Current Exhibitions

The first exhibition in the Wayne County History Project features Redford, Westland, Livonia, Garden City, Inkster, and Wayne. Explore powerful stories of innovation in Garden City, resistance in Inkster, and transformation in Livonia and Redford. Discover how neighborhoods blossomed through agriculture, industry, migration, and the fight for civil rights. 

During the 1990s, the Black queer community in Detroit struggled with the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the rampant discrimination they experienced in housing, employment, and everyday circumstances. The community lacked a space to gather together.

In 1995, activists met in a one-bedroom apartment at John R and Elizabeth Street, now the site of Comerica Park, to introduce a new celebration that brought Pride back to Detroit. 

From the earliest days of fandom to the rise of iconic superheroes and gritty anti-heroes, Detroit has been a quiet but powerful force in shaping comic book history. Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story shares the histories of the iconic characters and local creatives who helped define the modern world of comics.

Learn about the story of Christopher Street Detroit ’72, the first-ever LGBTQ+ pride celebration in Michigan held over 50 years ago, through a full-color, nonfiction comic book by freelance illustrator Isabel Clare Paul and historian Tim Retzloff. 

The Detroit River has been a hub of powerboat racing since 1916 when Detroit hosted its first Gold Cup.

Learn more about Detroit's 100+ year history of racing - from early powerboats to modern hydroplanes - in this exhibition, created by Wayne State University history graduate students Connor Chapman, Kit Hishmeh, Zahrah Koch, and Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo. 

Detroit's modern urban farms provide fresh produce to schools, restaurants, and stores. In 2023, the city even created the Department of Urban Agriculture, bolstering Detroit's thriving food network. However, Detroiters have a long history of growing their own food.

This exhibition, created by Wayne State University history graduate students Ryan Baker, Nalissa Dace, Amanda Miller, and Rebecca Phoenix, shows how in feast or famine, Detroit’s urban farmers have managed to get out there and grow.  

Working in disciplines ranging from calligraphy to photography; from illustration to letterpress, Ralph Rinaldi (1945-2022) deployed all of these abilities in support of the arts in his beloved Cass Corridor neighborhood.  

See letterpress and posters created over Rinaldi's career in this new exhibition, which also recalls legendary Cass Corridor institutions, artists, and musicians.

Join us as we celebrate a decade of preserving and amplifying Black Detroit’s history in this 10th Anniversary Exhibit that highlights the journey of Black Bottom Archives through zines, podcasts, photos, and interactive displays. Learn how the organization went from Pedal to Porch to the Black Bottom Street View exhibit and explore how BBA has grown as a hub for community memory and advocacy. Celebrate the past, engage with the present, and imagine the future!