Make art, not war! Spring art exhibitions open in Detroit this April and beyond. They seem to share the theme of healing and learning from our own communities. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) and Ferndale’s M Contemporary art are helping us process the past and present through highly creative minds.
After the firing of its former executive director in July 2020 over allegations of a toxic work environment, MOCAD is embodying the rebirth of spring. Cara Courage, the former head of the Tate Exchange art space in London stepped in as new executive director in February of 2022.
Spring is truly a new start with brilliant ideas coming to life. Detroit is keen on preserving, whether it’s physical buildings or cultural preservation. Detroitisit rounded up a lovely list of Spring and summer art exhibitions open in Detroit and the metro area.
FERNDALE’S M CONTEMPORARY ART
Detroit artist Tony Rave will bring his latest show, Politics as Usual 2, to Ferndale’s M Contemporary Art. Local Detroiters are surrounded by an incredibly creative community, highlighting an authentic community. Home for some of the region’s most talented, provocative, and boundary-pushing visual artists working today. Tony Rave’s Politics as Usual 2 opens at in April. Click HERE for more info. Located at 205 East 9 Mile, Ferndale, MI 48220. Also running in April and May: GILDA SNOWDEN’s Self-Portraits (APRIL 29 – MAY 28, 2022) and DON KILPATRICK’s Process/Progress (MARCH 25 – APRIL 23, 2022)
PHOTO CARLOS CORONADO / UNSPLASH
HEALING ROOM AND PERCUSSION IN SHADOW & DIMENSION
Experience a fresh start to the year with MOCAD’s spring launching of four new exhibits — including two with a musical focus. Detroit artist Sterling Toles will have his first solo exhibition at MOCAD in his hometown. The Healing Room is an “interactive experience, intended for visitors to engage with sounds from Detroit. The museum will also exhibit Percussion in Shadow & Dimension. Toles used healing concepts through paintings, sculptures, textiles, and videos to explore the genres of jazz, hip-hop, and techno. Healing Room and Percussion in Shadow & Dimension are scheduled to open in April, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, and run through August. Click HERE to learn more. information.
STABLEHEED’S ‘A LOOK AT’ FILM SERIES
Cheers to The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit re-opening for its spring season! Join them for art shows on Friday, April 8. One of the first exhibits is a film series looking at Detroit’s underground art and party scene. Stableheed is a Detroit-based multi-disciplinary artist collective that aims to highlight Detroiters who make creativity a full-time hustle. Stableheed is the people behind the popular hip-hop DJ night House Party Detroit. The first two films in the series, Cyphers, and Parties will run at the MOCAD from Friday, April 8 to Sunday, June 12.
PHOTO BRANDON HOOGENBOOM / UNSPLASH
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
On Friday, April 8, 2022, from 6–8 pm, see the moves the teen art scene in Detroit is making. Spring art exhibitions in Detroit are opening with significant messages. Celebrate the talented young artists participating in MOCAD’s Annual Teen Art Exhibition. They creatively answer the existential question, Where Do We Go from Here? This exhibition with various forms of expression will be on view through April 29, during regular museum hours.
More information and a full schedule of exhibitions can be found HERE. MOCAD is located at 4454 Woodward Ave Detroit, MI 48201. MUSEUM HOURS: MON-TUE: Closed, WED, SAT, & SUN: 11 am-5 pm, THURS & FRI: 11 am-8 pm.
GROUND UP: REFLECTIONS ON BLACK ABSTRACTION
Another exhibit debuting on the MOCAD’s opening day is Ground Up: Reflections on Black Abstraction. You have all summer to view this special message. This private collection of work by ground-breaking Detroit artists like Charles McGee, Shirley Woodson, and Gilda Snowden, among others, is on view until Aug.14. More information and a full schedule of exhibitions can be found HERE.
