Friday Night Live! Tunde Olaniran

Hailing from Flint, Tunde Olaniran is a creative force whose work spans music, dance, film, literature, and performance art. Filled with vibrant costumes and catchy lyrics, their performances are surrealist spectacle, blending genres like pop, dance, folk, hip-hop and R&B. Expect intricate dances, soaring vocals, throbbing basslines, and sweat-soaked sequins on the stage.

Olaniran's albums have earned critical acclaim from outlets including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and NPR. Their most recent album, Chaotic Good, features a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, the first original composition by the world-renowned cellist. Tunde has created impactful collaborations with artists such as Mona Haydar, adrienne maree brown, Nick Cave, and Esperanza Spalding. A 2017 Art Matters Fellow, 2019 United States Artist Fellow, and 2020 University of Michigan Artist-in-Residence, Olaniran’s work for PBS earned a Regional Emmy in 2021. In 2022, they premiered Made A Universe, an experimental short film and exhibition commissioned by Cranbrook Art Museum.

This Friday Night Live! performance is proudly presented as part of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Pride Month offerings.

Pride Themed docent-led guided gallery tours will be offered one hour prior to event start time, meeting at the DIA Woodward lobby entrance. The tours will be approximately 45-minutes in length.