Here at Critical Moment, we’ve been following the work of artist Nicole McDonald for some time. In fact, we even selected her as our featured artist back in the summer of 2011. (You can read the interview here).

So, of course, we were totally stoked when we heard she had a new art show happening at the Cass Café. All the more, when we found out the topic of her work was telling “the history of Detroit from the ‘ground up,’ honoring leaders and everyday heroes from the city’s past and present through large-scale portraiture.”

The show, which is called “The Detroit Portrait Series: Writing Our Own History (Through Art)” is inspired by historian Howard Zinn’s famous book, “A People’s History of the United States.” Completed panels from her series will be used to board up windows at historic abandoned buildings in the city.

The show runs from July 19 to Sept. 12 at the Cass Cafe, 4620 Cass in Detroit. Opening night there will also be a performance by The Blackman Revue featuring Shirley Hayden of Parliament/Funkadelic from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.