spotlight »

Playground Detroit
to open retail, gallery
and event space near
Eastern Market.

Robin Schwartz | Contributing Writer

T

hey have mastered the art of
multitasking. That’s what creative
entrepreneurs with big dreams
do. Paulina Petkoski and Samantha Banks
Schefman, both 30, are making things
happen for themselves and the growing
community of artists and musicians they
support via Playground Detroit, an agency
they started in 2012 to showcase Detroit’s
top talent.
“To date, we have worked with more
than 100 artists and hosted more than 50
events,” Petkoski says. “And we’re just get-
ting started.”
The two first met at Groves High School
in Beverly Hills. They attended separate col-
leges — Paulina studied fashion design at
the Fashion Institute of Technology in New
York City while Samantha earned a degree
in metalsmithing at the College for Creative
Studies (CCS) in Detroit.
No surprise, creativity runs in both of
their families. Schefman’s father, Robert,
chairs the foundation department at CCS
and is known for his stunningly lifelike
watercolor paintings. Her mother, Christine,
is director of the David Klein Gallery.
Petkoski’s father, George, is a master archi-

Playground Detroit co-founders Paulina Petkoski and Samantha Banks Schefman

tect with the Sidock Group. He had his own
firm for decades.
Following graduation, Paulina and
Samantha met up again while pursuing
careers in New York’s fashion industry and
joined forces to support the creative com-
munity where they grew up. That’s how
Playground Detroit was born.
“We act as agents for the artists,”
Schefman explains. “We give them exhibi-
tions and work to get them commissions.
Our goal is to retain the talent of this city
and to attract more, and broaden the mar-
ket and the audience.”

BUILDING ‘THE PLAYGROUND’
Playground Detroit also has a digital
magazine, an online marketplace and a
vast social media network. Paulina and
Samantha launched their initiative from
New York, but have since moved back to
Detroit to expand their efforts. For five
years, they hosted exhibitions and events
in pop-up locations including bars, restau-
rants, shops and businesses. Now, they’ve
leased a 1,500-square-foot space in a his-
toric building at 2845 Gratiot Ave. near the
Eastern Market, and they are transform-

ing it into a retail, gallery and event space
called the Playground. The two-story red
brick building dates back to 1877.
“We are creating an inspiring, vibrant
space and community hub with exterior
murals and an adjacent art park,” Schefman
says. “This will be a unique retail destina-
tion and a place to showcase Detroit’s amaz-
ing talent and creativity.”
Plans include installing moveable walls,
track lighting, displays, shelving, an office
and point-of-sale retail. There will also
be a DJ booth/sound system, kitchenette,
lofted lounge space, and an engaging front
window and custom bench system. A
Kickstarter campaign was launched to raise
$75,000 for construction, programming
and startup costs, including purchasing
merchandise for retail. The crowd-funding
campaign runs through the end of the year.
In 2017, plans call for a grand opening
and at least six exhibitions with Detroit art-
ists and two national artists. Why are they
so driven to do this? They say they want to
give artists and musicians an opportunity
to be part of the conversation in the contin-
ued development of Detroit and encourage
people to push harder and dream bigger.

“I believe in Detroit,” Petoski says.
“There’s an incredible amount of potential
here. This is a resilient, innovative, bril-
liant, inspiring group of people who are
here by choice, and they’re working hard
every day to see the changes they want to
see.”
Artist William Irving Singer participated
in Playground Detroit’s Holiday Recess
exhibition in 2015 and donated work as a
reward for the Kickstarter campaign. He
will be debuting a new body of work in his
solo exhibition at the Savannah College of
Art and Design (SCAD) Museum of Art in
2017.
“Over the past couple years, Playground
Detroit has proven to be an invaluable
resource for local artists and the commu-
nity at large,” he said. “The opening of its
new gallery highlights a commitment and
sense of leadership many underrepresented
Detroit artists have been waiting for.”

*

To support Playground Detroit by
contributing to its Kickstarter campaign,
visit playgrounddetroit.com/donate.

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