American Dreams

Participating Artists: Jamille Berry, Jerri Burks, Therrin Burns, Desirai Chapman,  Chantell Donwell, JulieAnn Dombrowski, Latoya Elliot, Chris Evans, Je'Vonnie Evans,  Lewis Foster, Jimmy Gallager, Nick Granch, Ronald Griggs, Khristopher Harris,  Rodney Hudson, Keisha Miller, Ryan McDonagh, Thomas McMillian, Nathaniel  McNeal, Debbie Osteen, Alsendoe Owens, John Peterson, Amanda Ross-Ferree, Phillis Rogers, Marquise Taylor, and Alverna Tyler.  

Curated by Mario Moore 

Exhibition Dates: October 17 - November 22, 2025 

Location: PASC Detroit Gallery, 9301 Kercheval Ave, STE 2, Detroit, MI, 48214

PASC Detroit Gallery Hours: Th, Fr, & Sa, 12 – 5 pm, and by appointment  

“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” - Angela Davis  

American Dreams is a group exhibition that offers a collective breath of American consciousness. In a time where political upheaval and far-right policies dictate how citizens inhabit their communities, these artists focus on the diverse depictions of American society. A true Americana, from depictions of collective dinners to abstractions reminiscent of sparkling fireworks.  

These works span both ends of our democratic culture, from a piece by John Peterson showing Trump behind bars, to the celebratory feeling of a backyard barbecue by Nick Granch. Keisha Miller references Corine Vermeulen’s photograph of an early 2000s Detroit house, while Chantell Donwell reimagines Nancy Reagan’s White House renovation, shifting it into a home. Thomas  McMillian’s depiction of the Titanic reflects the global “sinking” of human compassion. 

This show asks us: what does it mean to be an artist during these critical times? Is it a time for free expression or political criticism, is it a time for American nostalgia or depictions of diverse ways of being? A time for endless relaxation or revolutionary action? 

Mario Moore is a Detroit native who received a BFA from the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, in 2009 and an MFA in Painting from the Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT, in 2013. Moore incorporates stories about his surroundings and explores the nature of the past and present through history, art, politics, and literature to complete his works. He is a recent Kresge Arts Fellow [2023] awarded through the Kresge Foundation and a recipient of the prestigious Princeton Hodder Fellowship [2018 - 2019] through Princeton University. He has also been awarded residencies at Duke University, Josef and Annie Albers Foundation, Fountainhead, and Knox College. Moore’s work is in the permanent collections of, but not limited to, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Princeton University Art Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Mott Warsh Collection, Louisiana State University Museum of Art, California African American Museum, Flint Institute of Art, and The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. 

Launched in 2021, PASC is the first progressive art and design studio and exhibition program in Detroit and Wayne County dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities and mental health differences to advance artistic practices and build individual careers in the art and design fields. PASC is a program of Services to Enhance Potential (STEP), a non-profit service organization founded in 1972 that provides services and support for more than 1,400 individuals with disabilities and mental health differences across Southeastern Michigan.