At her first Detroit Institute of Arts exhibit, interdisciplinary artist and metalsmith Tiff Massey is shining with Detroit spirit. Titled 7 Mile + Livernois, the show highlights “Black Detroit” through large, “in your face” sculptures.
“It’s the most ambitious exhibition that I’ve created to date,” Massey says. “I came to seduce and to make you question why these objects exist.”
As one of few Black women in the nation holding a Master of Fine Arts in metal smithing, Massey’s work is about more than just craftsmanship. It sparks conversation and contemplation. Inspired by adornment, she crafts installations, public art, and wearable sculptures to honor Detroit’s evolving communities and the deep-rooted history of West African and Black American culture and style.
7 Mile + Livernois specifically honors the Detroit neighborhood where Massey grew up, which is at the heart of the city’s Black business and fashion district, often referred to as the “Avenue of Fashion.” The show explores themes of identity and self-adornment, speaking to the stories of local Black girls' early connection to jewelry.
“I wanted people to understand what I’m always gonna represent and that is Detroit,” Massey says. “People grow up all over Detroit, but I’m really trying to hone in on the specificity, the fashion, the drip, the neighborhood, paying homage to the Detroit that I know… Seven Mile and Livernois is home for me.”
She adds, “[The show] is really about how Detroiters adorn themselves. I have an extensive jewelry background and so just thinking about what objects we put on our body is something that I’ve thought about all throughout my art practice. Just stepping outside, you never know what type of fashion you’re going to see.”
As an artist from Detroit who makes art about its people and culture, Massey feels that being highlighted at the city’s primary art museum, one of the biggest in the nation, is significant.
“I’m a living artist and I am from the landscape,” she says. “It’s always important to acknowledge what talent you actually have surrounding you and nine times out of 10, a lot of the institutions do not do this, and so I’m definitely appreciative of the platform and the opportunity to show what Detroiters can do.”
Ahead of the upcoming exhibition, Massey anticipates the interest of art lovers, but her true hope is to draw in those less familiar with art to expand their perspectives. She’s unsure of how she wants her pieces to make people feel, but describes the show as an “exhibition of love,” with hopes that viewers connect with the work and share their thoughts with her afterward.
Looking forward, Massey plans to open her own community art center in the Seven Mile and Livernois area. She says it may be a while since “construction takes so long in the city,” but plans for the space are in the works.
Mainly, she wants to bring elements of her art practice to a physical location, not just the actual pieces, but the ideas behind them such as community engagement and public spaces. The artist feels that while the Avenue of Fashion has been getting more attention recently, it’s not getting as many resources as some larger “gentrified” areas of the city, so she wants to help fill that gap.
In the process, she ponders questions like: “What are the moods that are being created when we walk into a space?” “Who’s actually being invited because of the design of a space?” “Who’s being excluded?”
“How long are we just gonna keep forgetting about the hood?” she says. “We’ve seen design-oriented plans exhibited here in the city, so I’m just like, I think we could do this differently.”
Highlighting that Detroit was the first in the nation to be designated a “City of Design” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Massey feels that overall, the city and the people in it need to give themselves more credit.
She’s already ready for the next step.
“I’m ambitious. I’m always thinking how I can do things bigger than what I’ve done,” Massey says. “Detroit gets a lot of shade for a lot of things and we have talent in spades here, I think it’s really something in the water, and I just want people to have respect on our name, mine and Detroit’s.”
7 Mile + Livernois opens at the DIA on May 5 and will be on view through May 11, 2025.
