If you blink while driving down East Grand Blvd, you might miss it. Up past the North End in Milwaukee Junction, where the city skyline towers in the distance, there’s a modest one-story office building nuzzled between old structures built in the previous century. For most of its existence, it’s operated as nothing more than a workspace. A place where people crunched numbers, filed records, and sent out invoices. Recently, however, the office space has been transformed into a place of art and culture. And the latest display of art to fill the building has placed the Black men of Detroit at its center.
Bought by his parents back in 1972, Billy Hunter and his wife Jeanie Hunter are the owners and operators of Office Space Gallery. Despite hosting their first art show last November, The Hunters have been active in the Detroit art world for decades. The decision to repurpose the space came after their last tenants moved out. Before then, they only had a small amount of unrented space where they were free to display art. Understandably, the idea of funneling people into a single-room gallery right next to an operating business was quickly shot down. However, now that they have full control of their building, the two of them have utilized their space to the fullest and are hoping that visitors will enter and see something new in the old building.
“We were looking for dynamic photographers.” Billy Hunter told us as he stood in his gallery surrounded by stunning visual pieces curated by him and his wife. “But at the same time, we were kind of trying to stay away from commercial works.”
“No advertising imagery.” Jeanie added. “Not something you’d see in a magazine. I think that was a big part of our decision process. We had a lot of entries and we chose the ones that we saw to have something intriguing in them.”
Their latest exhibit, “Black Men with Cameras,” is a perfect example of the kind of work they want to do through their building. As the name suggests, the feature is a collection of works from Black male photographers from southeast Michigan. The idea for the show came while Billy was joking with some friends about the theme for their next show. And as the mind credited with naming his office space gallery “Office Space Gallery,” it seemed only natural to name a show created by Black men with cameras “Black Men with Cameras.” The choice to keep it local was a much simpler and relatable decision. As native Detroiters, they felt no need to look past their own backyard for Black talent despite the fact that they were no strangers to working with artists from all over.
Jeanie explained to us, “It always depends on the show because we do work with national artists and sometimes international. But, I see that this city is full of talent. A lot of it. We’re from Detroit, so we wanna be on the map too! We wanna showcase the talent that’s here. This has some novice photographers and some very experienced photographers. There are a few in this show that have never shown art before, so why not be a place of opportunity for those students of art, so to speak?”
Supporting developing artists is a core value of the Office Space Gallery. Beyond visibility, the Hunters help artists grow their art to be more appealing to galleries and give them a chance to be purchased by collectors. Things like presentation, framing, and even pricing can affect how well someone’s art travels. But by the time a new artist’s piece is hanging on the walls of their gallery, they’re meeting the same standard as pieces from more experienced artists. Still, the most valuable thing they offer to creatives is the chance for their work to be put on display for the public. And for featured photographer Felix Davis, exposure is much more than simply a chance to show off.
“It’s a great opportunity to get exposure as a Black photographer. This is my first gallery that I’ve ever been in, so it was great to put the work out there and get into different rooms that I never thought I would be in. It’s a platform that I think more Black photographers need so the work can be seen in a different aspect rather than just on a phone screen, a tablet, or a computer. You can see it on a wall in a gallery printed.
It’s also a great chance to control our narrative. Being a photographer as a Black man is an opportunity for people to see how we view the world creatively and what we see through our eyes. We’re just using the camera as the tool to show it to the world. Black men with cameras are powerful because nobody can tell our stories like us. We get tell our stories and we need these kinds of spaces to do so.”
It’s that exact motivation that keeps Billy and Jeanie working hard to improve their gallery. Despite being less profitable than renting out to tenants, the Hunters have found something that they can do to feed the ever-vibrant culture of Detroit and stay in touch with the world of art that they love so much. As they move on to a new exhibit and add more to their space, such as a reading room, the two of them think of what kind of place they ultimately want the Office Space gallery to be and what they want visitors to see when they step through the doors.
“I hope people see the talent in Detroit.” Billy stated. “I want them to see that this is a great space and a welcoming space. Where they’ll be well taken care of, and where they’ll want to come back to and see more of what we can put together.”
Jeanie nodded. “I agree with all of that. I think that if they walk in here they’re going to see Detroit. They’re gonna see Detroit in all of its forms. Anybody can come in here and take a look around, we get a variety of visitors. Just know that we’re here and we want you to come by and see us.”