Category: Uncategorized

Show event attendee’s Thomas Bell Art studio located at 10229 Joseph Campau Street

Join us during the Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival at Passenger’s new location on Christopher Street, right next to the Fowling Warehouse, where we’ll be hosting a marketplace and live music performances in addition to the opening reception of Ashley Worden’s solo exhibition downstairs at the new Christopher Street Gallery!

Thomas was born in Asheville, North Carolina and became interested in abstract art in 2004 when a teacher gave him an assignment to create a painting influenced by a famous artist. He chose Piet Mondrian and painted a canvas with different shapes and primary colors similar to that of the Dutch painter. The freedom he found within the simplicity of his style became an invitation for him to enter a complex world with infinite dimensions and areas of opportunity open for his honest exploration. That day of artistic realization led him to a place of creative authority, freedom, and further detachment from societal programming, in which escaping aspects of the modern domestication of man has been an interest of Thomas since a teenager. Abiding by intuition, Thomas has strayed away from further classical training after 9th-grade art class in fears he would lose the core authenticity of what he valued most in painting, which is… undomesticated freedom within a mind of pure action flowing with the parameters of what his ability allows.

Thomas’s early paintings featured elementary faces expressing both tension and abandonment felt from the detachment of understanding that close ones had to him as he became involved in expressing himself through his artistic calling. Beyond the figurative aspect of his creations, he became very involved in paint experimentation on all different mediums, including various types of fabrics. Figuring out how large amounts of paint flow and work together when combined with many techniques, Thomas learned how to form aesthetically pleasing and balanced work out of seemingly random but very calculated processes. Creating from a reality that can seem like total discombobulation, he transforms his materials into works of deliberate, organized chaos with a sense of balance and flow that stems from being balanced and in flow with the experience. While the style of his early work departed from the traditional norms he was raised within — so much so that his paintings elicited fear inside of others — he refused to abandon his abstract nature and drive to create.

Finding acceptance from the universe within the worlds of his paintings, his work became more than a hobby, job, or well-connected interest. Painting became a source of life created through the abandonment of all the variables within the perceived norms or rules in which a human should perform while being creative, allowing the conditioned self to escape into pure form of soul and experience, where the root of source expands into his artwork.

Forces attempting to push Thomas to conform to a more conventional way continue to intervene. When intuition calls and one extracts himself from the game forced upon us, one creates realms that do not intervene with any constrictive norms of society and delves into pathways elsewhere.

Constantly innovating and finding the limits of his depths, through the ups and downs of uncertainty, Thomas has grown more strength and bravery to go further into the surface of the unknown.

Join us during the Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival at Passenger’s new location on Christopher Street, right next to the Fowling Warehouse, where we’ll be hosting a marketplace and live music performances in addition to the opening reception of Ashley Worden’s solo exhibition downstairs at the new Christopher Street Gallery!

In the late 00’s, Jerry Downey cemented himself as a staple in Detroit’s on-again, off-again underground warehouse party scene with his “Sexual Tension Detroit” brand and was the mind behind many iconic series, such as “Bathroom Culture,” “Friend’s With Benefits,” and “We Can Get You In Trouble.” In 2018, he even received his first major break as a producer—licensing original music to Big Beat Records—but, despite his accomplishments, Downey had never reached his true potential as an artist due to his lifelong struggle with substance abuse. In 2024, after surrendering to his addiction and some soul searching, Jerry Downey found a new role in the community as a producer and recording/mix engineer working on original music out of his home studio.

Abba Roland is a dynamic and diverse creative artist, musician, composer, and touring singer-songwriter with roots in theatre, dance, and design. She has released two solo albums and has shared the stage with Coldplay, Sia, Bonnie Raitt, and P-Funk. “She is a thought-provoking lyricist with a singular style whose work blurs the lines between sharp comedy and cabaret, providing a unique human perspective.” — Rolling Stone

Abba hosts “Made in Vagina,” broadcasting out of Passenger Recover and Passenger Radio. The show features a range of eclectic artists—from times long ago to new artists—spanning Native American/First Nations, hip hop, classical, country, folk, and psychedelic punk-funk, voicing an empowered, balanced, female- and earth-conscious perspective. The show’s mission is to remind us about community, healing, and fellowship; and although we may all be different, we need the same things (love). “We all come from the same place — Made in Vagina.”

The fashion lines Nowaste Collective and Made in Vagina carry the same message and support recovery and health in our local communities.

Abba has spent much of her time between New York City, Woodstock, NY, and Los Angeles, but now happily calls Detroit home.

River Edwards is a highly regarded, award-winning spoken-word artist who has toured throughout the United States and Europe.

River was the Austin representative on the SlamAmerica bus tour and has opened for many rock acts, including Patti Smith and Ani DiFranco. He has also recently relocated to Detroit.

If “Passenger Recover” was meant to be “Passenger Recovery” or “Passenger Records,” say the word and I’ll adjust.

Step into the world of a computer scientist that fell in love with a costume designer during covid lockdown. Upon approach, it is clear that their home is bursting with creative energy as evidenced by the wildflower garden with a container pond full of fish in their front yard illuminated with landscape lighting for all to enjoy. Inside, visitors are invited to learn about HAM radio, take a tour of the sewing room, meet the dozens of aquatic pets spread through 8 indoor nano aquariums and 2 outdoor ponds, gaze and reflect upon an art collection that features artworks from many local creatives, and if the weather permits, enjoy a hands-on art project in the backyard. Lynn will have some original art pieces for sale and facilitate a free collage creation session. Come hang out with us!

Lynn Blasey is a multi-faceted artist, community worker, and public servant. She uses mixed media collage with paint and markers as a creative tool to process the world around her and partners with clients to develop compelling costumes to enhance their characters and personas for performance art or costumed events. Lynn is also an avid art collector and her collection blends with pieces from Joe’s collection to adorn the walls of the home they share. Joe George is a computer scientist who is passionate about HAM radio, plants, and creating mini ecosystems throughout their home. Joe has also been working to fully automate their home building his own network to operate independently of others and is excited to show it off to anyone interested.

The Hamtramck Night Bazaar is a vibrant evening market that showcases artists, makers, and small business owners from Hamtramck and beyond!

Discover Hamtramck is a platform powered by Hamtramck’s Downtown Development Authority. The DDA is committed to bringing life to our unique downtown, city, and community. The Hamtramck Night Bazaar is one of the ways the DDA empowers small business owners, the community, and artists.

Design your custom Block Print Handkerchief while having some delicious Tea.

INSPIRADO: Global Latino Creatives Take Center Stage at Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival

Saturday, October 4, 2025 12:00 – 1:00 PM at New Dodge Lounge (8850 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck, MI)

Hamtramck, MI’s Disco Walls announces INSPIRADO, a vibrant gathering of global Latino artists and creatives during the Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival on Saturday, October 4, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The afternoon features an intimate panel discussion from 12:00 to 1:00 PM at New Dodge Lounge (8850 Joseph Campau Ave.), exploring creative practice, cultural storytelling, and collaboration across borders.

Curated by Disco Walls, INSPIRADO invites the public to meet artists, hear their stories, and discover how Latino voices are shaping today’s creative landscape from murals and design to music, film, and community-centered placemaking.

INSPIRADO is both celebration and spark, said Julie Sailus (aka Disco Walls), creative producer and event curator. We’re bringing together global perspectives to honor the creativity that fuels Hamtramck and Detroit while opening doors for new connections, commissions, and ideas.

Event Highlights

Artist Meet & Greet (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM): Connect with global Latino artists and creatives; learn about their work and process.

Panel Discussion (12:00 – 1:00 PM): A candid conversation on culture, career paths, and collaboration, moderated by Disco Walls.

Where: New Dodge Lounge, 8850 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck, MI

Cost: Free and open to the public

About Disco Walls

Disco Walls is a Detroit-based creative production studio and art agency specializing in community-driven projects, public art, cultural storytelling, and artist experiences. Working with partners across Michigan and beyond, Disco Walls connects artists with spaces, brands, and audiences to make art approachable for all.

Czr Prz is an urban contemporary artist working in sculptural fabrication, large-scale aerosol murals, and all manner of design. Born and raised in working class Chicago, Prz’s 20 year creative career has spanned America all the way to Europe. Across their multifaceted media, Prz’s artworks tell stories in the folklorico tradition instilled by his Latino-Caribbean upbringing.

Prz recovered from Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2015, a battle that halted his trips abroad, resuming his creative practice without missing a beat. In the past year alone, Prz has painted murals for CATAN in Albany Park and Paint Memphis Fest in Tennessee. Prz’s fine art fabrication has shown at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco and Epiphany Center for the Arts, where he’s the curator behind Idol Hands, a group show centered around craft on view through Feb. 2022. Prz is also one half of Ava Grey, a creative firm based in Chicago’s South Side.

Playing good music for good people.

I’m Raphique I go by Shrinq Mountin i made an album recently titled Emergence please go listen. My live performance consists of looping from scratch, songs from the album, and oud house, live instruments and deep beats.

I’ll be painting one painting for the duration of the festival, which will go home with the highest bidder in a silent auction at the end of the day. I’ll also have on hand some smaller paintings, prints and t-shirts.

Michael Ross was born in the wild, watery woods of Union Lake, Michigan in 1974, got his head straight for a while in the desert green hotspring mountains of New Mexico, and eventually went to school at Oakland University where he learned to love college radio and studied painting under the tutelage of Dick Goody, receiving a BA in Anthropology and Fine Arts. He has no visual influences but enjoys the works of Robert Crumb, Peter Max, Charles McGee and Frank Stella. Also that of John Cage, Yoko Ono, The Grateful Dead and The Fall. And Richard Brautigan and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He’s very interested in Indian Classical Music and often cites the raga, with its inherent improvisation within a formal structure, as a touchstone for his own work. He has been painting at 333 Midland in Highland Park for the past 11 years. He is a painter, a muralist, a curator and an arts council member in his adopted home town of Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, where he lives with his fantastic four year old, his wife, and a very saucy parrot.

Come see Purple and Grey a small Michigan trio perform live from a backyard porch.