Our Brand Pillars
The Black Artists Archive (BAA) is dedicated to safeguarding the histories, artworks, and cultural contributions of Black artists and communities whose legacies have too often been overlooked, under-documented, or left at risk of loss. Through our Archive Initiatives, we identify, preserve, and activate endangered collections, cultural landmarks, and creative practices that form the backbone of Detroit’s—and America’s—Black cultural history.
Our approach goes beyond preservation. Each initiative is designed to return these histories to the people and places from which they came, ensuring accessibility through exhibitions, digitization, and community-centered programming. Whether rooted in sound, image, or mural, these archives are living legacies that continue to inform and inspire future generations.
Inaugural Archive Initiative
Spearheaded by archivist David Ellis, Vinyl Legacies marks the Black Artists Archive’s inaugural archival initiative and establishes the foundation for our long-term vision. At its heart is The Black Canon, the extraordinary collection of Detroit historian James E. Wheeler. With more than 12,000 vinyl records, Wheeler’s archive documents nearly a century of Black musical innovation, […]
Black Political and Material Culture
The Foy and Emma Lee McCarty Family Collection is a significant archive of Black political and material culture assembled by a working-class Detroit family deeply attuned to the historical moment in which they lived. Foy and Emma Lee McCarty emigrated to Detroit from Lynch, Kentucky, in the 1930s as part of the Great Migration, joining countless Black […]
Preservation Discussions
The First Steps to Safeguarding a Detroit Landmark of Black Arts and Heritage The Black Artists Archive (BAA) has been leading conversations with 48207–11 Grassroots Detroiters, the Eastern Market Corporation, Shirley Woodson-Reid, and other local collaborators to discuss the best strategies for preserving the historic mural at the former Campbell Elementary School, located at 2301 […]
Forthcoming
Preservando el Legado de la Dra. Lucile Cruz Arellano Gajec La iniciativa del Museo Indigenista está dedicada a salvaguardar y compartir la extraordinaria colección de la Dra. Lucile Cruz Arellano Gajec (1926–2019), una pionera historiadora comunitaria y organizadora cultural en el suroeste de Detroit. La Dra. Gajec pasó décadas recopilando, investigando y exhibiendo el patrimonio […]
Black Literary History
The Dr. Melba Joyce Boyd Literary Collection is an important archive of African American poetry, literary periodicals, broadsides, and related printed materials that documents the depth and vitality of Black literary culture in Detroit while situating it within a broader national context. The collection reflects Detroit’s central role in 20th- and 21st-century Black literary production […]
Set to launch in 2027, DUO is a three-month residency that will support artist/curator pairs exploring experimental and contemporary practices rooted in Black cultural frameworks while drawing from the Archive and the BCI.
