On view March 6, 2025
Main Floor Gallery

Seeing the Southend
A Photography Exhibition by Tony Maine

What is worthy enough to photograph?

Born and raised in Dearborn’s working-class Southend neighborhood, Tony Maine photographed the people and places around him. Dearborn’s growing Arab American community faced a number of challenges in the 1970s and 1980s when much of this work was created; government and industry interests threatened livelihoods and homes alike.

Maine’s work is both a time machine and a mirror. It invites us into the rich interior lives of Yemeni and Lebanese Americans at a time when the country was still getting to know who Arab Americans really were. From children in English class to auto workers on the line, each photo offers a slice from the daily life of average people. Maine’s lens reacquaints us with a community at the forefront of collective action, echoes of which can still be seen today.

This exhibit was funded in part by the Michigan Humanities Council.