We are excited to announce that the Detroit Institute of Arts has recently acquired four works from Art Is... (1983/2009), a landmark photographic series by artist Lorraine O’Grady (1934–2024). Originally conceived as a performance during Harlem’s African-American Day Parade in 1983, the work challenged traditional boundaries between art and everyday life, inviting parade spectators to see themselves within gilded frames and become part of the artwork.
Through this participatory gesture, O’Grady expanded ideas of artistic authorship, visibility, and representation. These newly acquired works will be on view as part of the DIA’s reimagined contemporary galleries, joining more than 120 artworks that explore the transformative power of art, resistance, and reinvention.
This project marks the Detroit Institute of Arts’ first comprehensive reinstallation of its contemporary galleries since 2007, showcasing more than 120 artworks from the 1950s to today. Featuring local artists in every gallery alongside art made across the world, the 10 galleries each explore distinct themes, including history and memory, media and politics, and the transformative power of love and loss.
Anchored by returning favorites and significant recent acquisitions, the reinstallation puts Detroit at the heart of the DIA’s vision for contemporary art, recognizing the city as a vital creative center engaged in a global conversation about art’s role in resistance, reinvention, and revolution. Throughout the galleries, artists emerge as visionaries and changemakers, creating work that encourages us to think deeply, act boldly, and collectively reimagine our shared future.
