Steve Panton is the founder of 2739 Edwin and 9338 Campau Galleries and the co-founder of the Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival, the Hamtramck Free School, and the writing/curating/research project Essay’d. He has produced over 60 exhibitions, many of which have traveled to other institutions or received national recognition. He has conducted seminal curatorial workshops at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and elsewhere, was the inaugural curator of the innovative Art@TheMax program at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall, and writes on Detroit art for The Brooklyn Rail, the Detroit Metro Times, and Sculpture Magazine. Outside of art programming, his background is in technology, engineering, and education. He is currently engaged in a long-term study of the relationship between art and the political economy in Detroit. A short portfolio of exhibitions is available here. Image credit: Jeff Cancelosi.