Mixing Metaphors: The Aesthetic, Social and Political in African American Art
Through June 3
Organized and sponsored by Bank of America, Mixing Metaphors is an exhibition composed of more than 90 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media works by 36 artists including Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.  The exhibition draws its inspiration from the different artists’ visions and their use of technique to convey compelling stories.  Body politics, race, class and gender are a few of the topics that surface in these works of art, which depict moments from the extraordinary to the mundane.  Some of the artists in this exhibition base their work on stories about family life or ideas about music and love; others document experiences that transformed the twentieth century and inspired the next generation.  Indeed, Mixing Metaphors will be a thought-provoking experience.  Click here to learn more...

Moving to His Own Beat - Fela: The Man, The Movement, The Music
EXTENDED BY POPULAR DEMAND: Now through June 17
Created in partnership with Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, this exhibit examines the life of Nigerian superstar Fela Kuti in the realms of music, culture, and politics, and preludes the arrival of the off-Broadway smash musical, Fela!, in February, 2012.  Fela's undying passion for African peoples, understanding of the power of art and politics, and unyielding struggle against the colonial forces in Nigeria during the 1950s and 1960s, solidified his legacy as a shimmering agent of change against the status quo.  He spoke out against the ruling government, returned to African traditions that had been interrupted during Colonialism, and brilliantly used his music as a medium for social change.  Always pushing the envelope, Fela infused traditional African highlife music with classical jazz and funk, which evolved into a unique sound that he called, “Afrobeat.”  The powerful music and social commentary found throughout his vast catalogue of recordings is indicative of his desire to help end oppression among African peoples everywhere.  Click here to learn more...

The Chris Webber Collection: Exceptional People During Extraordinary Times, 1755 - Present
Through September 2012
Chris Webber, Detroit native, National Basketball Association All-Star player (retired) and NBA announcer, collects rare artifacts that illuminate the lives and legacies of African American greats such as Phillis Wheatley, the first African American author; Rosa Parks , mother of the modern civil rights movement; civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others.  Viewers get a glimpse of their heritage and learn about a different facet of Chris Webber, basketball player, philanthropist, and collector of African American history.  Click here to learn more...

Great American Artists: Roots, Branches, and Seeds - Part I
Through April 29
This yearlong exhibition features the works of a consortium of Detroit artists in a three-part series. During the past several years, each artist has collaborated to complete a portrait of a group member and to document each other’s studio processes, techniques and themes. This cooperative provides the group a means of documenting and preserving each artist’s image and their careers.  In declaring themselves Great American Artists, they have set the bar high. The first installation features the art of Richard Lewis, Sabrina Nelson, and Gregory Johnson, and will be on exhibit January 12 - April 29, 2012.  Click here to learn more...