Detroit art venues celebrated during Black History Month in city-wide event

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Detroit's Black-owned and operated art galleries are being highlighted during Black History Month with an event called Sacred Spaces.

Returning for another year, Sacred Spaces is a city-wide, self-guided tour highlighting and promoting Black exhibitions, programs, and venues – held from February 1 through the 29th.

"It’s really is for me, personally, just a celebration of all the work that we’re doing to promote and sustain the arts in Detroit, and just the uniqueness of the Detroit ecosystem," said Misha McGlown, one of the organizers of Sacred Spaces.

Nearly 20 venues are participating in the event. The Liberal Arts Gallery on Gratiot, owned by Duane Belin, is one of them.

"It’s critical that we let people know that we do exist," Belin said. "I thought it was important that all the Black galleries come together, and we created a very cohesive set of programs that a collector, guest, viewer can just travel and see us at our best."

Each participating venue will hold special events throughout the month. The list of galleries that are a part of Sacred Spaces can be found here; visit each venue's website to learn more.

"I feel like with Detroit, it’s almost like a Black renaissance going on. I feel like (there's) a lot of opportunity here," said  Oshun Williams, a curator/ artist at Liberal Arts Gallery.

In 2023, the initiative was led by the Irwin House Gallery and Norwest Gallery of Art in collaboration with the Office of Arts, Culture & Entrepreneurship in Detroit.

"During Black History Month, I think it’s our time to really showcase who we are (and) the talents that we have," said Dominick Lemonious, a fellow artist.