Donna Jackson Makes History as First Black Woman Gallery Manager of Detroit’s Scarab Club

A Detroit venue for literary, performance, and visual art has a new gallery manager. Donna Jackson has been named the new gallery manager of Detroit's Scarab Club.

With more than 20 years of experience in cultural programming, design, and project management in Detroit, Jackson said she's eager to build on the heritage of the Scarab Club, founded in 1907, while creating new opportunities for artists and art enthusiasts.

Jackson is the gallery's first Black woman manager. 

In an interview with The Detroit News, Jackson said she first visited the Scarab Club while studying at the Detroit Institute of Arts. In 2022 and 2023, she curated an exhibition featuring art based on W.E.B. DuBois' essay "The Souls of Black Folk." 

"Being able to display works from local Detroiters, all Black artists, it was a really great experience," she said.

Jackson said visitors to the gallery can expect to see an upcoming exhibition on an Iranian-American artist. Another will highlight up-and-coming artists in Detroit. A third exhibition will feature posters from Detroit and other areas, including New York, Los Angeles, and worldwide locales. 

Looking at the next two years, Jackson said, "I'm really interested in the things that make us human and those things that we have similarities in, and really kind of leaning into those stories of us, our humanity," she said. "There are a lot of identity exhibitions that I see, which are wonderful and they're needed, especially now, but I also would like to lean into those things that are very much similar as a human being when you think about things like grief or work or laughter or happiness or loneliness or family."

According to a state historical marker, the Scarab Club is one of Michigan's oldest arts organizations. It was originally called the Hopkin Club after Detroit marine painter Robert Hopkin. It was renamed in 1913 after the scarab, an Egyptian symbol of rebirth, representing the club's commitment to the renewal of the arts in Detroit.