The Tamesis
“Detroit is a city of relationships,” Jova Lynne, an artist, curator and co-director of the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art, told me on a cold December day. I was in town to see Detroit’s rapidly expanding art scene, and that much became clear to me. Collaboration isn’t just some buzzword, it’s at the heart of getting work done.
Lynne explains this as she shows me several pieces from an upcoming career survey by Olayami Dabls, a local artist and founder of the Dabls MBAD Africa Bead Museum, a cultural institution on Detroit’s West Side rooted in African materiality and storytelling. For years, Lynne had wanted to mount an exhibition of Dabbles’ work—paintings, sculptures, public murals, and assemblages made of wood, rocks, beads, mirror fragments, and other objects—but it was important to her to get it right.
“He’s a legend in Detroit, and he hasn’t had a solo show at a museum in over 40 years,” Lynne noted. She knew such an extensive exhibition would take time and require a lot of coordination.
But the collaborative effort paid off, with “Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmology” opening this past weekend as one of four exhibitions opening at MOCAD, which together open a new chapter for the museum and kick off its 20th anniversary.
The new exhibition coincides with the museum’s reopening after being closed for eight months for renovations. MOCAD’s main building, originally an automobile showroom built in 1907 by famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn, required upgrades to its HVAC system, roof, and reception desk, while a solid wall along bustling Woodward Avenue is now a giant picture window, giving passers-by a chance to glimpse the art from the street.
But the excitement over MOCAD’s reopening isn’t just about the building’s new look. Unlike the museums of other cultural institutions, this museum will be revitalized in 2020. The former MOCAD director was removed from his post following accusations of a toxic workplace and racial microaggressions. In 2023, Lynne Madison-Patton and Marie Madison-Patton were appointed as the museum’s new co-directors, and the pair have been instrumental in resetting MOCAD’s priorities—increasing efforts toward accessibility, civic engagement, and education in addition to celebrating local contemporary art.
