Each year at the Detroit Institute of Arts, lifelong memories are made within the museum’s walls. Moments of inspiration and connection unfold as visitors wander through the galleries, take in new exhibitions, and participate in special events. As 2025 comes to a close, let’s reflect on the extraordinary moments that brought joy to those in Detroit and beyond.
The DIA’s reputation as a world-class institution was affirmed by tremendous media recognition this year. The New York Times featured the museum first among must-see destinations in its “36 Hours in Detroit” article, and HOUR Detroit named the DIA the city’s top museum—and the Detroit Film Theatre its best theatre.
The DIA continues to serve as a hub for community and connection through art. In 2025, nearly 550,000 visitors came to experience exhibitions, performances, films, artmaking workshops, and lectures. Almost 60,000 K–12 students and 235 senior groups enjoyed free admission and transportation to the museum, thanks to the tri-county millage. We also introduced new ways to make the museum experience more inclusive for all. Two new accessibility programs launched this year: quarterly Big Picture tours with American Sign Language interpretation and Sensory Friendly Saturdays in the Artmaking Studio. We also debuted a new series of engaging audio tours—including “Artworks to Inspire,” featuring vivid visual descriptions—available on the Bloomberg Connects app.
Our Tiff Massey: 7 Miles + Livernois exhibition, which concluded in May, welcomed nearly 225,000 people during its year-long run, many of them first-time guests. The closing celebration on May 9 drew close to 4,000 people to a joyful dance party on Woodward Plaza.
In September, the DIA opened its first Native American exhibition in more than 30 years: Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation (on view through April 5, 2026). The show presents Native American artistry as it has always been—alive, dynamic, and unforgettable.
Our annual community exhibitions continued to celebrate local artists, students and groups, featuring Ofrendas: Celebrating Día de los Muertos, the 4th Annual Wayne County High School Art Exhibition, and the 88th Annual Detroit Public Schools Community District Student Exhibition. This December, the 17th Annual Community Group Exhibition will showcase artworks created through long-standing partnerships with Detroit-area human service agencies.
As we celebrated the creativity of artists in our community, we also continued to expand the breadth of our encyclopedic collection. Over the past year, the museum acquired 83 artworks, including its first piece by surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, Landscape with Telephones in a Dish, and contemporary artist Titus Kaphar’s Will of the Father: James Madison, a powerful rebuke of slavery.
The DIA also extended its reach beyond museum walls through community engagement initiatives. The new In-School Art Experience brought artmaking directly to tri-county classrooms—reaching nearly 3,000 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students in six districts that face barriers such as distance and pandemic-related learning gaps.
In 2025, we collaborated with 27 community partners to install 250 Inside|Out reproductions in outdoor spaces across the tri-county region and worked with local artists and residents to create new Partners in Public Art murals in Chesterfield, Fraser, Lathrup Village, Southfield, Wayne, Dearborn, Trenton, and Pontiac.
Looking ahead, the DIA remains focused on the extensive North Wing reinstallation project that began in spring 2025. The reimagined African American galleries—now located at the heart of the museum beside Rivera Court—opened in October, with the Modern and Contemporary galleries to follow in 2026. These refreshed spaces will continue our mission to inspire, engage, and provide the best possible experience for every visitor.
As we enter a new year, our team is filled with gratitude, excitement, and a deep commitment to serving the community. Thank you for being part of this journey and for continuing to support your DIA.
