The annual Gilda Snowden Memorial Exhibition is on at the Scarab Club in Detroit until April

April Anue Shipp’s fiber portrait of Gilda Snowden looks exactly how I remember her: warm and inviting with a friendly smile and greying locs falling around her shoulders. Vibrant patterns and flowers surround her, illuminating her bright personality and the joy she brought to nearly everyone she met.

Shipp’s piece, titled “Gilda,” is on view at the Scarab Club this month as part of the Gilda Snowden Memorial Exhibition. The annual showcase, previously known as the Silver Medal Exhibition, was renamed in Snowden’s honor following her unexpected passing at the age of 60 in 2014.

This year’s exhibit was juried by Michelle Perron and showcases a wide variety of mediums from local artists. Portraits hang among photography, landscape paintings, abstract art, quilting, and canvases covered in spray paint. It's on view until April 15 (and free to attend).

A quilt with the names of Black and trans people lost to police brutality and senseless violence sits across the room from a detailed painting of a cosmic void. There is no running theme, other than artistic expression.

“Gilda Snowden (1954-2014) was one of Detroit’s cultural anchors — a gifted and accomplished artist, beloved teacher, community champion, and mentor to thousands of young artists,” Perron writes in the exhibition description. “When she died, she left the city bereft — a gaping hole so big that it left the art community and its inhabitants forever changed.”

Standing in front of Shipp’s fiber Gilda feels as if you’re communing with the beloved artist once again. If you’ve ever met her, it’ll be sure to bring a smile to your face.

More information can be found at the Scarab Club’s website.

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