Last year, Ypsi-based artist and arts educator Amanda Moore sought to bolster Ypsi's arts community by co-founding Bloom Studio, a membership-based studio and gallery space. Unfortunately, financial challenges led to Bloom’s closure in August. But it wasn’t long until Moore found a more sustainable opportunity to encourage other artists and make art herself. Dzanc House, opened in early 2025 at 402 S. Huron St. in Ypsi, offers a variety of public arts programming and gallery shows, as well as a residency program for local artists.

"The intention I had with Bloom was to build a community space here in Ypsi that was safe for artists to come together and create and express themselves," says Moore, Dzanc House's creative director. "That intention has now carried over to Dzanc House, and having this space exist is really nice."

Dzanc House is an extension of the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit independent publisher Dzanc Books, co-founded by Steve Gillis in 2006. It hosts a variety of all-ages workshops on topics ranging from figure drawing to fiber arts. It also offers open mic nights and youth-specific programming, such as the Roots and Wings workshop series for elementary school students and the EmpowerED series for middle and high school students. 
Doug CoombeSarah Nisbett and Amanda Moore at Dzanc House.
Dzanc Books' website says the nonprofit's primary goal is "to advance great writing and to impact communities nationally." Much of the publisher's prior programming was focused on promoting literacy, as well as providing internship opportunities for those interested in the process of independent publishing. However, Gillis says Dzanc House differs from previous Dzanc offerings in that it offers in-person programs in Dzanc's first public-facing physical space.

Moore first met with Gillis after Bloom’s closure. He had been considering starting a new branch of Dzanc programming at the recently renovated space on Huron Street. After discussions on how programming should be designed to best serve the Ypsi arts community, Moore came on board at Dzanc with a number of goals stemming from Bloom's successes and shortcomings. She calls Bloom "a really good adventure and start" that's allowed her to explore new possibilities at Dzanc House.

"Steve has given me so much freedom, and he’s been happy to see how things are going," Moore says. "I feel very supported."

Moore says her experience with Bloom gave her a strong desire to build and nourish a non-judgmental, exploratory artistic space like Dzanc House. An early goal for her was to strengthen Ypsi’s creative community following the 2024 presidential election, and provide an accessible and inclusive space for artists.
Doug CoombeJeff Kaas leads a poetry discussion with EmpowerED High School students .
"Seeing the disappointment from the community after Bloom closed was a reminder of how important a space like this is," Moore says. "We want to emphasize and focus on creating a safe space for people in the community to come together and create."

As the extension of Dzanc Books and a part of the nonprofit's overall goal of community building, Moore regularly invites community members into the house to volunteer and ready the space for events. One volunteer, Ypsi sculptor Bri Broderick, had actually collaborated with Moore previously, having shown pieces at Bloom before its closure. Broderick explains that she’d interacted with Moore a handful of times through other arts workshops she had led in the Ypsi-Ann Arbor area, but it wasn’t until Bloom, and then Dzanc House, that she saw an opportunity to make her artistic hobby more community-driven.

"I went to art school, but I never thought that art was feasible for me as a career," Broderick says. "To come back and be a part of a community like this has been a low-stakes and high-impact way to connect and explore."

Broderick worked alongside Moore and other volunteers for Dzanc House’s recent celebration of Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, constructing large papier-mache tentacles and covering the house in polka dots in homage to Kusama. She also participated in February’s "What Is Love" exhibition, which featured visual arts and poetry from a number of community members. 
Doug CoombeSarah Nisbett sketching Brittany Slater and Mackenzie Stolzenburg while they draw blind portrits of each other.
"I feel like there’s a big, collaborative, lift-each-other-up mentality here," Broderick says. "There are a lot of intimidating experiences in the art world, and here we just want to get inspired and make stuff together."

Moore also acts as the house’s residency coordinator. The house's residency program allows up to four artists or writers at a time to live in the house as they work on creative projects. Dzanc House also offers a day studio rate for individuals who are looking for a residency experience but may not need the room and board included with a longer traditional residency. Regardless of residency type, those taking part in the program have access to Dzanc House's gallery space and a variety of workshops. They also have the opportunity to reproduce their work quickly and efficiently with the house’s risograph printer – a feature which Moore calls a "huge attraction" for both artists and writers, as it provides an "affordable way for any artist to self-publish."  

As Dzanc House continues to grow, Moore hopes to connect and collaborate with more local arts organizations and individuals to expand programming opportunities for the community. She cites her most recent collaboration with Poet Tree Town A2 in celebration of National Poetry Month as only one example of the possibilities for partnerships. Moore is also interested in connecting directly with community members to plan additional programs. As an artist, Broderick is also excited about potential future collaborations, and hopes to see more workshops that will allow herself and other artists to try out new art forms in an open, non-judgmental setting. 

"I’d like to see even more opportunities to explore mediums and play with different types of art," Broderick says. "Intimidating and hard things just seem more accessible to do here."
Doug CoombeAmanda Moore at Dzanc House.
As Dzanc House continues to carve out its role in Ypsilanti’s creative landscape, its presence underscores just how vital accessible, inclusive arts spaces are to the health and vibrancy of a community. In a town as rich with creativity as Ypsi, spaces like Dzanc House provide not only space to make art, but also to connect, grow, and reimagine what community-centered creativity can look like.

"Our mission at Dzanc has always been to bring arts to the community," Gillis says. "We want to provide great artists with the support they need, and to provide students with a way to explore the arts and their own creative selves."

Questions about the Dzanc House residency program may be emailed to residency@dzanchouse.org. You can keep up to date with Dzanc House events by following the venue on Instagram. 

"We want to do many things for the community at large and be a good resource for the arts community specifically," Moore says. "The possibilities are endless, I think."

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Photos by Doug Coombe.