SEPTEMBER 19 • 2024 | 43
J
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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

