The Trumbullplex is a housing collective and showspace in the Woodbridge neighborhood of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan, USA.

Beginnings

Trumbullplex was created in 1993, when members of the collective known formally as the Wayne Association of Collective Housing established a nonprofit corporation and purchased the property: two Victorian houses and a single-story art space in-between. The two houses are occupied by a fluctuating group of resident collective members, as well as like-minded short-term traveling artists, musicians, and activists. The resident collective members, along with other committed community members, work together to maintain the show space and provide accessible, meaningful community experiences to locals and travelers alike. The Trumbullplex has since grown to also include three adjacent, undeveloped side-lot properties, following a well-publicized bidding war with a local developer in 2016. These side-lots function as community greenspace for potlucks, herb walks, and arts based events. They were bought from the city for $10,000.

Collective

The collective's mission statement asserts that they “want to create a positive environment for revolutionary change in which economic and social relationships are based on mutual aid and the absence of hierarchy.” It acts on the basis of

consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on e ...

and serves as a home, theater, art gallery,

infoshop Infoshops are places in which people can access anarchist or autonomist ideas. They are often stand-alone projects, or can form part of a larger radical bookshop, archive, self-managed social centre or community centre. Typically, infoshops offer ...

, meeting space and temporary residence for traveling

activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. The art space is run on a donations-only basis, and members pay an equal portion of the costs involved in the property's upkeep each month. The Trumbullplex collective is engaged in homeless support, LGBTQ activism and Food Not Bombs. Members of the collective and surrounding community run the operations within the theater and meeting space and also participate in alternative schools, such as the high school for teenage mothers, the Catherine Ferguson Academy and CFA farm, the Hub of Detroit (a cycling non-profit located in the city's

Cass Corridor The Cass Corridor is the name of the neighborhoods on the west end of Midtown Detroit. It includes the Cass Park Historic District, the Cass-Davenport Historic District and Old Chinatown. The corridor's main street, Cass Avenue, runs parallel wi ...

), to Detroit organizations promoting

urban agriculture Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and fo ...

such as Earthworks, and to a variety of other causes and organizations.

Zine library

In 2011, the Trumbullplex completed the addition of a free

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

library located within the showspace, which houses over 2,000 independently published books, pamphlets, and fanzines. Many of these publications were donated to the Trumbullplex following the closing of the now defunct Idle Kids infoshop in Detroit's

. In addition to providing access to the zine library during events in the showspace as well as during regularly scheduled open hours, the Trumbullplex zine library has also provided pop-up versions of the collection at such local events as the Allied Media Conference and the Dally in the Alley festival.

25th birthday

In August 2018, the Trumbullplex celebrated being 25 years old with a two day party.

References

External links

Website
{{Infoshops Culture of Detroit Arts centers in Michigan Anarchist intentional communities Contemporary art galleries in the United States Residential buildings in Detroit Community-building organizations Housing cooperatives in the United States Infoshops Theatres in Michigan Counterculture communities Event venues established in 1993 1993 establishments in Michigan