Share Your Candy

Lincoln Street Art Park itself was created in 2011 when Matthew Naimi, volunteers, artists, and community members transformed an illegally dumped industrial lot into a community art space. Materials salvaged from the site were reused to build pathways, gathering spaces, sculptures, and installations, establishing the park’s ethos of creative reuse and environmental stewardship

Make Art Work (MAW), together with our neighboring partners Recycle Here and Green Living Science, are raising funds in transforming the Lincoln Street Art Park into a vibrant, artist-led public gathering space rooted in creativity, sustainability, and community connection.

The Lincoln Street Art Park serves as an evolving cultural commons where the community visits through youth programming with Green Living Science, Recycle Here! center, and visitors come together to see art installations, performances, and public events.

This campaign will fund critical improvements that make the space safer, more functional, and more welcoming year-round, including:

• Gravel and pathway improvements for accessibility and usability
• A permanent community fire pit gathering area
• Seating and activation zones
• Public sculptures and artist-built installations
• Site beautification and landscape improvements

By supporting this project, you are directly investing in a shared creative environment that supports artists, public programming, and neighborhood activation.

Why This Project Matters

The Art Park is more than an event space, it is an experiment in how art, reuse, and community can transform underutilized urban space into something alive and deeply shared.

MAW works with artists, recycled materials, volunteers, and local partners to create experiences that are accessible, collaborative, and rooted in Detroit’s creative culture.

This project will:

• Increase access to safe space and welcoming for free public gatherings for residence and visitors
• Support local artists and sculpture activation
• Improve infrastructure for community events and workshops
• Expand opportunities for youth engagement and education
• Continue MAW’s commitment to sustainable, material-conscious practices