Latinos in this country continue to fight for the right to exist. Through battles unknown and battles seen in full color, Latinos and their contributions to this country can not be denied. That includes contributions to art. Many in Detroit are familiar with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, but what about the lesser known artists and artforms? 

Black velvet paintings were important artworks on display in most Latino households during the early and mid 20th century. For many, seeing the paintings was a normal part of everyday life. But a new exhibition highlights how the paintings are more than a kitschy item for the home, they are a cultural love letter to art itself. 

“Black Velvet: A Rasquache Aesthetic” is an exhibition at the Michigan History Museum that invites visitors to learn more about black velvet paintings and their place in Latino and Chicano history. It’s open through November.   

Elena Herrada is a Detroit community and labor activist. Diana Rivera is Librarian Emeritus at Michigan State University. She also founded the task force that created the Chicano Latino Studies Program at MSU. 

Elena Herrada and Diana Rivera joined The Metro to talk more about the exhibition and the importance of the artworks. 

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The Trump administration wants American museums to be less critical of the nation’s history.

Yesterday, the Smithsonian Institution submitted documents about upcoming exhibitions and programming to the White House for a review of “improper ideology.”

Since last year, President Trump has been pressuring the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate American exceptionalism, and not to focus so much on the ugliest parts of American history, like the institution of slavery.

What the president does next remains to be seen, but the effort to censor and rewrite history and culture raises important questions about American culture and history.

Though museums are suddenly politicized spaces, they’re among the most trusted institutions in America, according to a survey by the American Alliance of Museums.

Devon Akmon, director of the Michigan State University Museum, argues that museums have an opportunity and responsibility to model the ways people can think and listen together.

He joined The Metro to discuss the implications of President Trump’s pressure campaign on the Smithsonian and cultural institutions in America.

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The Michigan Historical Museum is showcasing black velvet paintings and their ties to Latino History in a new exhibit. “Black Velvet: A Rasquache Aesthetic” includes more than 100 black velvet paintings from the private collections of co-curators Elena Herrada and Diana Rivera, collector Minerva Martinez and from the community. 

“[This is] probably the only kind of art exhibit ever where people brought their own and added them to the collection,” says Herrada. “Like people were walking in with their velvet paintings and some of them donated them and some of them loaned them and some of them took them with them when they left.”

Herrada says there have been several small exhibits of black velvet paintings in Lansing and Detroit over the last few years but this is the largest. She says black velvet paintings were popular art pieces in Chicano homes but people were not given the space to celebrate the art elsewhere.

“Many times people’s aesthetics or tastes are really put down or looked down upon. That’s one of the reasons we don’t have close ties to museums because people don’t feel at home in places where there is high art.” 

Black Velvet: A Rasquache Aesthetic is on view at the Michigan Historical Museum until late November. The museum plans to host several events related to black velvet painting in the coming months. This Saturday, Jan. 17 admission is free and visitors can make crafts inspired by the collection.

The museum is in Lansing at 702 W Kalamazoo Street. Admission is $8 for adults and less for seniors and children; $2 for adults and free for kids with EBT cards.

Additional headlines for Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026

Sheffield restructures city services

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield announced the creation of the Department of Human, Homeless, and Family Services Monday, led by its new director Benita Miller. Miller previously served as the executive director of the New York City Children’s Cabinet, and has three decades of experience in family and child welfare. 

The restructuring of city services also creates the role of Chief of Health Human Services and Poverty Solutions. The University of Michigan’s Luke Shaefer will fill that position and also oversee the Detroit Health Department, and the Office of Immigrant Affairs and Economic Inclusion. Shaefer was the founder and director of the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions research initiative and co-founded the program Rx Kids. 

Sheffield says the reorganization of these services will make the process of reaching out to community services less fragmented and confusing for residents. 

Applications open for Queer Equity Impact Program

The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the next cohort of its Queer Equity Impact Program. The 12-week business accelerator program starts in February and offers participants with business plan development, peer support, training and other guidance.

Applications are due Jan. 30. Learn more at detroitlgbtchamber.com.

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After decades of decay, Detroit’s historic Packard Plant could be on the road to redevelopment.

The city announced a letter of intent with a developer to give 28-acres of the site new life. The plant as a whole has been a significant structure throughout Detroit’s history. It has seen the heights of the automotive boom and the consequences of disinvestment and neglect. 

When auto manufacturing operations at the plant came to an end in the mid-20th century, another generation reimagined the space. So which moments deserve to be preserved in its next chapter? 

Dave Marchioni, the industrial and automotive curator at the Detroit Historical Society, and John Lauter, Packard Plant historian, revisit key moments throughout it’s history. 

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Somewhere between the psychedelic 1960s and the arrival of punk in the late 1970s, Detroit had a unique imprint on American music with an avant-garde, noise rock scene. Destroy All Monsters was an influential band and art collective at the time.

Their sound was radical, experimental, and noisy.

The band was formed in Ann Arbor in the early 1970s by Cary Loren, Mike Kelly, Jim Shaw and Niagra.

The group’s influence on art and music in Detroit is being recognized with a retrospective at Cranbrook Art Museum called “Mythic Chaos: 50 Years of Destroy All Monsters.” Also on display through March is a sister exhibition, “Noise, Vision, and Ruins” at the Detroit Public Library, Main Branch and curated by Cary Loren. 

Both exhibitions are open through March.

The Metro’s David Leins spoke Loren about the group’s origins, and what to expect from the exhibitions.

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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave his exit interview at the Detroit Economic Club Monday.

He says he doesn’t plan to align himself with either party’s congressional races during his campaign for governor in 2026. Duggan was a lifelong Democrat until he decided to run for Whitmer’s seat. He says he’s not worried about how Michiganders vote in the U.S. House races.

“I am going to work with the people in both parties to get results that won’t get reversed every two years as the state flips back and forth. I’m going to try to do what I did in Detroit, convince people that actually solving problems is better politics than tearing each other down.”

Duggan says he plans to run his campaign for governor just like he ran his campaign for mayor—by meeting with voters directly.

His term as mayor ends in January. 

Additional headlines from Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Mayor-elect Sheffield gets married

Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield got married over the weekend. Her transition team confirmed social media chatter, saying she and Ricke Jackson, Jr. tied the knot in a private ceremony at The Godfrey Hotel on Sunday.

Jackson works for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. He runs a youth sports program. 

Menorah in the D

Hanukkah starts Sunday and that means Menorah in the D! This will be the 15^th annual lighting of the 26 foot menorah. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with the menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m.

There will be musical performances, strolling street performers, the Detroit Pistons Extreme Team, a chance to take photos with the Chanukah Mensch and Dreidel Man & the dancing Dreidels, and free soup and hot chocolate.

Pontiac welcomes new businesses

The City of Pontiac will celebrate several new additions to its downtown business community tomorrow with a “mass ribbon cutting.”

Eight new businesses will be welcomed to North Saginaw Street with ceremonies starting between noon and 4:00 p.m. Several of the new offices are opening in the building at 91 North Saginaw Street, including an emergency health training services organization, a salon, and a multicultural community center.

At 4:30 p.m. there will be a celebration of the one year anniversary of interior design firm Designed Mindfully. 

Free admission to history museums

Admission to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum and the Detroit Historical Museum is free Sunday, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 this month.

The Dossin on Belle Isle highlights the maritime history of Michigan and the U.S. The Detroit Historical Museum is focused on the comprehensive history of Detroit.

You can find information about exhibits at both museums at detroithistorical.org.

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