OUR FOUNDER
A Letter from the Founder
In 2015 I moved to Detroit from New Zealand in the belief that the city of Detroit has the potential to be the Arts Center of the USA, if not the World. Having purchased and transformed a factory space in Highland Park, 333 Midland, my partners and I set about creating a community of artists with gallery exhibitions and community events. Nearly every week, I get inquiries from artists in Michigan, as well as artists moving here from around the USA, looking for studio space. But our artists like it at 333! We have perhaps one studio change hands every year.
Our business is successful and sustainable, and I see it as a model for a larger project — The BIG Art.
Detroit will fall short of realizing its potential in the arts without more affordable studio space for artists. Without reasonably priced spaces to work, artists will struggle to create the potent, substantial work Detroit is known for. If many more studios do not come onto the market, rental rates will increase beyond that which most artists can afford, and Detroit’s potential could be lost.
Every BIG idea needs space to grow. The BIG Art will provide that space, nourishing Detroit art and artists and engaging community members and visitors alike. Artists need this to happen. Detroit needs this to happen. Together, let’s make something BIG happen!
– Robert Onnes
In 2015 I moved to Detroit from New Zealand in the belief that the city of Detroit has the potential to be the Arts Center of the USA, if not the World. Having purchased and transformed a factory space in Highland Park, 333 Midland, my partners and I set about creating a community of artists with gallery exhibitions and community events. Nearly every week, I get inquiries from artists in Michigan, as well as artists moving here from around the USA, looking for studio space. But our artists like it at 333! We have perhaps one studio change hands every year.
Our business is successful and sustainable, and I see it as a model for a larger project — The BIG Art.
Detroit will fall short of realizing its potential in the arts without more affordable studio space for artists. Without reasonably priced spaces to work, artists will struggle to create the potent, substantial work Detroit is known for. If many more studios do not come onto the market, rental rates will increase beyond that which most artists can afford, and Detroit’s potential could be lost.
- I believe Detroit can be the arts center of America, and The BIG Art will help make that happen.
- This project will demonstrate to our communities, visitors from the US and the world the outstanding work of our local artists.
- This facility will provide an exceptionally welcoming and uniquely flexible space for art fairs, performances and special events.
- Studios here will be private, affordable with good natural light and facilities which add value for our artists.
- Having the opportunity to see other artists’ work and to show their own, artists will benefit with ever-improving quality of work and practice.
Every BIG idea needs space to grow. The BIG Art will provide that space, nourishing Detroit art and artists and engaging community members and visitors alike. Artists need this to happen. Detroit needs this to happen. Together, let’s make something BIG happen!
– Robert Onnes
Robert Onnes is an established sculptor renowned for creating substantial figurative sculptures, exhibiting in many group and solo shows in New Zealand and Michigan. His background in electronics and in property development has greatly influenced his art processes and related endeavors. The use of steel and copper allows the construction of elegant minimalist forms, while maintaining an earthy organic quality that suits the themes of his work.
“Using smoothly curving lines and surfaces, I create figurative sculpture which pares back the subject to its essence.”
Onnes, a native of New Zealand, visited Detroit in 2012 and was captivated by its arts scene. He moved here to gain inspiration, and to help contribute to the strength and growth of the vibrant but fragmented arts ecosystem. He purchased a vacant, historic Highland Park factory and converted it into the exceptional art studios and gathering spaces known as 333 Midland. He then opened the adjacent Annex Gallery. These facilities, now celebrating their 10th anniversary, exemplify the affordable, flexible arts spaces that are highly sought after, but extremely difficult to find in and around Detroit. They offer dynamic, well-maintained studio and exhibition spaces, communal art facilities and resources, and a collaborative environment that welcomes artists, art audiences, and the community.
Onnes and his collaborators believe that the spaces, culture, and business practices of 333 Midland and Annex Gallery present a successful, sustainable, and scalable model for an even larger, multi-functional arts hub: The BIG Art
“Using smoothly curving lines and surfaces, I create figurative sculpture which pares back the subject to its essence.”
Onnes, a native of New Zealand, visited Detroit in 2012 and was captivated by its arts scene. He moved here to gain inspiration, and to help contribute to the strength and growth of the vibrant but fragmented arts ecosystem. He purchased a vacant, historic Highland Park factory and converted it into the exceptional art studios and gathering spaces known as 333 Midland. He then opened the adjacent Annex Gallery. These facilities, now celebrating their 10th anniversary, exemplify the affordable, flexible arts spaces that are highly sought after, but extremely difficult to find in and around Detroit. They offer dynamic, well-maintained studio and exhibition spaces, communal art facilities and resources, and a collaborative environment that welcomes artists, art audiences, and the community.
Onnes and his collaborators believe that the spaces, culture, and business practices of 333 Midland and Annex Gallery present a successful, sustainable, and scalable model for an even larger, multi-functional arts hub: The BIG Art