Visions of Our 44th President

Visions of Our 44^th President:

An Exhibition of Historic Importance

Groundbreaking art exhibit opens at The Wright Museum, to tour nationally

Visions of Our 44th President is on display NOW through August 4, 2013, and is free with museum admission, which is $8 for adults (ages 13-61), and $5 for seniors (62+) and youth (3-12). 

Admission is free for Museum members and children under 3.

The Wright Museum, located at 315 East Warren Avenue in Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am until 5 pm, and on Sundays from 1 until 5 pm.

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History premieres the Visions of Our 44^th President, a sculptural art exhibition on display now through August 2013.  Portraying a present-day historical achievement in African American history through contemporary art, including works by Tyree Guyton, Gale Fulton Ross, Faith Ringgold, and Kadir Nelson, this groundbreaking exhibit will become The Wright Museum’s first national traveling exhibition.

Visions of Our 44th President was created to honor and celebrate the historical significance of the first African American President of the United States, Barack Obama.  Forty-four busts were created from a model that served as a blank canvas, giving forty-four contemporary artists from across the country free reign to creatively interpret this milestone in American history.

 “After close study of each of the artists’ work, one experiences so many different emotions, understanding the artists’ talent, inspiration and creativity,” said Peter Kaplan of Our World, LLC, who collaborated with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on the exhibit.  He continued, “Some of the painted busts are thought provoking, serious and strong, some simply lovely and sweet; all are unique and revealing.” 

 In 2008, Kaplan represented an artist that created one of the official posters for the Obama campaign.  Through that association of creativity and purpose, Visions became Kaplan’s dream. It took four years for the exhibition to come to fruition, and Kaplan says the exhibition’s “integration of art, culture and promise are my passion.”