Artist Tiff Massey reclaims space and identity with new Detroit Institute of Arts installation
(CBS DETROIT) — A groundbreaking artist from Detroit is making history at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Furthermore, Tiff Massey isn't just exhibiting at the museum; she's rewriting the narrative of art, community, and identity with work that speaks to the heart of the city.
Massey's "7 Mile + Livernois" exhibition at the DIA explores the ways Black adornment tells a story, pulling inspiration from the very intersection that raised her. She says the ethos of the collection is to celebrate Detroit's culture and the conversations rooted in its streets.
"Hair is such a big part of Detroit's identity," Massey said. "It's like, we're the hair capital of the world."
Massey said that's why it was important to incorporate hair in her collection, weaving Kanekalon, a type of synthetic hair, into canvas, while fusing the art of painting with hairstyling.
One of the largest pieces on display is an installation called 'Whatupdoe," a necklace made from more than 10,000 pounds of stainless steel. For Massey, adornment isn't just about wearable jewelry — it's about space and representation.
"I know a lot of people have felt seen," Massey said.
That's something she hoped for while embarking on her most ambitious museum installation to date. The exhibition features new sculptures commissioned by the DIA in conversation with works by several other artists from the museum's collection.
"When the DIA asked me to participate, it was in response to their permanent collection," she said. "I chose two pieces from their permanent collection to respond to, and the two artists that I selected are in every contemporary art museum."
And Massey isn't backing down. Instead, she's leaning in, much like she did at the beginning of her career. Her love for metalsmithing started in high school, but it wasn't her first career choice. She went to school to become a veterinarian, studying biology and chemistry in college before rediscovering her passion for metalwork, an artform that would later lead her to become the first Black woman to earn an MFA in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art.
"I'm so used to being the first," she said.
And in being the first in a number of realms, Massey is undoubtedly reshaping conversations, reimagining space, and reinforcing that Detroit and Black artistry are here to stay, making her the epitome of Detroit Proud.
"I think the legacy is really developing these spaces that reflect what I've done at the DIA," Massey said, "for it to have a permanent space so we can always see reflections of ourselves."
Tiff Massey's "7 Mile + Livernois" exhibition is currently on view at the DIA until May 11.
