From Side Hustle to Center Court

Juliana visited the CN podcast studio in April.

Juliana Rabban’s Detroit moment

By Sarah Kittle

Detroit’s creative pulse has always been defined by reinvention—and right now, it’s beating a little louder with the rise of Juliana Rabban.

Known professionally as Just By Juliana, the 24-year-old Chaldean American artist is stepping into one of the city’s brightest spotlights yet: a high-profile collaboration with the Detroit Pistons as part of their annual 313 Day campaign, curated this year by Big Sean.

The project merges fashion, music, and visual art into a celebration of Detroit identity, with Rabban’s work sitting squarely at its center.

For an artist who built her brand from scratch, often quite literally painting late into the night, the moment feels less like a surprise and more like a natural next step.

“I believe in myself so much to where these opportunities don’t necessarily surprise me,” Rabban said. “It’s more like—yeah, this makes sense.”

A Style Rooted in Detroit

Rabban’s work is instantly recognizable: bold, layered, and alive with motion. Her signature collage-style compositions blend linework, hidden imagery, and cultural references into pieces that reward a second, and even third look.

That philosophy carries directly into her Pistons collaboration. The 313 Day design is packed with visual Easter eggs: Detroit landmarks, sports culture, and musical influences woven together into a single, high-energy composition.

“The more you look, the more you see,” she explained. “From afar, it’s this crazy graphic, but then you start noticing all the little details.”

That layered storytelling isn’t accidental. Rabban approaches her work with both artistic instinct and strategic precision, an approach shaped by her education at the College for Creative Studies where she studied advertising with minors in graphic design and entrepreneurship.

“I don’t just think creatively—I think commercially,” she said. “Who’s the audience? What do they want to see? How is this going to live on a hoodie or a hat? There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Detroit isn’t just a theme in Rabban’s work but rather the foundation of her story.

Long before brand collaborations and sold-out collections, she was a kid making art in her family’s orbit of local businesses. Her father, a business owner in Detroit, would sell her early creations in his store. Customers called in for custom work before she even considered art as a career.

“I was in elementary school making a couple thousand dollars,” she said with a laugh. “All that support came from Detroit.”

That early validation planted something deeper than confidence. It created a sense of responsibility to reflect the city back to itself.

“Detroit supported me before I even knew what this could become,” she said. “So it’s always had a huge meaning to me.”

Built on Community and Culture

Rabban’s identity as a Chaldean American artist also plays a central role in her journey. She credits the Chaldean community’s strong entrepreneurial culture with helping fuel her growth.

“The support is constant,” she said. “Every day it’s, ‘Can you paint this? Can you do that?’ That backing means everything.”

Rather than feeling pressure to represent her community, Rabban sees it as motivation.

“It’s about making my people proud,” she said. “I know they’ll back me no matter what.”

That same inclusive mindset shows up in her work. Whether she’s designing apparel or painting murals, Rabban intentionally creates pieces that resonate across age, background, and identity.

“I have friends of every race, every religion,” she said. “I want my work to reflect that—something everyone can connect to.”

Rabban’s career trajectory reads like a blueprint for modern creative entrepreneurship.

In 2020, a pair of hand-painted sneakers she posted online went viral, racking up nearly two million views. What started as boredom quickly turned into a flood of commissions, and eventually, a full-fledged business.

Since then, her work has expanded across mediums: custom sneakers, canvases, murals, apparel, and even unconventional surfaces like tequila bottles. Along the way, she’s collaborated with Detroit’s major sports teams, painted cleats for professional athletes, and built a loyal following.

Her 313 Day collection marked a new level of visibility and demand. The merchandise sold out before arena doors even opened, with fans scrambling to find her designs.

“People were running through the store looking for my pieces,” she said. “I still don’t have words for that.”

Despite the rapid rise, Rabban isn’t interested in staying still. She’s constantly experimenting—taking new classes, exploring different materials, and pushing beyond her established style.

“I think you don’t grow if you stay too comfortable,” she said.

Next on her horizon: expanding into large-scale murals across different cities, opening a collaborative studio space, and continuing to build her presence in the sports and fashion worlds. She’s also exploring ways to incorporate more cultural storytelling into her work.

And while she’s already collaborated with some of Detroit’s biggest names, she remains intentionally open-ended about what comes next.

“I just have so many ideas,” she said. “I’m going to let them unfold.”

For young creatives, especially within the Chaldean community, Rabban’s journey offers a clear message: drive matters more than permission.

“You have to prove it to yourself first,” she said. “If you put everything into what you love, people will back you.”

It’s a mindset she’s carried from her earliest days through college, through late-night deadlines, and now onto one of Detroit’s biggest creative stages.

In a city defined by resilience and reinvention, Juliana Rabban isn’t just participating in the culture, she’s helping shape what it looks like next.