Sabrina Nelson found her artistic career path through HFC

HFC alumna Sabrina Nelson says she was born to be an artist.

“I am and always have been an artist,” said Nelson. “When folks asked me as a child what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told them that I already was an artist.”

Determined not to let rejection stop her

A lifelong Detroiter, Nelson is the middle of seven siblings. She is a single mother of three, all of whom are artists, and grandmother of two. Nelson graduated from Thomas M. Cooley High School in Detroit. Her dream was to study art at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit.

“I didn’t know you could go to college to study art and when I found out, I had already graduated from high school,” she recalled. “I worked for a CCS alumnus named Rob Kangas, and he asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t even know CCS existed because they did not recruit at my high school. Once he told me about CCS, it was on! I knew that’s where I wanted to go!”

Nelson applied to CCS but was not accepted.

“I was so hurt and angered by that rejection,” said Nelson. “I was determined to do what I needed to do to get into CCS.”

The path from HFC to CCS

Nelson enrolled at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College), which she credits for her career.

“I wanted to go to art school, but I wasn’t prepared because I didn’t know I needed a portfolio,” said Nelson. “(HFC art instructors) Hope Palmer and Mike Mahoney helped me create a portfolio, which resulted in me getting accepted to CCS with an almost full tuition scholarship. My real first trip as an adult to the Detroit Institute of Arts was for my art appreciation class.”

She continued: “HFC prepared me with the education and the language I needed to get into CCS. HFC also taught me how to create a portfolio and prepared me to be a successful college student. I learned it was okay to ask for help when I didn’t understand an assignment. When I was in a work study program at HFC, I saw how to carry myself professionally.”

A professional artist for more than 35 years

After earning her associate degree in fine arts from HFC, Nelson was accepted into CCS. She earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts. As an interdisciplinary artist, the scope of her work includes painting, sculpture, objects, and performance.

Nelson has been a professional artist for more than 35 years. Her artwork has been exhibited at the following:

• The DIA
• The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit
• The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
• The African American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco
• The Jakmel Art Gallery in Florida
• The American University of Paris in France

“Art is my language, my truth, my breath, my sanctuary”

For more than 30 years, Nelson has judged art competitions, curated art shows and exhibits, and conducted interviews with guest artists for the City of Detroit’s video channel called My Detroit Cable. Her artwork is also in private collections in Michigan, Ohio, Florida, New York, Georgia, and California. She has been a guest curator at both The Carr Center in Detroit and the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit. In early 2024, Nelson survived as an artist in residence in Zimbabwe.

Nelson is a studio art teacher at the DIA, a position she’s held for more than two decades, where she lectures and performs artist demonstrations. Since 1995, she has taught at CCS, where she also serves as an admissions counselor.

“CCS does very well with applicants who transfer from HFC. I make it a point to attend as many transfer sessions at HFC as I can and meet students. The best part of my job is to help students understand what it is to be creative and to have a life that connects their head, heart, and hands,” she said. “Art is my language, my truth, my breath, my sanctuary. I am very excited about helping students like me find their voice and passion to make the world a much better place with us in it.”