Hilos de Identidad:
Latino Voices of Detroit

September 18 through December 12, 2026
Opening reception: Friday, September 18, 5-8PM

Rooted in the heartbeat of close-knit barrios, spaces shaped by tradition, family, memory, and mutual care, Latino artists living and working across Detroit transform the uncertainties of everyday life into bold declarations of presence and pride. Hilos de Identidad: Latino Voices of Detroit honors the ways art becomes refuge and resonance: the vibrant colors of celebration, the weight of untold stories, all held within a city already defined by resilience.

This exhibition celebrates the impact of Latino artists, carrying their cultural inheritance and artistic legacy into a space where the city’s past and future intersect, contributing to the city’s ongoing transformation. At a time when identity and belonging are increasingly called into question, their work becomes a cultural footprint in motion. 

Exhibition includes work by the following artists:
Diana Alva, Peter Daniel Bernal, Elton Monroy Duran, Jacinto Herrera, Mary Laredo Herbeck, Alvaro Jurado, Kimbery Lavone, Juan Martinez, Nora Chapa Mendoza, Ivan Montoya, Irene Perez, Dalia Reyes, Julianna Sanroman Rojas, George Vargas, and Vito Valdez

Works by Brendan Fernandes

curated by Kelly Kivland

February 5 through April 24, 2027
Opening Reception: Friday, February 5, 5-8PM

Brendan Fernandes (b. 1979, Nairobi, Kenya) is an internationally recognized Canadian artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Currently based in Chicago, his practice addresses issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest, and other forms of collective movement. Constantly seeking to create new spaces and forms of agency, Fernandes’ work often takes on hybrid forms: part ballet, part queer dance party, part political protest always rooted in collaboration and fostering solidarity. Fernandes is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program (2007) and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Robert Rauschenberg Residency Fellowship (2014), a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2020), an Artadia Award (2019), a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant (2019), and most recently, the Platform Award (2024). In 2024, he was also honored with the Creative Voice Award by Arts Alliance Illinois. His work has been presented at prestigious venues such as the 2019 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), among many others. Fernandes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Theory, and Practice at Northwestern University. He is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago and Susan Inglett Gallery in New York. Recent and upcoming projects include performances and solo presentations at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (St. Louis, MO), the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (Denver, CO), the Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA), and Prospect.6 (New Orleans, LA). In spring 2026, a major new commission and solo exhibition will debut at the Art Denver (Denver, CO), the Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA), and Prospect.6.

ART DEPARTMENT GALLERY

Crossroads: the Intersection of Black Family Culture

Curated by Sydney G. James
September 11 through October 16, 2026
Reception: Friday, September 11, 5-8PM

Crossroads: Intersections of Black Family Culture is an interdisciplinary traveling group exhibition that explores the cultural significance of Black family dynamics in the Americas, which evolved from centuries of resilience against slavery, colonialism, and systemic oppression.

In response to forced separations and disrupted biological ties, Black communities developed unique family structures centered on communal relationships, extended networks, and collective responsibility. These adaptations include fictive kinship, where non-biological relationships hold familial status, exaggerated kinship and kinship care, where community members share child-rearing responsibilities beyond traditional nuclear family models. 

This exhibition in its current form is from a Great Migration Detroit community lens.Originally debuted at the Muskegon Museum of Art, December 2025, the show has evolved and expanded featuring additional artists with familial and community ties. Black family culture's emphasis on mutual support, interconnectedness, and shared responsibility serves as both a survival strategy and a form of resistance against systemic devaluation. Crossroads: Intersections of Black Family Culture examines the cultural framework that remains foundational to Black identity and celebrates community strength while preserving a rich cultural legacy deeply rooted in the African diaspora.

Exhibition includes work by the following artists:
Habacuc Bessiake, Judy Bowman, Camille Ann Brewer, Halima Cassells, Cydney Camp, Elonte Davis, Danielle Eliska, Asukile Gardner, Saffell Gardner, Lamar landers, Sydney G. James, Gregory Johnson, Richard Kinney, Richard Lewis, Hubert Massey, Justin Milhouse, Sabrina Nelson, Jonni Paige, Senghor Reid, Ashlee Royster, Kavonna Smith, Lina Stephens, Marian Stephens, Ashley Stevenson, Sterling Toles, Hilda Vest, and Shirley Woodson-Reid