African Bead Museum founder Dabls is 2022 Kresge Eminent Artist

[Lowell]

If you have never visited Dabls’ shattered-mirror-covered MBAD African Bead Museum complex, that sprawls along Grand River below W. Grand Blvd., you are in for a treat. Olayami Dabls, its creator and founder, is well deserving of the honor of being this years Kresge Eminent Artist Award.

It is the Westside equivalent of the Heidelberg Project with adjacent grounds filled with colorful, beautiful and fascinating sculptural works. Since it occupies abandoned land between Grand River and the I-696 it has faced none of the controversy Heidelberg has.

"Dabls, described by Kresge as “a storyteller with a paintbrush and a street-corner vision,” has been working for about 50 years. The museum is part of two city blocks Dabls once called “a complete dumping ground.” He has transformed the area at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Grand Boulevard into a museum, sculpture garden and global tourist attraction as well as a tool for educating others on African culture.

"With a career of more than 45 years in Detroit, Dabls has created 15,000-plus pieces of art, including paintings, murals, installations, jewelry and sculptures, and has written or illustrated three books. He is also the first Kresge Eminent Artist to have also won a Kresge Artist Fellowship, a $25,000 award given annually."

https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...24ac68_1348303

[Zacha341]

This is awesome news Lowell! I know him. What seems like a zillion years ago he had shop in downtown in Trapper Alley!

And it's always grand to go over to the current art/ sculpture installations.

[Zacha341]

See below K-EA former award winners list!

And more on Olayami Dabls

https://kresge.org/news-views/kresge-eminent-artists/

[Honky Tonk]

I still have beads and sand cast brass pendants I bought from him way back when.

[Kathleen]

Congrats to Olayami Dabls!! He joins a unique group of Detroit artists!!

Reminder that the Kresge Foundation publishes a monograph on each artist and gives them away at no charge!! You can preorder the Dabls monograph as well as order, where still available, or download the PDF of all the monographs here: https://kresge.org/news-views/Kresge-eminent-artists/

[Zacha341]

^ Awesome! Thanks for this information Kathleen. These Kresge IA's monogram's serve as nice bios and are very professionally designed, showcasing excellent printing, and graphics, including embossing, specialty paper, etc.

The PDF versions will be great keep sakes as well. Thank you for that link!

[Kathleen]

Recently received my copy of The Culture Keeper: Olayami Dabls' Grand Vision, the beautifully illustrated monograph published by The Kresge Foundation in honor of Dabls' being named the 2022 Eminent Artist.

Just a reminder that you can order your free copy or download a PDF copy
https://kresge.org/news-views/Kresge-eminent-artists/