The Storytellers Hat: African American Art from the Teaching Collection of Catherine Blackwell
January 30, 2008 - June 1, 2008
DaimlerChrysler Hall · Chase Gallery

Catherine C. Blackwell is a retired principal of Bagley Elementary School who is held in high regard, in Detroit, Michigan. The Catherine C. Blackwell Institute of International Studies, Commerce and Technology (in Detroit) are her namesake. Her reputation as an educator is known for the collection of African art that she personally assembled during her travels to Africa over a period of some 40 years. Catherine C. Blackwell is not just a traveler; she's an explorer. Through her travels to Africa she accumulated art collections since the 1960’s.  Catherine C. Blackwell collection is the tangible result of her own life journey to explore new ways to expand the minds of "her kids". It was her idea that she did it at her expense.

The exhibition, The Storyteller’s Hat is named for the famous hat that Blackwell wear when she is about to tell a story.  Her students knew that once she dawned this uniquely embellished headdress, they were in for a treat.  The children would gather around her, and listen intently as she recounted to the stories of B’rer Rabbit and Anansi the Spider, anecdotes babout life that find their origins in, course, the heart of Africa. Also, included in this exhibition are handcrafted toys, African masks, sculptures, textiles, and paintings, as well as some of Blackwell’s personal African attire, adornment, and travelogues.

Visitors to the Museum will travel to Africa through the eyes of Catherine C. Blackwell.  Everyone will learn to love, respect, and appreciate her story telling of Africa.  

Textural Rhythms - Constructing the Jazz Tradition Contemporary African American Quilts
April 20, 2008 – August 31, 2008
DaimlerChrysler Hall · AT&T Gallery

Colorful, exhilarating, dynamic, and exquisite, are words that accurately describe the 64 jazz-themed quilts presented in this contemporary art exhibition. Curator, Carolyn Mazloomi, Ph.D., “unite[s] the two most well known and popular artistic forms in African American culture,” jazz and quilts. Textural Rhythms, brings together an extraordinary group of artists, renowned for their originality and quilt making skills. They include Michael Cummings, Edjohnetta Miller, Tina Brewer, Jim Smoote, and Detroit native Carole Harris. Viewers will experience a multitude of emotions, sentiments, and sensations, as one does when listening to the syncopated improvisations characterized by jazz. The companion book, Textural Rhythms, is available for sale in our Museum Store.

Picture Perfect: Zella’s Traveling Scrapbook The Legacy of Louise Lovette Wright Exhibit
March 28, 2008 – June 1, 2008
Coleman A. Young Exhibition Room

Documenting the past often happens when someone makes a conscious effort to preserve a family’s history. Picture Perfect: Zella’s Traveling Scrapbook, the Legacy of Louise Lovett Wright, is the result of such an endeavor. Zella Fredonia Powell Lovett, an educator, collected photographs, memorabilia, and other ephemera documenting her family and their journey dating from the antebellum period of the 1850s through the post Civil War years, up to the 1920s. Many of these revered items, including the original scrapbook and 80 images presented on nine freestanding banners, are included in this poignant presentation of survival and success. The curator, Stephanie Wright Griggs, is Zella’s granddaughter. She is also the daughter of the late Charles H. Wright, M.D., founder of Detroit’s African American Museum, and Louise Lovett Wright, founder of the Institution’s library.

Kinships and Connections: The Art of Asheber Macharaia
April 3, 2008 – July 27, 2008
Multi-purpose Room

Born Michael McCauley, Detroit native Asheber Macharia’s considerable artistic talents have spiraled into a fulfilling and successful professional career.

In this exhibition, Macharia presents more than thirty works of art from his extensive portfolio that explore how we are linked to our past, our family, and our surroundings. He shares his insights through ancient Egyptian motifs, vignettes of intimate family gatherings, and themes that examine the strength of the human spirit and connections to nature.