Presumably this was a garage attached to a house. Now it's an art gallery.
Presumably this was a garage attached to a house. Now it's an art gallery.
Home > Galleries > Detroit > What Pipeline
3525 W. Vernor
Detroit MI 48216
If you see a taco truck to your left and Giovanna's to your right, then you're on the right track. The gallery is in a free-standing structure with the front door several yards from the sidewalk. It kind of looks like it used to be the garage to a now long gone house.
Openings are usually on Fridays, sometimes on Saturdays. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, gallery hours were limited to Saturdays, now they're on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and by appointment.
Named one of Detroit's best art galleries by Artspace (article linked below). Owned and directed by Daniel Sperry and Alivia Zivich, this is an aggressively avant-garde gallery with an emphasis on European artists.
While it is important to bring international artists to Detroit (and "international artists" ought to also mean artists from Asia, Africa and Latin America in addition to Europe), the focus of this website is on Michigan artists. We will try to keep you informed of What Pipeline's exhibitions in Detroit, but not with as much detail or urgency as with other Detroit galleries.
After the current exhibit closes, the next exhibit won't open until March or April, is what I've been told. That checks out when you consider the listing of past exhibits below and the effect of colder weather on the building.
Alivia Zivich, holding up a box of Flint water, listens to someone read the number of the winning ticket of the raffle at What Pipeline. "This is for thinking, not drinking," Zivich said of the water.
In collaboration with Kavita Schmidt, What Pipeline had an exhibit at Cave that started on January 21, 2017, and ran to February 18, 2017.
Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York hosted What Pipeline from June 29, 2017 to July 28, 2017 for an exhibit of artwork by Mary Ann Aitken and Dylan Spaysky.
From the June 2016 exhibition.
In 2014, What Pipeline "won" a $15,000 matching funds grant from the Knight Foundation to publish books by or about Detroit-based artists. What a lot of people don't understand about these grants, is that to get one red cent from Knight, a "winner" must first get a matching red cent from another source. But that can be very difficult when there is that headline out there saying you won all this money to do the project, yet you don't do anything right away, besides ask for more money.
At least an organization, even one as small as What Pipeline, is much better equipped than an individual to deal with all the work and headache of a matching funds grant. What Pipeline had, as of July 2015, published two books in the series. On August 29 and 30, 2015, from noon to 8:00 p.m., Nolan Simon painted portraits live at What Pipeline to raise more money for the publication project. People who got portraits painted include local artists James Collins and Greg Fadell.
In 2016, What Pipeline was selected for yet another Knight Arts Challenge matching funds grant, this time to bring an artist, Pope L., to Detroit. A Kickstarter project concluded with $5,803 over the pledge goal.
What Pipeline hosted "an evening with Pope.L in Flint" at MW Gallery in Flint on March 1, 2018.
From April 7, 2018 to May 12, 2018, What Pipeline screened Shakedown, a film by Leilah Weinraub. Then, from May 19 to June 23 of the same year, Park View / Paul Soto in Los Angeles hosted What Pipeline for a Bailey Scieszka exhibit.