When Lincoln Park artist Marta Carvajal speaks about her art, her voice carries both history and hope.
“Art, for me, is storytelling and healing, a bridge between generations and cultures,” she said. “It’s how I connect my Spanish heritage with Detroit’s creative soul.”
That sense of connection lies at the heart of the Emerge Art Festival, hosted by the Hannan Center in Detroit. Opened in October and running through January 2026, the exhibition celebrates artists aged 55 and older; creators whose work embodies a lifetime of experience, emotion, and resilience.
For Carvajal, who moved from Spain to metro Detroit years ago, participation in this year’s festival is more than an artistic milestone. It’s the fulfillment of a dream she’s quietly nurtured for decades.
A Lifetime in Art
Carvajal studied fine art in Madrid, where she kept a studio and worked in publishing, designing book covers for children’s literature.
“My life has always been split between fine art and graphic art,” she said. “I started painting portraits, mostly in a classical, hyper-realistic style. But when I came to Detroit, everything changed. I found new layers of inspiration in identity, diversity, and memory.”
Her transition to metro Detroit began, in part, through an exchange program in the 1980s that introduced her to the city’s artistic vibrancy. Years later she returned permanently, settling in Lincoln Park while maintaining a studio in Detroit.
“There’s such energy here,” she said. “Detroit artists create with a purpose. The art is alive, authentic, and full of soul.”
That authenticity, she explains, shaped her distinctive “documentary portrait” style which is mixed-media works that merge painting and collage to tell personal histories.
“Instead of simply painting a likeness,” she said, “I include letters, photographs, and fragments from a person’s life. The piece becomes a conversation, not just with the subject, but with time itself.”
Discovering the Hannan Center
Carvajal’s connection to the Hannan Center began through fellow artist and curator Richard Reeves, director of Hannan’s Kayrod Gallery and a longtime member of the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, where both artists are active.
“The Breakfast Club is this incredible community,” Carvajal said. “It’s where artists of every background, all ages, all styles, come together. When I met Richard there, I also learned about the Hannan Center’s mission. I used to joke that I couldn’t wait to turn 55 so I’d be old enough to participate.”
Now 57, Carvajal laughs at the irony: “This makes me happy to be older. Truly! There’s beauty in celebrating age, in seeing that creativity never stops growing.”
Reeves, who helped organize the Emerge Art Festival, said artists like Carvajal embody its spirit.
“The idea was to create a space where mature artists could share the stories of their lives through art,” he said.
Honoring a Century of Legacy
This year’s Emerge Festival coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Hannan Center, an institution founded through the charitable vision of Detroit real-estate magnate William Hannan and sustained by his wife Luella Hannan after his death in 1925.
“The Hannans built this place with the belief that every person — regardless of race, creed, or background — deserves dignity, care, and opportunity,” said Vincent Tilford, president and CEO of the Hannan Center.
A century later, artists like Marta keep that promise alive through creativity.
Carvajal’s two works in the exhibition draw directly from that legacy. One features a “house of light” — a symbolic structure through which sunlight filters, illuminating silhouettes of Luella and William Hannan. Within the collage, Carvajal embedded blueprints of Detroit from 1925 to the present, visually tracing the continuum between past and present.
“It’s my way of showing how their light still shines,” she said. “The documents represent the foundation — both literal and spiritual — of the city. The portraits honor the couple’s compassion and enduring vision.”
Her second piece expands on her documentary portrait approach, combining archival images, fragments of handwritten letters, and mixed-media textures that evoke time, transformation, and memory.
“When people stand before it, I want them to feel the pulse of a century; to see how art connects us to those who came before,” she said.
The aesthetics of age and experience
For Carvajal, the festival is about more than visual beauty; it’s a statement on aging as vitality.
“When you go to Hannan, you see people who are radiant,” she said. “They dress up, they laugh, they create. The atmosphere is full of life. It reminds you that art and age have no limits.”
She describes sitting in the Kayrod Gallery, watching visitors come and go.
“Everyone there is beautiful,” she said. “Not because of wealth or status, but because their creativity comes from the inside. It’s a collage of vibrant human energy.”
Reeves agrees.
“Emerge challenges the idea that art is a young person’s game,” he said. “These artists have lived full lives — their art reflects joy, loss, history, humor, and endurance. It’s an exhibition about what it means to be fully human.”
Tilford adds that showcasing older artists helps expand Detroit’s cultural dialogue.
“The Emerge Festival isn’t just about celebrating seniors,” he said. “It’s about elevating stories we don’t hear often enough — the wisdom, the courage, and the innovation that continue to shape Detroit through its creative elders.”
The artist’s view from Lincoln Park
Though Carvajal’s studio is in Detroit, she finds peace and reflection in her Lincoln Park home.
“It’s where I slow down, where I think and write,” she said. “The community here has this quiet charm, but I’m always close enough to feel the heartbeat of Detroit’s art scene…My work is constantly evolving. Each new piece teaches me something about myself and the world. I think that’s what the Emerge Festival encourages: that curiosity never ends.”
In Carvajal’s eyes, the Hannan Center’s centennial is not a conclusion but a continuation.
“Luella Hannan believed in building bridges — between generations, between people,” she said. “That’s exactly what art does. It’s a bridge of empathy.”
For visitors, Carvajal hopes her work offers both reflection and renewal. “I want people to leave feeling connected — to their own memories, to their communities, to the idea that creativity doesn’t fade with age,” she said. “It grows richer, like a story retold through generations.”
Emerge Art Festival at the Hannan Center
Kayrod Gallery, Hannan Center
4750 Woodward Avenue, Detroit
Now open through January 2026, the Emerge Art Festival celebrates the creativity of artists aged 55 and older, featuring painting, photography, sculpture, fiber art, and mixed media that explore the themes of aging, identity, and transformation.
The exhibit is part of the Hannan Center’s 100th anniversary celebration and is free to the public. Visitors can explore the Kayrod Gallery Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment.
For more information, visit hannan.org/emerge or call (313) 833-1300.
