Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies

Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies, on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) from April 25 to July 12, 2026, is the first comprehensive retrospective of the Detroit artist, storyteller, and cultural historian Olayami Dabls. Spanning 45 years, it gathers his paintings, sculptures, installations, archival materials, and public works. Dabls, 77, is the founder of the Dabls MBAD African Bead Museum on Detroit's west side, where he has shared African art, jewelry, and outdoor installations for more than 25 years. His work, often made of iron, wood, rocks, beads, and broken glass, serves as a metaphor for the differences between African and European art over the past 500 years. The retrospective includes early works such as Feeling, a 1985 collage made when Dabls was the first curator and artist-in-residence at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Detroit Cosmologies was one of four exhibitions MOCAD debuted when it reopened in April 2026 following an eight-month renovation, under co-directors Jova Lynne and Marie Madison-Patton, who describe Dabls as a foundational force in Detroit's cultural history.