Exhibitions

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo were an explosive couple. He carried a pistol. She carried a flask. He romanticized Detroit. She rejected it. But what they shared was a belief in communism, a thirst for tequila and a passion for each other. Discover how they left their mark on Detroit. And how Detroit left its mark on their art. Exclusively on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit brings together nearly 70 works of art that depict the evolution of these two extraordinary artists’ careers, including eight of Rivera’s epic preparatory drawings for the Detroit Industry murals and 23 pieces by Kahlo, whose work has never before been shown at the DIA. Photography is not permitted in the special exhibition galleries.

New York street artist Caledonia "Callie" Curry, known as Swoon, has installed a 400 lb. 20-foot tall installation titled Thalassa in the Detroit Institute of Arts' Woodward Lobby. Thalassa is on view from Sept. 24, 2016 through June 24, 2017.

The Edible Monument includes about 140 prints, rare books and serving manuals from the Getty Research Institute collection and private collections. The artworks illustrate in lush detail the delectable monuments and sculptures made of food that were an integral part of street festivals as well as court and civic banquets in Europe in the 16th to 19th centuries. The exhibition has been organized by the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles.

The annual Detroit Public Schools Student Exhibition features hundreds of imaginative works created by Detroit Public Schools Community District students in grades K-12, ranging from paintings, prints, drawings, photography, ceramics, videos, jewelry and more. 

Explore powerful artworks by African American artists who formed collectives during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. These collectives, made up of artists working together in distinct groups, created art specifically for African American audiences that asserted black identity and racial justice.