Over the years, stark inequality within museums and the homogeny of museum boards in general have become topics widely discussed amongst denizens of the art world. In 2020, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit committed itself to increasing the institution’s dedication to social justice, and now, reports are emerging that dream hampton, one of TIME Magazine’s 2019 100 most influential people in the world and the director of the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, has joined MOCAD’s Board of Directors. hampton, who styles her name in all-lowercase, won a Peabody Award and earned an Emmy nomination for Surviving R. Kelly, which detailed the stories of young women who’d found themselves entangled with the singer and alleged serial abuser.
“Museums have always been spaces that I’ve returned to for inspiration,” hampton said in a statement. “I’ve had really transcendent and emotional experiences in contemporary art spaces like MOCAD. The fact that I can be a part of a place that brings young people that similar experience, here in Detroit, is what truly excites me.” MOCAD also recently appointed board member Dr. Charles Boyd of BOYD Detroit to the Executive Committee, and also named former board member Laura Hughes as its Interim Executive Director as part of its efforts to facilitate inclusion and diverse dialogues.
