After an eight-month closure for construction, Detroit’s Museum of Contemporary Art is open for visitors to experience again. MOCAD’s 2026 Spring Exhibition features four new exhibitions, as the museum celebrates its 20th year of operation.
To honor the milestone, Mayor Mary Sheffield toured the exhibitions and posed with museum leaders at a media preview on April 23.
“Art is a way for us to come together, to collaborate, to educate; art is healing,” Sheffield said to the group of reporters. “I think [MOCAD] brings a lot of benefits to our city and gives the opportunity [of] access for everyday Detroiters.”
Inside the Upgrades
MOCAD closed last year on Aug. 25 for “phase one” of its construction. Now, for the first time, the building has an HVAC system. Other additions include a new educational space for young visitors, and new windows — which add a lot of natural light.
“A lot of times, we’ve heard ‘What’s that black building? It looks interesting, but what’s in there?’” says Marie Madison-Patton, museum CEO and co-director. “Now, people can walk down the sidewalk and see exactly what’s in here, and hopefully that will entice them to come in.”
Phase two of the construction is expected to begin in the fall. Additions during this time will start with a new parking lot and eventually include an outdoor music space and new kitchen area.
Near the entrance on Garfield Street, metal lettering on the facade reads “Julia Reyes Taubman Building.” The building has been renamed after the late author, photographer, and philanthropist, who co-founded the museum in 2006. The new name also recognizes contributions made by the Taubman and Reyes families that made the renovations possible.
MOCAD says it raised nearly $3 million for first phase of construction. This came from a $1.8 million donation by the Reyes and Taubman families, as part of a larger multi-phase $5 million pledge to the museum. Additionally, nearly $1 million came from board members and other donors. The Knight Foundation also committed $2 million toward the full project, according to MOCAD.
What’s on Display This Spring
Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies
April 25-July 12
Olayami Dabls, who turns 78 this year, is a prolific artist, storyteller, and founder of Detroit’s MBAD African Bead Museum. Detroit Cosmologies is the first extensive retrospective on his near-50-year career. The exhibition, located in the museum’s Woodward gallery, chronicles his personal history and the evolution of his art.
“Olayami Dabls is one of the most influential Detroit artists of our time,” says Jova Lynne, MOCAD co-director and artistic director. “Showing the breadth of impact he’s had on the city is phenomenal.”
Numerous works in the exhibition are signed James A. Lewis — Dabl’s birth name, which he used earlier in his career. From the mid-’70s through the ’80s, he favored acrylic painting. His style during this time was primarily figurative. His paintings were frequently set in Detroit and had political themes, depicting the struggles faced by Black community.
“It felt exciting to be able to show folks …some of [Dabls’s] lesser-known work,” Lynne says.
In the mid-’80s, Dabls’s style became more abstract. He began incorporating collage and experimental techniques. This is also when he began to develop a new identity. “Dabls” is a combination of his first three children’s names (Davida, Alake, and Bakari); and their surname Lewis. He would eventually combine it with “Olayami,” a Nigerian name meaning “I am worthy of wealth.”
His new identity and style drew influence from his years of studying African culture. This became a strong interest while he worked at the International Afro-American Museum, now known as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. He also began collecting African beads around this time. One of the installations, Beads that Speak, invites guests to touch beaded necklaces, and ask “What feelings arise?”
Dabls will appear at MOCAD for an artist talk on Saturday, April 25 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Carole Harris: This Side of The River
April 25 – June 21
The uniquely patterned quilts hanging in the front gallery are the work of fiber artist Carole Harris, a Detroit native. This is the first comprehensive museum exhibition dedicated to her art, which she’s been creating for nearly five decades. In addition to her fiber works, Harris spent many years as a designer, which visitors can learn more about in a display case.
“Her legacy in this city is entangled with craft, but also this beautiful, rich contribution to the design world that she also has,” Lynne says. “For example, she was the designer of the 1989 SMART buses, which is a super amazing, incredible thing to have done.”
Though abstract, her quilts tell unique stories, many of which are rooted in Detroit. For instance, Before the Freeway (2008) drew inspiration from the memory of the city’s once-thriving Black Bottom neighborhood. Along with Paradise Valley, the area was replaced under the guise of “urban renewal” by the Chrysler Freeway and Lafayette Park.
“Carol and Dabls also have previously exhibited together, so it’s amazing for them to have solo shows at the same time,” Lynne says.
Martha Mysko: Retail Therapy
April 25-June 21
Martha Mysko is the current artist-and-residence and co-head of painting at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Retail Therapy is her first solo museum exhibition. It is located in the central gallery, between Carol and Dabls.
“Martha is here as kind of a younger, more emerging bridge between the exhibitions, which is really exciting for us,” Lynne says.
Retail Therapy is three-dimensional. Mysko assembles thrifted and found objects, pastel colors, light, and paintings. With the installations, Mysko intends to capture the aesthetics of “American strip malls, retail displays, sitcom sets, and suburban nostalgia,” according to the artist statement.
Loris Gréaud, Cortical: Smoke+Mirrors
April 25 – June 14
French conceptual artist Loris Gréaud has transformed Mike Kelley’s Mobile Homestead into a “luminous projection device,” which can be viewed outside at night. It features infrared footage Gréaud captured at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, when it was empty in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The footage was meant to “capture the aura of the works and objects in the absence of any human presence,” according to the artist statement.
Following a ticketed reopening preview and party on April 24, MOCAD officially opens to the public on Saturday, April 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information and hours, visit mocadetroit.org
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