ISSUE 010_SPRING 2024

After a three year hiatus, Detroit Cultural returns to its mission of exploring the social and political responsibilities of cultural production. Our tenth issue features a collection of interviews with artists and archivists who share overlapping interests in historical preservation, the role of art in establishing historical narratives, and the power of culture to shape the ways in which we see and understand the world around us.

We spoke with Detroit based artist Tiff Massey, whose new exhibition 7 Mile and Livernois opens at the Detroit Institute of Art on May 4. Massey is the youngest artist to have shown a solo exhibition at the DIA in the museum’s history.

We also spoke with Marcia Black, the Director of the Black Bottom Archives, a community driven media platform who is working to archive both local Black history and contemporary narratives through digital storytelling, art, journalism, and community organizing.

Pennsylvania based artist Mark Thomas Gibson spoke with us regarding his recent exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, A Retelling, and the power of art to remake histories.

Mario Moore, the artist and co-curator behind the Cranbrook exhibition Skilled Labor: Black Realism in Detroit talked with us about the makings of the exhibition and the role of realism in contemporary art.

And lastly, Chicago based interdisciplinary artist Jefferson Pinder spoke with us regarding his recent exhibition Weapons and White Music at the Wayne State University Gallery, exploring the inherent political power that lies within pop culture even when it appears the most innocently apolitical.

CONTENTS


7 MILE AND LIVERNOIS:

IN CONVERSATION WITH TIFF MASSEY


“PRACTICES OF CULTURAL MEMORY”:

IN CONVERSATION WITH MARCIA BLACK OF BLACK BOTTOM ARCHIVES


“A RETELLING” HISTORY PAINTING IN THE 21ST CENTURY:

IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK THOMAS GIBSON


“SKILLED LABOR” THE SOCIAL ROLE OF REALISM IN CONTEMPORARY ART:

IN CONVERSATION WITH MARIO MOORE


“WEAPONS AND WHITE MUSIC” THE WEAPONIZATION OF CULTURE:

IN CONVERSATION WITH JEFFERSON PINDER

(CULTURAL) X (SOCIAL) X (POLITICAL)