After six years...

Mandisa and Najma are evolving.

We have decided to pursue our individual artistic interests. Though Detroit Fiber Works will end here, our road is transforming. We are excited to love and support each other as we step into a new chapter, calling forth even more magic.

In our six years as Detroit Fiber Works, we have exhibited the work of nearly 100 artists. We're proud that nearly all of them were Detroit artists!

Our goal has been to be a light in our community.

We taught free fiber art workshops to all ages. We led art-filled team building workshops at organizational retreats. We developed an international platform for fiber art, creating space for local fiber artists and those from as far away as South America and Zambia (via the Netherlands) to teach fiber arts to our community. We have shown and sold the work of young, local fashion designers, and we’ve hosted international designers as well.

Through the Knight Arts Challenge, we created an installation on the Livernois median featuring the artwork of community residents. (For those of you who are wondering, we’ve gifted the installation to the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, located at 9400 Oakland Avenue.) We collaborated with numerous other organizations doing great work with positive impact on our community, including: Detroit Collaborative Design Center at U of D Mercy, Global Detroit, Greening of Detroit, Canvas x Detroit, Alternatives for Girls, Freedom School (Tetra), People for Palmer Park, Mint Artists Guild and many more.

At Detroit Fiber Works, we've hosted discussions, artist talks, live music, book signings, theatrical performances, and more. We’ve created some gorgeous art of our own along the way. Over the years, we’ve shown our work and made presentations at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Palmer Park Art Fair, the Scarab Club, Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center, and MOCAD. This year we exhibitied our work at Collected Detroit Gallery, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids, MI, the Garden Theater and the Beyond Words Gallery at Marygrove College.

Mandisa will maintain the space on Livernois under a new name yet to be determined, with a new mission, also yet to be determined. Najma will continue to make amazing art and presentations, including demonstrations at the DIA in February, 2020.

We've had such a rich journey together. Thank you to our community for every bit of your support along the way. We are looking forward to the next chapters, and to staying connected with you as our plans become a wonderful reality.