SEPTEMBER 19 • 2024 | 43
J
N
A
s the Isaac Agree
Downtown Synagogue
became immersed in
renovations, members looked for
ways to enhance the process. They
found one way with the voluntary
help of Melanie Baer Schwartz,
who set up the synagogue’s first art
exhibit and is planning others to be
seen by the public, in part, through
a large window.
Schwartz is director of sales for
Library Street Collective in Detroit,
a gallery helping to develop the
Little Village neighborhood on the
east side of the city. At the heart of
that neighborhood is the Shepherd,
a cultural arts center.
Through local activities,
Schwartz met and later invited
Jewish artists to submit their
works for the first synagogue
exhibit. Lynne Avadenka, whose
widely displayed print works made
her one of the artists in the first
show, is returning for the next
presentation. With other artists,
their subject will be climate
change.
Schwartz thinks of her artistic
missions as representing arts
advocacy.
“We went back and forth
planning the inaugural show,”
Schwartz said about the committee
that includes synagogue staff
and volunteers. “It was pretty
collaborative, and I think it’s so
important to have that presence
Downtown.”
Schwartz, who grew up in
Florida and became the 14th
member of her family to pursue
degrees at the University of
Michigan, has earned dual
bachelor’s degrees in art history
and studio art in Ann Arbor.
After finishing Michigan
studies, Schwartz traveled to New
York to get a master’s degree in
contemporary art and art business
from Sotheby’s Institute of Art. She
spent time interning and working
in several New York galleries —
Leila Heller Gallery, David Zwirner
Gallery, Christie’s and Gagosian
Gallery.
It all prepared her for accepting
work in Detroit, where her
husband, Jon, had accepted a
position at a Detroit tech firm.
“I am very excited about my
projects for the Library Street
Collective, which have me traveling
to art fairs as a representative of
many artists,” Schwartz said. “I also
ARTS&LIFE
ART
Melanie Baer Schwartz mounts
Downtown Synagogue’s first art exhibit.
Vibrant
Installation
continued on page 45
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOS COURTESY MELANIE BAER SCHWARTZ
George
Roberts
Melanie Baer
Schwartz
A view of the inaugural
exhibition by Melanie Baer
Schwartz at the Downtown
Synagogue