During one of my recent weekly walkthroughs in the museum galleries, I noticed the continued excitement and interest connected to our current exhibition Tiff Massey: 7 Mile + Livernois. The exhibition space is always busy with students, community members, and visitors in general. Many take selfies in front of the works; others engage with our security officers by asking questions about the different pieces; and everyone walks around in wonder, taken in by the art’s beauty and scale. 

After one year on view, the exhibition will come to an end on May 11. Most of our audiences applauded the unique decision to keep the show open for so long. Our goals were both to recognize Detroit artistic talent at the highest possible level and to provide plenty of time for the community to learn, admire, enjoy, and rejoice in it. While we do not yet have the final numbers, our informed projection is that a quarter of a million individuals will have visited the show. Among them were thousands of K–12 students from the Tri-County area and beyond who, guided by our gallery teachers, found inspiration in Tiff’s creations—“She is one of our own. She made it, and we can too.” I am sure many of them, if not all, felt a similar sentiment as they stood in front of the artwork.

As soon as we close the show, the museum will enter a period of upgrades and reinstallations on the North Wing’s second floor. During the summer, we will start the process of transforming the galleries into a space where our artworks will shine in an engaging contemporary atmosphere. Everyone in the museum, directly or indirectly, is involved in this monumental effort. A lot of planning has already gone into it. During your near future visits to the DIA, you will encounter several gallery closures. At the entrances of these areas, you will find signs that say: Big changes. Bold art, along with a QR code that connects you to a dedicated webpage with current updates on the progress of this reinstallation effort. 

I want to thank you for your patience when visiting the museum with your friends and families. As we enter this May’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I   would like to remember a millinery Chinese Proverb, “Hao shi duo mo” or “Good things take time.” While we take this time and work hard, we do it for your benefit—to keep improving the visitor experience: to learn, to enjoy, and to celebrate art and all communities at your Detroit Institute of Arts.