GalleryDAAS Opening Reception

The Department of Afroamerican and African Studies’ GalleryDAAS in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Cultural Centre of Detroit presents: "I wish you were here", a postcard project, which is curated through the Zimbabwe Cultural Centre of Detroit (ZCCD) in Partnership with the Ngz Mutare(National Gallery of Zim­babwe in Mutare), Zimbabwe.

Two border cities that exist as immigrant cities look at how postcards are seen as a memory of a space, and in this case, a fantasy of a space. Images of cultural or historical locations from one city are taken and sent to artists to illustrate from the other city more than eight thousand miles away. The postcards for the city of Mutare have been illustrated by Detroit artists similarly to the postcards of Detroit and Hamtramck where illustrated by artists in Mutare. The initial images where photographed by Aisha Saeed -Aisha Haji-Jama (Detroit) and @Abraham Mudefi (Mutare). This project is co-curated by Chido Johnson (ZCCD) and Elizabeth Muusha, the Regional Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Mutare.

Participating artists from Detroit: Stephanie Ann Buer, Julie George, Sabrina Nelson, Clinton Snider, Dylan Spaysky, Timothy van Laar, Fatima Sow Dawson, Faina Lerman

Participating artists from Mutare: Sharon Bilang, Bradean Chitenderu, Eben Gowero, Biggie Matore, Enock Matumbure, Kundai Annah Mharadze, Brendon Muchabaiwa, Christwish Mulunga, George Chimbadzwa

The exhibit will feature the original drawings for the postcards created, as well as other selections from the centre’s archive in Detroit. I wish you were here will run from September 13–November 14, 2018, Monday through Friday from 11am to 4pm.

The exhibit is in conjunction with another ZCCD project called “The Jit Exchange.” This project is centered between Detroit Jit dance and Zimbabwean dances derived from their Jit Music. More information on the project and participating artists look at http://zccd.org/projects/jit/ The performance will be at the UMMA Aspe, with musical support from SMTD students and alumni, and in collaboration with the Center for World Performance Studies.

The fall exhibit for GalleryDAAS & the Jit Exchange Performance are part of the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art’s exhibit of modern African artists “Beyond Borders: Global Africa”(August 11–November 25, 2018).

Zimbabwean Cultural Centre of Detroit (ZCCD) has been founded for and by artists living in Zimbabwe and outside its borders. The organization serves to dismantle naturally occurring as well as constructed boundaries, both physical and otherwise with a view to promote community with the global and local in mind. Recognizing our role as cultural ambassadors we endeavor to foster a culture of research, dialogue, and production across geographic boundaries of Detroit, Michigan and Zimbabwe. Our goal is to encourage strong ties between culture producers and residents in both Zimbabwe and Detroit acting as catalysts for critical artistic production as well as cultural exchange between these two diverse communities.

GalleryDAAS exhibits contemporary black visual art. Collaborating with artists, curators, critics and art historians as well as with DAAS/U-M faculty and students, the gallery celebrates and interrogates the creativity of artists of Africa and its diasporas, not only in our exhibitions, but through our artist residency program and by offering gallery-based learning opportunities for DAAS and the broader U-M community.

GalleryDAAS presents two or three exhibitions a year during the fall and winter semesters. The gallery is located on the ground floor of Haven Hall in Room G648.