July’s sunshine is seeing great arts opportunities bloom throughout metro Detroit, and this weekend brings great music and visual art to the forefront. Here are eight options to get you started.
A breathtaking exhibition
Through July 30, downtown Detroit’s Library Street Collective gallery presents “Beneath Our Feet,” an outstanding two-person exhibition of works by Detroit natives LaKela Brown and Mario Moore. Bringing together a mix of painting and sculpture, the pair of artists collaboratively examine the symbolic intersections of land, economic agency and narrative authorship. While their reflections speak broadly to the Black American experience, they are simultaneously rooted in Detroit’s local terrain, where stories of migration, ownership and resilience are embedded in the landscape.
Library Street Collective, 1274 Library St. (in The BELT alley), Detroit. lscgallery.com. Free to browse.
Second Saturday at The Heidelberg Project
From 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, Detroit’s Heidelberg Project will hold this month’s installment of its Second Saturday series. At 2:30 p.m., acclaimed poet Tongo Eisen-Martin will perform, followed by Detroit jazz royalty Joan Belgrave. After the performance, at approximately 4 p.m., Heidelberg founder Dr. Tyree Guyton and executive director Andrew Sturm will lead a tour of the core art environment in partnership with City Institute. Chef Brian Edwards’ popular Roti Baby popup restaurant will serve West Indian cuisine during the all-ages event.
The Heidelberg Project, 3600 Heidelberg St., Detroit. heidelberg.org. Free to attend.
Grammy-nominated jazz
Straight Ahead, a groundbreaking Detroit based, Grammy-nominated, all-women jazz combo, will take up a three-day residence at Grosse Pointe Farms’ Dirty Dog Jazz Café from Thursday, June 10, through Saturday, July 12. The first all-woman band signed to a major record label – Atlantic Records – Straight Ahead features an all-star Detroit lineup of Alina Morr (piano), Gayelynn McKinney (drums), Ingrid Racine (trumpet) and Kymberli Wright (vocals), and is led by bassist Marion Hayden, the 2025 Kresge Eminent Artist. Performance hours are 6-9 p.m. Thursday and 6-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Dirty Dog Jazz Café, 97 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms. dirtydogjazz.com. $20 cover.
‘Endless Summer’
On view through July 19, Playground Detroit’s “Endless Summer” is a solo exhibition highlighting new paintings by Frank Lepkowski. At the heart of “Endless Summer” is the tension between the fleeting nature of lived experience and the permanence we try to assign to it. The glossy, hyper-corrected digital photo becomes a metaphor for nostalgia itself — a polished, perfected version of a moment that may have been far more complex in reality. These paintings are not merely nostalgic; they interrogate nostalgia’s illusions. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Playground Detroit, 2845 Gratiot Ave., Detroit. shop.playgrounddetroit.com. Free to browse.
A new beginning
This weekend, David Klein Gallery will host a two-day grand opening celebration at its new headquarters in Ferndale. Friday’s event will begin at 5 p.m. and continue into the evening, with complimentary valet parking and sounds by At the Moment (atm). Saturday’s noon-6 p.m. event will feature an artist talk and a gallery walkthrough with Sue Goethel Campbell at 1 p.m. Wine selections for both days provided by Elie Wine Company, whose owner, Elie Boudt, is a Ferndale resident and gallery neighbor.
678 Livernois St., Ferndale. dkgallery.com. Free to attend.
Downriver art fair
Thursday, July 9, through Saturday, July 12, the 64th Wyandotte Street Art Fair will draw more than 200,000 visitors to take in work by 300 fine artists, dine among 35 restaurants and shop with a multitude of local merchants. One of the largest art fairs in the state of Michigan, it provides cultural enrichment to all ages in a fun and festive environment.
Downtown Wyandotte. wyandotte.net. Free to attend.
Safe spaces in art
On view at Hostel Detroit, by appointment, is “Lookouts,” the first solo exhibition from Canadian-born, Detroit-based artist Danya Ensing. The show explores landscapes of absence and anticipation, all captured on 35mm or 120 film. Ensing’s practice spans photography, printmaking and community-based projects that capture Detroit’s evolving landscape. As director of Art Detroit Now and former projects manager at Hostel Detroit, she brings a unique perspective to this inaugural exhibition of the Detroit Exchange Artist Residency. On Thursday, June 10, Ensing will release a limited edition print for sale.
Hostel Detroit, 2700 Vermont St., Detroit. hosteldetroit.com. Free to browse, by appointment only.
‘A History of Dreams’
Detroit artist Michael Ross is showcased in a massive exhibition of over 50 original works at Mt. Clemens’ Anton Art Center. “A History of Dreams” features shaped paintings, panels and three-dimensional objects ranging in size from small to large, including diptychs, triptychs and cubes. Ross is an artist, muralist and curator working out of 333 Midland Studios and the Annex Gallery in Highland Park since 2014. “A History of Dreams” remains on display at Anton through Aug. 16; gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Anton Art Center, 125 Macomb Pl., Mount Clemens. theartcenter.org. Free to browse.
