Jack Faxon, A Michigan Artist and Advocate

As a long-time educator and state legislator, Jack Faxon taught government in the Detroit Public School system and founded Detroit’s International School. He served in the Michigan House of Representatives for the 15th district from 1965-1971 and as a Michigan Senator from 1971-1995. As a senator, Faxon established the Michigan Council of Arts and continued his advocacy for the arts, supporting local, regional, and international artists by amassing an extensive and far-reaching collection of Chinese art, African art, and Modern and Contemporary art. He further demonstrated his passion for the arts as an artist, drawing daily in sketchbooks, and through his paintings, Faxon experimented with abstraction, portraiture, and figurative methods of artmaking. Jack Faxon: A Michigan Artist and Advocate is a unique, boutique-style presentation of the senator and artist’s works that illuminate his wide-ranging interest in abstract, yet highly decorative works on paper and panels. Make sure you don’t miss this special exhibition that celebrates a life filled with advocacy and love for the arts. 

“I was very persistent in making certain that art and culture were treated with some respect and dignity. I always felt that the arts were treated with very little respect because the public didn’t seem to understand the value it brought to the communities.” –Jack Faxon