Past Exhibitions

Contemporary Artist Gallery (Multi-Purpse Room) Top
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 through Sunday, November 4, 2007

The Artists' Aesthetic: Contemporary Works by Donald Calloway, Henry Heading, Loretta Oliver, and Angelo Sherman

This eagerly anticipated group exhibition will feature more than thirty
works by native Detroit artists whose works have received national and
international recognition. These gifted artists have created truly
unique aesthetic visions using a diverse spectrum of styles and mediums.
Assembled for this show will be sculptural pieces made from found
objects by Donald Calloway, hand dyed fiber art by Loretta Oliver, mixed
media abstract works by Angelo Sherman, and oil paintings with
intricately carved wood frames by Henry Heading. The Artists' Aesthetic
will guarantee the viewer a stunningly beautiful visual experience.

Contemporary Artist Program

This unconventional gallery program allows both emerging and established African American Artists and Artists of African descent, in the Detroit region, to exhibit their artwork at CHWMAAH. Two-dimensional art (paintings, photography and other two-dimensional works) are exhibited in the museum's BCBS Gallery rooms. This gallery space is also used for facility rentals, including everything from corporate rentals to family reunion gatherings. Call 313-494-5817 for details. You can also email: artist program.

Coleman A. Young Gallery
On view through Friday, September 28, 2007

Celebrating Heritage: The Chris Webber Collection of African American
Artifacts and Documents

Chris Webber, an NBA star who hails from Detroit, Michigan, is also an avid collector of African American historical material. This exhibition presents select artifacts from his collection, which includes rare books such as a first edition of Phillis Wheatley's 1773 book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral; letters from George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington; and other significant artifacts. Webber hopes that by making these items available to the public, people, especially children, will gain a better understanding of the impact that these great luminaries have made on the lives of every American.

The presenting sponsors of this exhibition at the Wright Museum are DTE Energy Foundation and The McDonald's Owner Operators of Detroit.

In partnership with New Detroit, Inc., The Wright Museum is proud to kick-off the national tour of this blockbuster exhibition. The exhibit is a project of the American Anthropological Association in collaboration with the Minnesota Science Museum.

The RACE exhibit challenges visitors of all ages to think and talk about a topic that touches all of our lives every day. The museum visitor is encouraged to explore the science, history, and everyday impact of race. This 5,000 square foot exhibit is a powerful combination of artifacts, historic and contemporary photography, hands-on activities, and multimedia components. It addresses the topics of race and racism from t hree different perspectives. The three sections are interwoven and tell a compelling story of science with deep and lasting social impact.

• Science: In this section of the exhibit, visitors will discover that human beings are more alike than any other living species, and no one gene or set of genes can support the idea of race.
  
• History: Ideas about race have been around for hundreds of years, and they have changed over time. This section of the exhibit demonstrates that, throughout American history, economic interests, popular culture, science, politics, and the struggle for power have played a role in shaping our understanding of race.
  
• Everyday experience: Through race may not be a real biological concept, it certainly is real both socially and culturally. In the section of the exhibit, visitors will explore the personal experiences of race in our schools, neighborhoods, healthcare systems, sports and entertainment industries, and more.
  

The exhibit is funded by the Ford Foundation and the National Science Foundation. The presenting sponsor for the exhibition at the Wright Museum is the DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund. Other sponsors are the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry Ford Health System, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and GlobalHue.

DaimlerChrysler Hall • AT&T Gallery

"Absolutely Masterful: Great Artists in Detroit Collections"

January 14, 2007 – April 29, 2007

Organized by the Charles H.Wright Museum of African American History, this exhibition brings together approximately 70 works of twentieth century art created by African Americans, and housed in Detroit collections. Absolutely Masterful features the works of Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron
Douglas, Faith Ringgold, Hale Woodruff, Benny Andrews, and many more.

Coleman A. Young Exhibitions Room

"Peace Stools"

August 1, 2006 - May 22, 2007

Developed by art coordinators Deloris Flagg of McIntyre Elementary School in Southfield, Michigan, and Cheryl Heading of Coffey Middle School in Detroit, Michigan, this exhibition showcases the works of art created by 30 of their 5th, 7th, and 8th grade students. In this collaboration, the educators' objectives were to bring together students in the city and suburbs to work on an art project that incorporated African American history. They agreed that the topic would be about peace. During the course of one semester, each student selected an historical figure, event, or family member that had inspired him or her on that subject. With the help of their parents, the students conducted research, collected photographs and objects, and wrote narratives that they incorporated onto small wooden stools to create amazing collage-like works of history-based art. In addition to the children’s combined art/history projects, the exhibition features photographs and a video that documents the students as they engage in the various steps required to complete their peace stools.

DaimlerChrysler Hall • Chase Gallery Top

"Unmasked! Stereotypes in American Material Culture"

December 1, 2005- April 22, 2007

This exhibition explores stereotypical material culture manufactured in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth (and now manufactured in Japan). Produced since the demise of slavery these images attempted to impose a servile status on African Americans. Often grotesquely rendered, these figures presented as cookie jars, coin banks, tea cozies, ashtrays and the like, serve as points of reference for continuing discussions about asymmetrical racial status, stereotyping, and the uncritical acceptance of white material culture as black memorabilia.

"Lasting Foundations: The Art of Architecture in Africa"

September 28, 2006 - December 15, 2006

This exhibition, comprised of more than 120 photographs and artifacts from 13 countries, will introduce the viewer to the splendid architecture found in the west, east, central and southern regions of Africa. From the Dogon people of Mali to the Ndebele people of South Africa, facets of traditional culture continue to be preserved within the sculptural posts and intricately painted designs of sacred palaces, ceremonial dwellings and personal living spaces. These images and artifacts continue to convey the history, artistry and beauty of the African landscape and the diversity found within African societies.

AT&T Gallery "Shades of Greatness" April 17, 2005 - September 4, 2005

Developed by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in partnership with Ford Motor Company, this exhibition showcases 35 original works of art depicting the history of the Negro Leagues. This exhibition provides a thought provoking tribute to the strong-willed and courageous athletes that fought the prejudices of society by challenging the notion that they were unfit or not worthy to participate in America’s favorite pastime.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a not-for-profit organization devoted to the preservation of Negro Leagues baseball history, has organized this traveling exhibition and produced the accompanying publications.

Bank One Gallery Top "Tyree Guyton: An American Show" June 2, 2005 - October 30, 2005

Perhaps best known for his installation on Heidelberg Street in Detroit, Michigan, this local artist has taken a new direction in, An American Show. In this exhibition, he uses flags to test the boundaries of American social consciousness, patriotism, slavery, and religion. These banners, which embody the struggles of humankind, the vagueness and vastness of the human propensity for power and separation in spite of our collective need to identify with one another, also function as a medium for change.

This exhibition was organized by the Batista Gallery. This project is funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services by an Act of Congress, in accordance with the FY 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Bill.

Contemporary Artist Gallery (Multi-Purpse Room) Top

"Attracting the Gaze: Sketches and Mixed Media Paintings by Marcus Glenn"

August 10, 2005 - October 16, 2005

Native Detroiter, Marcus Glenn, creates works of art that are powerfully vibrant in color, composition, and the expression of the figurative form. His primary body of work called, "Flat Life," combines painting and sculpture, giving a more two -dimensional quality to his art. It is a technique that Glenn has been developing for several years. Through this signature style, the artist "attracts the gaze" of the viewer," and visually infuses emotion and rhythm into such themes as music, human emotions and memory. Marcus Glenn's work invites the audience to experience the vitality of life through the creative process.

Contemporary Artist Program Top
sponsored by MCACA

Lower Level Corridor

This unconventional gallery program allows both emerging and established African American Artists and Artists of African descent, in the Detroit region, to exhibit their artwork at CHWMAAH. Two-dimensional art (paintings, photography and other two-dimensional works) are exhibited in the museum's BCBS Gallery rooms. This gallery space is also used for facility rentals, including everything from corporate rentals to family reunion gatherings. Call 313-494-5817 for details. You can also email: artist program.

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