Matthew Naimi

Cultural Janitor,
Dreamtroit
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Matthew Naimi (President): graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1996, not long after, his desire to make Detroit a better place brought him back to Michigan. Matthew’s first challenge was to creatively rehabilitate an old, obsolete, automotive warehouse into a Green business as well as a creative space for the cultural community. Matthew created Recycle Here! in 2006 to address the need for a recycling option in the City of Detroit, and RH brought the old factory back to life. To date, over 29 million pounds of recyclable material has been collected from over 9000,000 citizens visiting Recycle Here! drop off facility. These two programs formed the backbone of the Lincoln Street Art Park, a guerilla style urban art space / green space. In 2016, Matthew was selected to be a Knight Foundation Fellow to work with Theaster Gates and the University of Chicago on a year long project designing the 9 Principles of Ethical Redevelopment. In 2017, Matthew Naimi partnered with Oren Goldenberg to create Dreamtroit, a cultural campus encompassing affordable housing, environmental and commercial projects that leverage connection, community and collaboration. AKA The Garbage Man

Breakout Panelist: Making Place for Makers
Tour Leader: Discover Dreamtroit