Hi, everyone! My name is Linda and I’m a Detroit artist, product designer and community builder.

Why ISSUE: Detroit exists

This project is the sum of everything I’ve ever wanted to do as an artist, designer and community member.

I started ISSUE: Detroit to collaborate, to connect, and to finally meet the dynamic, brilliant creatives I know we’re making magic all over this city. I wanted to build something that felt like community in practice. A way to share space, make something tangible, and lift each other up through art.

Everything I’ve ever loved is in this project:

I’m obsessed with magazines—especially the ones that are gone. The rare ones. The cult ones. There’s one in particular, called Re-Up, that I still think about all the time. This is my way of building something that might live in someone’s drawer years from now—battered, folded, dog-eared, but still sacred.

ISSUE: Detroit is a one-year run and that’s it. I hope it to be a time capsule made in real time by artists who live and work here. Thank you for being part of it.

I hope you love it and I’m really looking forward to jumping in.

• Linda Ward