Our Roots

555 Nonprofit Gallery & Studios is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Detroit, Michigan. The organization was originally founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2002 by Carl W. Goines, Jacob "Monte" Martinez, and Andres Garces. After working together and getting to know one another at the University of Michigan the three found themselves cleaning up 50 years of industrial grime to create a gallery and studio space for exhibiting their works as well as local, national, and international artists, activists, and musicians .  From its beginnings as a small artist studio collective, 555 quickly grew to include multiple artists and began hosting events that offered an alternative for emerging artists to show work in the Ann Arbor area. 

After the city decided to reclaim the building 555 inhabited, the group moved to Ypsilanti in 2003 to renovate an old warehouse on Michigan Avenue. The group continued to grow and mature, until the city of Ypsilanti decided to create condos where the warehouse stood. So once again in 2004, 555 was on the move - and this time chose to make the leap to Detroit. The move to Detroit expanded the audience and diversified artist membership for the organization. 555 Arts has made the city of Detroit it’s home.

Where You Saw us Last.....

555 most recently occupied the former Detroit Police Department's Third Precinct in southwest Detroit where we converted the precinct into gallery and event space, the jail cells into artists studios, held educational arts programming, created public art, and collaborated with the community in as many ways as possible on a shoe string budget. As an all-volunteer-operated organization, the people of 555 are passionate and devoted to their mission and values, and continue to create community, new public works, and opportunities to learn and connect.

Where We Are Now

We are renovating a 30,000 sq.ft. commercial building, an outdoor art park with Foundry, and a residential home on the East side of Detroit. Together with the community, we seek to build living and working space for artists, commercial and event space for the community, an outdoor park for events and public art displays, and a Foundry to bring even more talented creators to the area. We envision a permanent safe-haven for artists, prioritizing their needs and building relationships in the community.