At Buffalo Prescott, it’s not unusual to find artists creating alongside their children, Hot Wheels zooming around the studio, or kids running around the backyard.
Earlier this year, founder Samara Furlong brought her vision of an artist residency for parents to life.
The curatorial researcher moved back to Detroit from New York during the pandemic, got married, had a daughter, and quickly rejoined the local art scene. She curated a female-led performance and group exhibition called Divine Wisdom in February, and three of the artists from that show are now part of Buffalo Prescott’s first cohort of residents.
Named after the street corners it was born on, Buffalo Prescott is more than just an artist residency. It’s also a nonprofit artist incubator with a mission to “nurture the growth of Detroit’s contemporary art ecosystem.” Furlong’s goals include promoting work-life balance, making art accessible to the community, and providing a supportive space for artists with kids — though the spot is not just for parents.
The inaugural cohort of artist residents includes Olivia Guterson, Shaina Kasztelan, Evan Mazellan, Sara Nickleson, and Rachel Elise Thomas.
“It’s everything I’ve worked towards my whole life, and it’s really nice to be able to involve my family,” Furlong says. “I’m excited about this group of artists that we have, and to watch their careers grow and to see what this residency can do for them… that ability to dream in real time on both sides is something I’m really excited about.”
Furlong, a mother to a two-year-old, says that two of the current artist residents also have toddlers. She describes the unique atmosphere of the space, where parents can bring their children as a rare feature among artist residencies, which typically only allow the artist themselves.
“I’ve been in there with Olivia and her son is playing with Hot Wheels or helping her or playing hide and go seek in the backyard and it’s really just a beautiful thing to see,” Furlong says. “The great thing about it is that it’s an incubator for both us and for the artists… to have the flexibility and freedom to do that and also react to things that are happening in the world, whereas a museum has institutional bureaucracy, that’s a big benefit of doing it at this scale.”
While the current artist residents were invited, Buffalo Prescott plans to implement a public application process in the future, with candidates evaluated by a panel of jurors. The inaugural group was personally selected by Furlong, many of whom she had previously worked with.
When she met Mazellan, it quickly became clear he was a perfect fit.
“I’m in his studio and everything’s blue and green and then there’s this nicely stretched small canvas over in the corner and it’s just bright colors, neon yellow and pink,” Furlong says. “I go ‘Evan, what’s the story with that one?’ and he’s like ‘Oh, that’s where my daughter paints when she comes in the studio.’”
Kasztelan, who worked with the founder at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), also brings a special touch to the residency, having painted a mural in Furlong’s daughter’s bedroom.
“Her art is very personal to me and I loved watching her career grow,” she says. “It’s all just been very intuitive and floating downstream and I’m just going with gut feelings. It’s just nice to have this joyful feeling where you work and make work and to have families encouraged.”
Beyond supporting individual artists, Buffalo Prescott aims to engage the wider community. The 3,600-square-foot building, once a Swedish tool and die shop, has deep roots in Detroit’s arts scene, having more recently served as the studio for designer Chris Schanck. Now, it continues that legacy as a space for artistic collaboration and innovation.
Each artist at Buffalo Prescott has a private studio with 24/7 access, but the space is also communal, encouraging skill-sharing and mutual support.
While this won’t always be the case, all of the residents this year are recent graduates of Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Master of Fine Arts program, so a key focus of the residency is addressing the “post-graduation gap” that many artists experience after leaving art school.
“There’s this true need for studio space, and this feeling of leaving art school, whether it’s undergrad or graduate program and just feeling this sense of loss and really big transition without a safety net,” Furlong says. “They’re really mourning the critiques and they don’t have that critique environment.”
To help fill that gap, Buffalo Prescott has partnered with Independent Curators International to bring in curators for studio visits and critiques, offering the residents visibility and mentorship. Additionally, Furlong invites artists from outside Buffalo Prescott to participate in programming with the residents and the local community.
Buffalo Prescott’s first public programming initiative, Casual Safe, is a partnership with local nonprofit Detroit Recovery Project. For this project, the residents designed safe sex and Narcan kits, which were distributed ahead of the Movement Music Festival. By November, these kits will be available at two artist-wrapped vending machines.
“It’s making something accessible and using art to connect with people and destigmatizing recovery and filling a basic need in the community that’s literally saving lives and doing so in a way that’s bringing people together through art,” Furlong says. “Art is a beautiful way to see the world and connect with other people, and I’ve watched that happen in Detroit countless times, and it’s just really fulfilling to be a part of.”
To publicly launch Buffalo Prescott, Furlong is hosting a pancake brunch on Saturday, Sept. 14 as part of Detroit Month of Design.
“From the beginning, I wanted it to be very family-friendly, and it’s nice to actually follow through and do what I say I’m going to do,” Furlong says. “Families are encouraged, and not only encouraged, but that is what Buffalo Prescott is about.”
The event will feature activities for all ages, including drawing for kids, spray painting tote bags, and friendship bracelet making. The artist residents will also open their studios so the community can see what’s been happening in the space so far. Plus, Cranbrook is using the event to launch their alumni Open Studios series.
For now, Furlong’s goal is to ensure that the artists get the most out of the residency while the organization continues to build relationships and partnerships in the community. The incubator plans to offer artist talks, professional development sessions, workshops for all ages and skill levels, and off-site exhibitions, most on a sliding scale or donation-based rate.
“I think that opportunities like this will help [the artists], and other people might follow suit, and there can be more studio spaces available,” Furlong says. “I’ve already talked with others in the community to help make that happen, and just making [Detroit] a long-term place where artists aren’t priced out of and they’re able to continue to grow, and that makes it a safe haven for them to continue making art, but it also elevates Detroit.”
As Buffalo Prescott grows, Furlong envisions it becoming a place for artists and anyone interested in Detroit art to explore the city through an artistic lens.
“I was making a business plan for this and someone asked me who my competition was, and it’s like, there is no competition,” Furlong says. “Detroit is a very spread-out city, but it’s a small world here, and there’s no reason that we shouldn’t all work together to make it the best place for artists to flourish.”
