In 2004, founding board member Lauren Ciesa and his team at Ciesa Design, alongside the Downtown Development Authority and the city of East Lansing, started the first (SCENE) Metrospace galleries in an abandoned bank! This was founded in response to the “Cool Cities” initiative set forth by former Governor Granholm to support arts and culture in the cities across Michigan.
The name, brand, and original position of (SCENE) was all thanks to the hard work of Ciesa Design’s staff. For the first three years, Ciesa Design paid 100% of the gallery’s utilities and building repairs and when (SCENE) moved to Charles Street, Ciesa employees helped with renovations.