Our Mission
The mission of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is to present art at the forefront of contemporary culture. As a non-collecting institution, MOCAD is responsive to the cultural content of our time, fueling crucial dialogue, collaboration, and public engagement.
Our Space
Located on Woodward and Garfield between the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Institute of the Arts, Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies, the museum is an innovative addition to Detroit's Cultural Center, and functions as a hub for the exploration of emerging ideas in the contemporary arts. The 22,000 square foot building, a former auto dealership, has been simply renovated to maintain it's historic character. With its raw, flexible and cavernous spaces, the building is well suited to the exhibition of contemporary art. Our ambitious series of public programs includes lectures, musical performances, films, literary readings and educational activities for children.
The MOCAD Store includes merchandise not sold in the metropolitan area, including specialized art and culture magazines, journals and books, as well as limited edition artists t-shirts and other functional objects. The MOCAD Café has an emphasis on organic food, unique sandwiches, desserts and coffees and provides a space for conversations and meetings.
Our Exhibitions
MOCAD's first exhibition opened in October 2006 and was organized by renowned curator Klaus Kertess, whose Bykert Gallery launched the careers of such contemporary masters as Chuck Close and Brice Marden in the late '70s and who curated the Whitney Biennial in the '90s. Titled Meditations in an Emergency, it included installations by nine artists, Mark Bradford, Barry McGee, Roxy Paine, Jon Pylypchuk, Paul Pfeiffer, Tabaimo, Kara Walker, Nari Ward and musician Christopher Fachini. MOCAD's second exhibition, Shrinking Cities opened in February 2007 and was curated by the German Cultural Federation. Organized as a collaboration between MOCAD and the Cranbrook Art Museum, it explored the themes of global urban depopulation and the relationship between cities and the suburbs, using case studies from Germany, England, Russia and the United States. MOCAD's third exhibition, STUFF: Contemporary Art from the Collection of Burt Aaron, explored cutting-edge art on the cusp of today’s society. Selected from one man’s collection, the STUFF show sought to provide a window into both one person’s private collection, as well as provide a look into what is going on in the contemporary art world at this moment. From September 15, 2007-January 20, 2008 MOCAD presented Words Fail Me, a show exploring contemporary text-based art, curated by Matthew Higgs, Director of White Columns in New York.
From February 8 – April 20, 2008 MOCAD hosted two exhibitions: Holy Hip-Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid, featuring twelve Old Master style portraits of hip hop icons, and ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo, exploring the work and process of the founder of the high fashion house Comme des Garçons, and was accompanied by a robust series of public programs, including artist talks, music events, film screenings and performances.
Source: MOCAD
