‘Can You Hear the Heartbeat?’
Pillar of Pontiac arts community leaves legacy of color
Robert Karazim, an architectural designer and revitalizer of Pontiac’s arts community, has died.
Karazim played an integral role over the past decade in laying the foundation for downtown Pontiac’s comeback through championing the arts, creating performance spaces and rehabilitating historic buildings. He co-founded two major art initiatives, Canvas Pontiac and Pontiac’s Little Art Theatre, in addition to serving on several city commissions.
Recognized just as much for his big personality as for his work throughout the city, those who knew Karazim are remembering him as a creative giant who made a lasting impact in the lives of many. He died on Jan. 9 from an illness at 67 years old.
A native of Royal Oak, Karazim was a dedicated maker from a young age, building his own motorcycles while attending the former Clarence M. Kimball High School. He briefly studied at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit before striking out on his own as an architectural designer and entrepreneur. He would go on to launch a design company, Structural Accents, in his hometown.
His career was rooted in an appreciation for historic architecture, a dedication to craftsmanship and an unwavering love of the arts, according to his longtime sweetheart and partner Karen Jorgensen.
“Robert was an artist in everything he did, he was really a master of combining form and function,” Jorgensen said. “I was very honored to be a part of his life and to be there to appreciate his talent and his passions.”
In 2002 Karazim opened K & R Studios, a historic property management business. The couple would move to downtown Pontiac eight-years later, at a time when the city was under emergency management and in financial hardship. Karazim became one of a handful of small business owners who sought to weather the downturn and create a change. Jorgensen recalls the over 160 broken street lights and empty sidewalks, and how Karazim was adamant that a revitalized arts scene was the answer Pontiac needed.
“His message, the message he wants me to continue to tell, is that the arts have to thrive. It’s the essence of life. If you have no art, you have no culture, you have no society,” Jor
gensen said.
Karazim, who served on Pontiac Arts Commission until 2015, found his first major art initiative in Canvas Pontiac. Teaming up with the former Pontiac Downtown Business Association, he worked with the Detroit Institute of Arts to create an annual art competition that would also shine a light on the business district. Artists submit their work for judging, win cash prizes and see their art installed in a prominent location on 8-foot by 10-foot canvases.
The first year drew a handful of submissions. In 2020, over 100 artists from around the U.S. vied for a spot on one of downtown Pontiac’s buildings. Karazim could be found each summer on a cherrypicker draping bare brick with colorful paintings and photography.
“Robert would always say: ‘You can never paint a room white — You have to put more thought into it than that,’” Jorgensen said.
That was a sentiment Karazim lived by in more ways than one, according to Glen Konopaskie, a longtime friend and former president of the Pontiac Downtown Business Association. When the program opened to local high school students, the team quickly found all the youth submissions were in black and white graphite pencil.
“Every year after, Robert made sure that if a school was participating, they got free paints, pencils, markers — That they had color. And then, those student’s artwork came to life,” Konopaskie said. “He understood the arts, and artists, and how important it is to find ways to keep the flame going in young artists.”
Following his work with the arts commission, Karazim and Jorgensen began work on establishing a new performing arts space in the city. The duo purchased a three-story historic building at 47 North Saginaw Street originally constructed in 1868. Having sat vacant since the ’90s, the rehabilitation of the building was a massive undertaking and, as Jorgensen tells it, a labor of love for her and Karazim. They received approximately $40,000 in grants for the project while funding the remainder themselves.
Pontiac’s Little Art Theatre held its grand opening in the spring of 2018. It was the city’s first fully historically-restored commercial building dating back to the 1860s, according to Konopaskie. It was also the first building downtown to receive a fresh, and colorful, coat of paint in years. Karazim served most recently as the vice chair for the Pontiac Historic District Commission until his death.
The theater ran regular performances, movie nights and other programming until the start of the pandemic. In the fall of 2020, Karazim launched what would become his final art initiative for the city of Pontiac — The Pontiac Little Art Theatre Performing Artists Project, a digital library showcasing local musicians, poets and comedians. In many ways, it symbolized the heart of Karazim’s life and work.
“He was someone who wanted the best for others, and art was the mechanism for him to show that,” Konopaskie said.
The City of Pontiac issued a resolution on Jan. 11 memorializing Karazim and honoring him for his work. It reads, in part, that Karazim “had an immensely positive impact on (the) city … and will be remembered by the entire Pontiac community as a dynamic, talented, passionate person who made a positive difference in downtown.”
Pontiac’s Little Art Theatre remains open at the hands of Jorgensen, Konopaskie and Lisa Mohler and Nancy Oeswein.
The venue is slated to hold its first event of the year next month, a Valentine’s day concert featuring Michigan musicians. Those passing by that night will hear more than just the music, they’ll hear the legacy of a man who devoted himself to rebuilding a city, said Konopaskie.
“We were walking downtown one night in 2012, when things were just coming back. Suddenly, Robert puts his arm out and stops us, and he asks, ‘Can you hear it? The heartbeat of the city?’” he said. “And there it was. A band practicing on the fourteenth floor, laughter in a brewery, people on the sidewalks. He heard this constant thrumming heartbeat that began, and we heard it too, and that is something that has fed us all ever since.”