Olayami Dabls

Olayami Dabls came to the corner of Grand River & West Grand Blvd in Detroit 16 years ago with a vision to create a space for his community to understand the immense power of their African heritage. Housing 18 outdoor installations, Dabl’s MBAD African Bead Museum has become a revolution that sparks vital conversation with both local and global audiences.

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Elaborate and colorful beaded installation inside of Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum in Detroit, MI

Nichole Christian:

Nichole Christian is a  writer, creative strategist and Detroit native who began her career on staff for some of the nation’s top news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, The New York Times, and the Detroit Free Press.

She is the co-author of the award-winning public art book, Canvas Detroit and is currently the creative director, editor and lead writer for the Kresge Foundation’s annual eminent artist monograph series. Titles under her leadership include: The Culture Keeper (2022), celebrating the life and art of Olayami Dabls; A Palette for The People (2021), honoring painter and educator, Shirely Woodson; Wonder and Flow, (2020) honoring ceramicist Marie Woo, and A Life Speaks, (2019) honoring poet and activist Gloria House. Nichole has also been a featured arts writer for M Contemporary Art. She was co-director of Signal-Return’s  2022 year-long public arts project We ExChange, pairing 12 visual and literary artists.

Her writing appears in the books: Cypher, a poetry chapbook summer 2021, Portraits 9/11/01: The Collected “Portraits of Grief” from the New York Times; Dear Dad: Reflections on Fatherhood, A Detroit Anthology; and the online arts journal, Essay’d. Clients have included: the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Branch Museum, BBC’s World Book Cafe, Detroit Free Press Film Festival, Obsidian Literature and Arts Magazine, The Richmond Free Press, and the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation, to name a few.

Nichole holds a BA in journalism from Wayne State University’s Journalism Institute for Media Diversity. She keeps a camera, quick wit, and a yoga mat at the ready.

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