American Riad: a courtyard built for Detroit's North End

DETROIT. American Riad sits on Oakland Avenue in the North End, built around a central courtyard in the style of a Moroccan riad. Artist Christopher Robbins, the group Ghana ThinkTank and neighborhood residents built it on land now held in a community land trust.

Jamii Tata, president and CEO of the Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition, runs programs there: artist residencies, mosaics, woodworking, sidewalk art, youth workshops, literary nights and music. It's also a stop on the annual North End Urban Expressions Art Festival.

"Once you get up one thing, keeping it and maintaining it is hard," Tata says.