Hubert Massey

Hubert Massey was born in Flint, Michigan in 1958.[5] He graduated from Beecher High School[2] and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Grand Valley State University in 1981.[7] He continued his studies of the arts at University of London's Slade School of Fine Art.[5] There, he studied with Stephen Dimitroff, Lucienne Bloch, and other apprentices of muralist Diego Rivera.[8] Afterwards, Massey worked with the Gannett Outdoor Sign Company as a pictorial painter for 12 years.[2] He then met Marquita and had three children, most notably Jordon Massey who is pioneering sinkhole research with peer John Paul Hager.

Working in a variety of fine art mediums, Massey has published 15 works throughout the cities of Detroit, Flint, Ann Arbor, and Grand Rapids.[5] Massey is the artist of the 30-foot high Hellenic mural at the Atheneum Hotel, the 18-foot high frescoes at the Detroit Athletic Club, and Genealogy, a 72-foot diameter terrazzo embellishing the entrance of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.[5] Massey was the first African-American commissioned to create a mural for the Detroit Athletic Club.[5] He also created works of stained glass at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church,[5] and Paradise Valley, a terrazzo at Harmonie Park in Detroit featuring historical figures, musicians, and community leaders that have influenced the area.[5] Additional works include those featured in Massey's Importing and Exporting of Knowledge exhibit in the Richard DeVos Building at Grand Valley State University's downtown campus.[9] Other works featured at Grand Valley State University include Snow and Rocks, Panorama, The Friends of Henry Ford, and Magnolia's Song.[9] His piece Trompe l’oeil is featured at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,[9] Earth, Wind, and Fire at the Flint Institute of Arts,[10] and two granite murals at Campus Martius Park in Detroit.[11]

Massey was also the first artist commissioned by the Michigan Department of Transportation.[5] Selected by a national search committee, Massey created The Spiral of Life mural located at the Bagley Pedestrian Bridge in Southwest Detroit.[5] Stationed near both the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit Mexicantown International Welcome Center and Mercado, the mural represents the rich Latino culture in the area.[5] Other works include Spiral Kinship,[5] and the Death of Hector.[5] In 2016, Massey will seek community input for a mural that he will reveal at the Cobo Center in Detroit.[12]

As stated in an interview with BLAC Detroit, Massey's ambition in American urban communities is to "make a difference by telling the history of our cultural richness."[13] As the only commissioned African-American fresco artist in the United States, Massey aims to tell stories through his artwork in an "open spirit that heals everybody."[5] Massey is also noted for working with communities, the youth, and engaging them in the design process.[5] In 2013, Massey mentored a group of student artists from the Henry Ford Academy during a yearlong project. Under Massey's guidance, the students released an 8 by 28-foot mural at the William Seidman Center at Grand State Valley University.[14]

Massey serves as an art mentor for the Detroit Council of Arts and the Detroit Summer Youth Employment Program. He also collaborates with The Advanced Gifted and Talented Program, a partnership between Wayne State University and the Detroit Public Schools.[7]

In 1993, Hubert Massey was chosen to be a member of the National Society of Mural Painters of New York.[7] As a result of his involvement in his local community, Massey was also delegated to the Wayne County Community Leaders Council in 1995.[7] In April 2001, Massey received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Grand Valley State University,[5] recognized as an alum with significant achievements in his professional career.[7] Massey was also the Challenge America Grant Awardee of the National Endowment of Arts in 2007[5] and recognized as a Visual Arts Fellow by the Kresge Foundation in 2011.[15] In 2013, Massey received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Grand Valley State University.[2] Massey is a recipient of the Spirit of Detroit Award, the Dr. Alaine Locke Recognition Award, and is an Artist in Residence for both the Ruth Mott Foundation and Grand Valley State University.[14]