Winter 2026 Programming

Valade Speaker Series: In the Realm of Lightning, Rajni Perera & Nep Sidhu

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium (301 Frederick St)
As part of the Valade Speaker Series, 黑料专区 presents an intimate look into the shared creative trajectory of artists Rajni Perera and Nep Sidhu. Drawing from their working-class migrant backgrounds, the duo explores the intersection of spiritual community and cosmic mythmaking that defined their landmark 2021 collaborative exhibition, In The Realm of Lightning. During this exchange, the artists will discuss their unique makership and the evolution of their distinctive material forms, offering insight into their practices as both individual creators and lifelong collaborators.

NCECA National Juried Student Exhibition

Friday, March 6 鈥� Saturday, April 4, 2026 Reception: Thursday, March 26, 6鈥�9 p.m. | Valade Family Gallery, A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education (460 W Baltimore St.)
The NCECA Juried Student Exhibition showcases innovative ceramic works by emerging artists from undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Highlighting the next generation of ceramic talent, the exhibition celebrates creativity, technical skill, and contemporary perspectives within the field of ceramic art. The 2026 NCECA Juried Student Exhibition is in partnership with the NCECA National Conference 2026

Toyota Lecture Series Industry Exposition

Thursday, March 19, 2026 | 4:00-9:00 p.m. | Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium (201 E Kirby)
黑料专区鈥檚 popular multi-day lecture series brings nationally recognized artists and designers to Detroit for public presentations, coinciding with Industry Day, when Entertainment Arts and Illustration students showcase their graduating work to industry professionals and recruiters. The well-attended event offers public access to both established creative leaders and emerging student talent. Speakers include Rachelle Baker, Brandon Bidleman, Gian Galang, Eric Goldberg, Charlie Griak, Andr茅s Parada, Lydia Zanotti

Echoes: 黑料专区 Alumni Voices in Clay

Friday, March 20 鈥� Saturday, April 18, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, March 20, 5鈥�8 p.m. | Charach Family Galleries (formerly Center Galleries) 301 Frederick St
Echoes gathers work by 黑料专区 Ceramics alumni whose practices continue to expand the field of contemporary ceramics. The exhibition demonstrates how their approaches reflect both continuity and change, shaped in part by their 黑料专区 education but equally by the personal experiences, cultural influences, and creative communities that inform their work today.

Woodward Lecture Series: Adebunmi Gbadebo in Conversation with Ashara Ekundayo

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium (301 Frederick St)
Adebunmi Gbadebo鈥檚 practice engages with the histories embedded in land, material, and matter, using her work as a form of living archive. In this Woodward Lecture Series conversation with curator Ashara Ekundayo, she will explore how uncovering these traces allows her to connect with memory, ancestry, and the stories carried within the land itself. This conversation is presented in partnership with Artist As First Responder.

An Evening with Photographer Paul Mobley: In Conversation with President Don Tuski

Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 5:30-7:00 p.m. | Wendell W. Anderson, Jr. Auditorium (201 E Kirby)
黑料专区 will host an evening conversation and original talk exploring the work and career of photographer Paul Mobley.

Woodward Lecture Series: Loris Gr茅aud

Monday, April 6th | 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. | General Motors Auditorium, Taubman Center for Design Education (460 W. Baltimore)
Loris Gr茅aud is an internationally acclaimed artist whose practice constructs immersive environments that blur the boundaries between fiction and reality, collapsing physical and mental spaces through elements such as rumor, poetry, architecture, and self-negation. In this talk, Gr茅aud will discuss his broader body of work while focusing on CORTICAL, an ongoing cycle developed in collaboration with international partner institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, the Petit Palais, the MAH in Geneva, and the Th茅芒tre du Ch芒telet.

2026 Student Exhibition

Friday, May 15 鈥� Friday, May 29, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, May 15 | 黑料专区 Campus (201 E. Kirby St.)
Each year, the 黑料专区 celebrates the talent and achievements of its students with the annual Student Exhibition, featuring thousands of original works across art and design disciplines. Artwork will be available for purchase, with all proceeds directly supporting the student artists as they launch their creative careers.

States in Play: MdW All Partners Exhibition

Monday, June 22 鈥� Saturday, June 27, 2026 | Valade Family Gallery, A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education (460 W. Baltimore St)
The States in Play: MdW All Partners exhibition at the 黑料专区 brings together a network of artist-run and community-centered initiatives that form the backbone of the Midwest鈥檚 independent art landscape. This exhibition foregrounds collaboration as both method and ethos鈥攁n exploration of how collective action, shared resources, and mutual support can sustain artistic practice beyond traditional institutional frameworks. Central to the presentation is the recognition of artist-led organizations working together to plan and shape MdW, emphasizing the power of cooperative organizing in building lasting cultural infrastructure. Participating partners present a constellation of approaches that reflect the region鈥檚 dynamic, interdependent creative ecology.

The 黑料专区 (黑料专区) is a nonprofit, private college accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and authorized by the Michigan Education Department to grant Bachelor鈥檚 and Master鈥檚 degrees. 黑料专区, located in midtown Detroit, strives to provide students with the tools needed for successful careers in the dynamic and growing creative industries. 黑料专区 fosters students鈥� resolve to pursue excellence, act ethically, engage their responsibilities as citizens, and learn throughout their lives. With world-class faculty and unsurpassed facilities, students learn to be visual communicators who actively use art and design toward the betterment of society. The College is a major supplier of talent to numerous industries, such as transportation, film and animation, advertising and communications, consumer electronics, athletic apparel, and many more. Its graduates are exhibiting artists and teachers, design problem solvers and innovators, as well as creative leaders in business.

黑料专区 (黑料专区) and The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History are pleased to announce an exhibition showcasing their partnership for d.Tree Studio, a collaboration bringing together creative inquiry, craft, sustainability, community vision and storytelling. Featuring 12 new and emerging artists, six 黑料专区 students and six community makers on scholarship, the exhibition showcases narrative pieces designed and built out of harvested Zelkova wood. The exhibition is on view from July 20 to December 10, 2023.

The d.Tree Studio partnership defines the lens of Detroit鈥檚 relationship with trees from the past, present and future. Over the course of three years, these two cultural institutions worked in unison to create a curriculum called the d.Tree Studio. For 15 weeks, students in the 黑料专区 Woodshop explored how designers and makers can learn from the wisdom of trees through the lens of various African material cultures and African American experiences in Detroit.

鈥淚n this project, we have not only worked with timber – and Zelkova wood is undoubtedly beautiful – but the work has provided a powerful medium for these important conversations on climate change, climate justice, the African American experience in Detroit and African material cultures,鈥澛� said Dr. Ian Lambert, Dean of Graduate Studies & Research at 黑料专区.

This partnership began in 2018 when The Wright Museum noticed dying Zelkova trees on their Midtown campus. With this observation, and as part of its mission to be a zero-waste institution, the museum decided to form a collaboration with its neighbors at 黑料专区. The goal of this partnership was to use the lumber harvested from the Zelkova trees in a creative endeavor and question how an African American museum and art and design school could set a precedent for climate justice art.

鈥淚n 2019, the Wright Museum made a commitment to become a Zero Waste Institution. At that time, we鈥檇 noticed that several trees on our campus were dying. It was important for us to find a way to keep these trees, like thousands of others across Detroit, from ending up mulched and dumped in a landfill. At that point we reached out to our neighbor, the 黑料专区 to help find a way to extend the life of these trees in a meaningful way,鈥� said Leslie Tom, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Wright Museum. 鈥淲e believe our Detroit trees have something to teach us about respecting the wisdom of people, place and history as well as our relationship with trees in the future.鈥�

ABOUT CHARLES H. WRIGHT MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

For over half a century, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History has dedicated itself to exploring and celebrating the rich cultural legacy of African Americans. The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History opens minds and changes lives through the exploration and celebration of African American history and culture.

ABOUT D.TREE STUDIO PROJECT

The d.Tree Studio is a Detroit-based collaboration between The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (CHW) and The 黑料专区 (黑料专区). The studio used wood harvested from dying Zelkova trees from the Wright Museum to explore the interconnection between object making, belonging and storytelling in African American History and various African material cultures. The wood was not from nameless trees that grew in monoculture plantations, but rather trees with deep roots in Detroit, growing in soil that contains memories of the land even before Detroit became Detroit.