The Metro: DIA to add Tiff Massey’s work to permanent collection
The Detroit Institute of Arts will acquire Massey’s “Baby Bling” and add it to the museum’s permanent collection, says museum director Salvador Salort-Pons. The DIA is reinstalling its African American collections to be adjacent to the famed Diego Rivera industry murals in October.
Tiff Massey Photo credit: Courtesy of Tiff Massey
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a world-renowned museum. But, but how many pieces in its collection are made by a Detroiter? Tiff Massey’s “Baby Bling” will soon be acquired by the DIA. Salvador Salort-Pons, the museum’s Director, told the Metro that the DIA is acquiring “Baby Bling” from Massey and adding it to the museum’s permanent collection.
“We are acquiring “Baby Bling,” and I’m very excited about this, and this will be on view in, I hope […] our contemporary wing, and I hope it will be part of the reinstallation,” says Salvador Salor-Pons.
Lots of people traveled and spent their weekends at the DIA over the past year. Tiff Massey’s “7 Mile + Livernois” wasn’t just an exhibit, it was an event for the culture. The exhibit represented Black Detroit in some of its rawest forms.
In 2015, the DIA responded to some critics who thought the DIA and other art institutions could do better to serve Detroit and Metro Detroit. In response, it created a Talent and Diversity subcommittee and later in 2020, created its inclusion, diversity and access or IDEA strategy.
Recent exhibitions like Massey’s “7 Mile + Livernois” suggest the strategy to make the DIA a more inclusive and representative space is working.
Museum Director Salvador Salort-Pons and exhibition curator Katie Pfol joined The Metro to discuss how the exhibition’s success marks a turning point for the Museum.
Salvador shared that the museum’s year-long showcase of the tiff Massey exhibit was just the tip of the iceberg.
The Detroit Institute of Arts plans to reinstall its contemporary African American galleries to a more prominent location in the museum in October. The new location will be adjacent to the renowned Diego Rivera court.
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