SEPTEMBER 19 • 2024 | 45
am very proud of being part of
an arts initiative that celebrated
the redesign of the Downtown
Synagogue and has me planning
upcoming exhibits.”
Schwartz has been with Library
Street Collective for about five
years and in the arts community
for about 13 years. Part of her
work is establishing a collector
base and matching art clients
with work the clients will enjoy
and keep in their collections.
“My work for the Downtown
Synagogue is separate from the
gallery,” she said. “I got involved
with the synagogue a few years
ago. I think the art world is
all about relationships, and I
developed a friendship with
George Roberts.”
Schwartz and Roberts had met
through Jewish activities around
the city and religious activities at
the synagogue.
“I knew about Melanie’s
great work at the Library Street
Collective and always wanted to
find a way to bring those great
skills to a Jewish community
project,” said Roberts, renovation
co-chair. “The Downtown
Synagogue was the perfect
opportunity to do so.
“Her creativity, flexibility,
expertise and ability to handle
a very complicated show while
the building itself was still being
finished was remarkable. The art
brought this new building to life.
“Having an art installation that
reflects vibrancy is critical to
the success of this building and
shows the general public walking
by this building the creativity of
the Jewish Detroit community
and the value that we place on
visual arts and the use of visual
arts to demonstrate our values.”
Schwartz said she believes
there is a lot of potential for the
arts program at the synagogue.
She said she thinks of it as a
beautiful space on street level
so people can see the art when
walking by.
Her work through the Library
Street Collective has caught
the attention of people beyond
Michigan, and she has appeared
on an arts podcast (Art Lovers’
Forum) run out of Florida by
Lois Whitman-Hess. In New
York, she met Kathryn Mikesell,
who founded and runs the
Fountainhead Residency for
artists in Florida, and this year
invited her to the opening of the
Shepherd.
“I can see the growth of the
Library Street Collective since
I’ve been here, and I am excited
by the opportunities being
planned for the Little Village
and the Shepherd,” Schwartz,
31, said about what had been a
Romanesque church that is being
transformed with indoor and
outdoor exhibit spaces as well as
restaurants.
“I think artists are excited to
have another space in the arts
community adding to the east
side of the city and bringing
an international platform to
Detroit.”
Schwartz, who wears a Jewish
star necklace daily, lives near
the Detroit Institute of Arts and
feels that ties her more to the
arts environment. She met her
husband on a trip to Israel when
they were University of Michigan
sophomores, and they became
close friends before dating in
their senior year. Marriage came
in 2022.
“There are a few things
coming up that I’m really excited
about,” Schwartz said. “There’s
an art show in New York I
will be visiting as part of the
international arts community. I’m
really excited about the Shepherd
and all that it is going to be
offering to the community. I’m
excited about the arts programs
at the Downtown Synagogue.”
continued from page 43
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