Aug 13, 2025 - Culture

Frame Work: DIA's Native American art exhibition

Annalise Frank

Two artworks side-by-side; left shows a purple mermaid figure with swirling hair and tail, rising from blue waves with yellow sun rays behind, dark blue background. Right depicts two punk figures, blue outlines, yellow eyes, and teal jackets against vibrant red background. — "She Loves" by Jessica Leigh Gokey (left) and "Punk Rockers" by Norval Morrisseau. Photos: Courtesy of the artist (left) and the estate of Norval Morrisseau

The Detroit Institute of Arts is debuting its first major Native American art exhibition in over three decades.

The big picture: The exhibition features 90 works from more than 60 Anishinaabe artists from Michigan and elsewhere in the Great Lakes region.

The DIA sees it as one of the biggest contemporary Native American art exhibitions in the Midwest.

Between the lines: One goal of the curators and artists was to challenge perspectives on what Native American art should look like and how it should be interpreted.

Anishinaabe refers to a diverse group of Indigenous peoples in the northern U.S. and Canada around the Great Lakes.

What they're saying: "We have worked together to ensure that this exhibition represents the diversity and dynamism of contemporary Anishinaabe art while honoring the cultural traditions from which these works originate," Denene De Quintal, DIA assistant curator of Native American art, said in a news release.

The exhibition came to life with guidance and trust from an Anishinaabe advisory board and the artists, per De Quintal.

If you go: The museum show is on display from Sept. 28 to April 8, 2026.

As always, admission is free for Macomb, Oakland and Wayne county residents. Admission for others is $20.
Hours are 9am-4pm Tuesday-Thursday, 9am-9pm Friday and 10am-5pm Saturday-Sunday.

Add Axios on Google

Frame Work: DIA's Native American art exhibition

More Detroit stories