Stamps Alumni Start Studio Collective in Eastern Market

Stamps Art & Design alumni Lyz Luidens, Jessica Krcmarik, Dylan Box, Alex Kaufman, Ellen Rutt, and James Reich, along with artist Matthew Jenkens, have been building out and renovating a collective studio space in Eastern Market since January of this year.

‘Riopelle’, named after the street it sits adjacent to, is located at 1492 Gratiot Ave, in Detroit. Riopelle’s workspaces span 2 floors and several thousand square feet, and it is adjacent to Inner State Gallery and Trinosophes. 

On the first floor, there is a breakroom/​coat rack, a restroom, and two workrooms — a main room with individual desks for Dylan, Jessica, Ellen, Lyz, and Alex, one large common work table, and a print room with letterpress & combination presses for lithography, relief and etching. The print room, which is currently being built out by Lyz and James, may be eventually used for retail & gallery shows as well.

The basement, originally split into several smaller rooms, has been partially rebuilt to have a more open plan layout, and currently houses a woodshop and Matthew’s work area, a sink for post-work paint cleanup, and an extra worktable for Ellen’s paintings. Eventually, they hope to add a spray booth and extra ventilation.

Riopelle plans to hold a grand opening of their space and a group exhibition of recent works in late spring/​early summer.