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.

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. 

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.

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.

In celebration of Dia de Muertos, the Detroit Institute of Arts, in partnership with Detroit's Mexican Consulate, invite you to explore a community exhibition of ofrenda altars

The DIA's new Japan Gallery explores the ways works can define a space as special, inspiring both stillness and movement in those who encounter the art.

One ticket sends you on two artistic adventures -- Church: A Painter's Pilgrimage and Monet: Framing Life. Travel to distinct places and time in history to experience the world as these two artists did.

This intimate exhibition focuses on the DIA’s only painting by Claude Monet — Rounded Flower Bed (Corbeille de fleurs), formerly known as Gladioli and recently retitled based on new research. 

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

Making Home: Contemporary Works from the DIA presents a range of works by artists from the DIA’s collections of Prints, Drawings and Photographs and Contemporary art that are concerned with idealistic representations of home. Around 50 works in a variety of media both affirm common symbols of domestic space and question popular ideas of home as a symbol of comfort, belonging and permanency.

Take a step back in time and celebrate the great American pastime of baseball at Play Ball! Baseball at the DIA, featuring items from the Michigan-based E. Powell Miller collection and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Take a unique journey into the Star Wars™ universe as characters are brought to life through a dramatic presentation of more than 60 original costumes. Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume will closely examine the captivating process of costume design for iconic outfits featured in the first seven films of the Star Wars saga—from Queen Amidala’s lavish gowns to Darth Vader’s imposing black armor.

Subjects from everyday life, local architecture and portraits are included in this exhibition that presents vernacular photography drawn from the DIA’s and private collections in the U.S. Vernacular photography is considered by museums and collectors as an “accidental” art form created by unknown and often untrained photographers. Rediscovered and recovered from flea and antique markets, online resale sites, in attics, yard sales or even found in the trash, vernacular photography speaks to past eras, people and place with a naïve or unintentionally artistic approach.

The DIA’s expanded Asian Galleries present works of art from the world’s largest continent, featuring recent acquisitions together with longtime DIA treasures coming back onto view. Joining the recently opened gallery for Japanese art are galleries dedicated to Chinese, Korean, and South and Southeast Asian art, and Buddhist art across Asia.

Honoring Detroit’s history of industry, modernization and the DIA’s vast permanent collection, artists Ruben and Isabel Toledo present a series of new works in Labor of Love. For this groundbreaking exhibition the Toledo’s mined the DIA’s world-class collection as inspiration for the creation of new sculptures, paintings, drawings, and installations. From Ancient Egypt through to contemporary art, visitors will delight in discovering the original Toledo creations placed near the works that inspired their conception. 

Explore the rich history of collecting of African American Art in the Detroit region by private collectors, featuring works by Romare Bearden, Al Loving, Charles McGee and Gilda Snowden. This exhibition will demonstrate local collectors’ interest in the diverse media, styles, genres, influences and subject matter that inspired them to collect art created by African Americans.  A catalog will accompany this exhibition.

Detroit designers have always led the way in car design. The futuristic concept cars, roaring muscle cars, and sleek racers designed in and around the city shape our ideas of what a car can be. Working on paper, in clay, and in metal, their ideas drive American car culture and inform the way we get around every day.