Mitli Mitlak: Like You, Like Me

Sept. 14, 2018 – Jan. 5, 2019
Main Gallery

The artists of Mitli Mitlak (Like you, Like Me) communicate through a variety of media delivering messages rich in thematic subjects. One theme that dominates the refugee experience, that of landscape arrives on canvas where architecture, political apparatuses and history are dismantled with the destructive revelry of a toddler. The theme of landscape is revisited by several participants with such concerns as the constant metamorphosis of social structure, moving boundaries between capitalism and culture, war, and the facets of the human psyche.

The artists of this exhibition, many of whom are current residents of occupied territories and refugee camps, include: Hani Alqam (Jordan), Thameur Mejri (Tunisia), Sinan Hussein (Iraq), Taghlib Oweis (Jordan), Wael Darweish (Egypt), Ahmed Nagy (Egypt), Klaudja Sulaj (Albania), Luca Paleocrassas (Greece), Manal Kortam (Lebanon), Abbas Yousif (Bahrain), Basel Uraiqat (Jordan), Mohammed Al Hawajri (Palestine), Haitham Khatib (Syria), May Murad (Palestine), Hassan Meer (Oman). All have been given a voice through this Detroit-based endeavor. In Mitli Mitlak (Like you, Like Me), we witness how their situations reverberate with refugees world-wide.


The N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art presents diverse, multi-disciplinary and engaging art experiences. It serves to promote and perpetuate the cultural legacy of African-American and African diasporic art, along with art from diverse cultures. Since its conception in 2010, the N’Namdi Center has contributed to the Detroit arts scene by presenting art exhibitions by nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as local and emerging talent.

The N’Namdi Center’s work is based on two core beliefs: that the arts can play an integral role in the revitalization of Detroit, and that a thriving creative community depends upon the participation of a diverse group of artists, organizations and individuals. The N’Namdi Center builds on these beliefs by acting as a catalyst in the development of Detroit’s creative ecosystem, with a continuing focus on African American art and community engagement through the arts.