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Nick Azzaro: Ypsilanti Future History Project Year-End Show

April 20, 2026

The Ypsilanti Future History Project is a yearlong collaboration between Ypsilanti artist Nick Azzaro (BFA ​’04, MFA ​’22) and K‑12 art and social studies classes at Ypsilanti Community Schools. The project turns people, places, and events from Ypsilanti’s past into prompts for students to respond to, often utilizing simple and nontraditional art materials to generate statements. Students have explored things like how important the Ypsilanti Armory was for community gatherings on the Southside, as well as the unfortunate role Ypsilanti’s Lyman Decatur Norris played in denying Dred Scott his freedom and helping to undue decades of legal precedence.

In a page from a comic book, Captain America has been painted over - he is replaced by a one-eyed, yellow Minion wearing blue overalls.
Changing the Narrative
A young Black girl, wearing pink pants and a purple sweatshirt, is seated in front of a backdrop. She holds a homemade mask, constructed from contrasting strips of construction paper, in front of her face.
Armory Masquerade
A hand painted Faygo bottle has been smashed, and is now a pile of shards of glass
Faygo(né)

Works on display include:

  • We Are Ypsi : Students decorated and populated worksheets of seemingly abstract shapes and lines, later discovering that they were actually working on maps of the Ypsilanti area. The takeaway is simple: no matter what they put on the page, and no matter which directional orientation they chose, their papers are correct. Each student IS Ypsilanti and each student IS the future.
  • Faygo(né): Inspired by the temporality of lost buildings on Ypsilanti’s Southside — including a Faygo distribution center and dozens of residential homes — that were razed during urban renewal projects in the 1960s, high school students decorated, documented, and finally, broke Faygo bottles. Like the buildings on the Southside, the students’ work lives on through documentation and spoken word only.
  • Armory Masquerade: Built in 1923, the Ypsilanti Armory served as a venue for live music, dances, fundraisers, weddings, and more. Armory Masquerade allows students to make colorful, vibrant masks for the kinds of joyous celebrations that took place at this landmark.
  • Who is Demetrios? While Demetrios Ypsilanti was an important person, he may not best represent who the community of Ypsilanti really is. Students were given a blank outline of the city’s namesake to reimagine however they want in order to better define the community.
  • Postschool Project: this 30-foot mural challenges students to think beyond school, and consider the question, ​“What will I do after I graduate?”

The year-end show will be on view alongside the Ypsilanti Community Schools Annual Exhibition at Riverside Arts Center’s Off Center space, and opens with a reception on Friday, May 1, from 5 – 7 p.m. The event will be catered by Cuppy’s Best Soulful Bistro.

The Ypsilanti Future History Project was funded by the Michigan Department of Education 99d Teaching Diverse Histories grant.

Ypsilanti Future History Project
Exhibition Dates: May 1‑May 25, 2026
Opening Reception: Friday, May 1, from 5 – 7 p.m.
Off Center at Riverside Arts Center, 64 North Huron St., Ypsilanti MI