LENI SINCLAIR: MOTOR CITY UNDERGROUND

mocad

January 1, 2021

Motor City Underground presents the photographs of Leni Sinclair, best known for her work chronicling radical movements of Detroit since the 1960s. A founding member of the White Panthers, Sinclair is both an activist and longtime witness to social justice organizing in Detroit. Her images are among the most iconic and thorough records of the city’s countercultural history.

EXHIBITIONS

LENI SINCLAIR:
MOTOR CITY UNDERGROUND

FEBRUARY 5 – MAY 2, 2021

Motor City Underground is Sinclair’s first American art museum solo exhibition, following her 2014 gallery debut at the former Susanne Feld Hilberry Gallery in Ferndale, MI. MOCAD is proud to present a set of lesser-known gems from Sinclair’s rich portfolio. Accompanying the exhibition, MOCAD in partnership with Foggy Notion Books is publishing a 408-page monograph of the artist’s work.

The Motor City Underground exhibition is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit with support from Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator Jova Lynne, MOCAD Curatorial Fellow M Pofahl, and MOCAD Exhibitions Director Zeb Smith in collaboration with independent curators Cary Loren and Lorraine Wild.

The Motor City Underground exhibition and book are supported by Gretchen Gonzales Davidson and Ethan Davidson, the Susanne Feld Hilberry Endowment for the Arts, and Red Bull Arts Detroit. This project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. MOCAD’s curatorial fellowship program and related exhibitions and programs are supported by the Ford Foundation.

Images:
01. Leni Sinclair, “Two boys at State Fairgrounds, Detroit, Michigan,” b&w photograph, undated. Image: Courtesy of the artist.
02. Leni Sinclair, “Wayne Kramer of the MC5 at 1510 Hill Street, MI,” b&w photograph, 1969. Image: Courtesy of the artist.
03. Leni Sinclair, “White Panthers and Weathermen members at The Fifth Estate, Detroit, Michigan,” b&w photograph, 1969. Image: Courtesy of the artist.
04. Leni Sinclair, “Protestors at Anti-War March,” b&w photograph, 1960s. Image: Courtesy of the artist.
05. Leni Sinclair, “Demonstration to Free John Sinclair, State Capital steps, Lansing, MI” b&w photograph, 1971. Image: Courtesy of the artist.