The 126 Project

The seeds for our art and faith initiative were planted during our 2023 Cohort Detroit travel intensive to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, when our learning Cohort walked through their special exhibit on Afro-Futurism. Later that night, we reflected on Psalm 126 and remembered that the final reality of restoration for the people of God was not simply to return to their land, but to receive a renewed spiritual imagination: the capacity to dream! Out of this dreaming, Ileana led our first ever ‘Art Night’ where our participants could reflect on their faith through their art.

An invitation to dream has always been thriving in Detroit, especially among Detroit’s young adult artists. And yet, the space for dreaming is so often stifled by legacies of injustice, day-to-day pressures of mounting bills, and sometimes even the barriers within faith communities. 

Responding to this need, Ileana created this community of Detroit artists that centers faith, justice, imagination.