The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is closing its major exhibition, "Anishinaabe Art: Honoring Tradition, Inspiring Innovation," this weekend. The show, which opened in October, is the museum's first significant survey of Anishinaabe art in three decades, featuring over 80 works from the 19th century to the present.
This exhibition's conclusion marks a significant moment for the institution and its relationship with Indigenous communities. It represents a long-overdue institutional focus on Anishinaabe artists and storytelling, addressing a historical gap in the museum's programming and highlighting the vitality and continuity of Anishinaabe artistic practice in the Great Lakes region.