Whatever Gets You Through the Night: Selections from the Mott-Warsh Collection

Flint-based artist Tunde Olaniran and Cranbrook Art Museum have partnered with MW Gallery to present a selection of works from the preeminent Mott-Warsh Collection, which focuses on art by artists of the African diaspora and those who reflect on it. This exhibition is an extension of a similarly titled show on view through August 20, 2022 at MW Gallery in downtown Flint.  This selection of artwork shares themes with Tunde Olaniran’s newly-commissioned film and installation Made A Universe, which is concurrently on view at the museum. 

The exhibition investigates how societal challenges, such as systemic disenfranchisement, racism, xenophobia, and isolation, can become pressing personal struggles about our health, wellness, economic stability, and more. Amid these personal and shared trials, myriad questions arise: How do we cope? Where do we go to seek relief? Who or what makes us feel better? How do we heal?

At Cranbrook Art Museum, the exhibition includes work by artists Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Nick Cave, Titus Kaphar, Glenn Ligon, Pope.L, Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley, and others. 

This presentation of Whatever Gets You Through the Night: Selections from the Mott-Warsh Collection is curated by Tunde Olaniran; Stephanie James, Director, Curator, and Collection Educator, Mott-Warsh Collection; and Laura Mott, Chief Curator, Cranbrook Art Museum