WSU alumna Dr. Maya Stovall to host virtual book launch for "Liquor Store Theatre"

Wayne State University alumna Dr. Maya Stovall will host a virtual book launch and panel discussion on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the release of her new book, "Liquor Store Theatre."

Published by Duke University Press with a foreword by Whitney Museum curator Christopher Y. Lew, the book explores Stovall's Liquor Store Theatre project, a series of site-specific dance performances staged in front of liquor stores in Detroit’s McDougall-Hunt neighborhood.

In a community with few operating businesses, liquor stores serve as social and commercial hubs. Following each performance, Stovall engaged residents in conversations about their personal experiences and Detroit’s socioeconomic landscape. The book examines the project’s impact while offering insight into ethnographic research, art and knowledge creation.

The event will feature Stovall in conversation with moderator Michael Stone-Richards, professor of critical practice and visual studies at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Panelists include Christopher Y. Lew, Nancy and Fred Poses Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art; Rehema C. Barber, chief curator at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts; and Matthew Higgs, artist, director and chief curator of White Columns, where Stovall’s solo exhibition is on view through Dec. 12.