave curated a selection of her works in “Seen/Scene: Artwork from the Jennifer Gilbert Collection,” which remains on view at Little Village’s the Shepherd art space through January 10.

Installation views of “Seen/Scene: Artwork from the Jennifer Gilbert Collection.” Photo: Joseph Tiano.

Cranbrook, which is located northwest of Detroit, will also be involved with Lumana. Gilbert plans to inaugurate the space with an exhibition focused on Cranbrook’s Detroit art collection. Gilbert is giving the institution a grant to hang the show, which will be on view for about a year. Education and public programming will coincide with its run.

Anthony Curis, a partner at Stanton Yards, noted in the press announcement that Gilbert “has already made a lasting impact on the arts community in Detroit, and Lumana will take her commitment a step further. Curis’s own portfolio of arts and culture initiatives in Detroit includes Library Street collective gallery, the Shepherd, the Charles McGee Legacy Park, and It Takes a Village Skatepark, designed by Tony Hawk and artist McArthur Binion, among many others.

SO–IL and OSD are collaborating on the remainder of the Stanton Yards complex as well. In total, the 13-acre development will feature over 80,000 square feet of commercial and creative space, according to the press materials, as well as “nearly 100 boatslips and programmed waterfront parks.”

According to Gilbert, it’s always the right time for more culture and community in the city. “I wanted to integrate and focus my passions,” she said. “Lumana is a culmination of that, where it’s arts, culture, community, philanthropy, collecting, Detroit.”