Popps Packing is an artist-‐run neighborhood-‐based nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by husband and wife artists, Faina Lerman and Graem Whyte. Our mission is to create impactful arts programming and foster cultural exchange between local and international artist communities, while leveraging the unique features of our region, neighborhood, and personal practices. Our programs include a robust residency program that welcomes national and international artists into our community, seasonal exhibitions, workshops, artist talks and community events.
HISTORY:
Popps Packing was built in the 1930’s as a meat packing plant, and later became a cookie factory followed by a t-shirt hub before being reborn as an arts venue. The building straddles the northern Hamtramck / Detroit border. Hamtramck is a dense, 2.1 square mile, culturally diverse city within a city almost entirely surrounded by Detroit. Hamtramck was originally settled by German farmers, followed by a flood of Polish immigrants in the early part of the 20th century.
Over the past thirty years a large number of immigrants (Yemeni, Bengali, Armenian, Macedonian, Turkish, and Ukrainian to name a few) have continued to move to Hamtramck, making it Michigan’s most internationally diverse city, as well as its densest.
Popps Packing’s programs and projects are made possible in part with the generous support of
