Miranda Barnes
Important Flowers
Miranda Barnes’ Social Season examines the cultural and historical significance of Black debutante balls in Detroit, situating the tradition within a lineage shaped by adaptation and community agency. The work balances portraiture with close observation of ritual and material detail, from choreography to dress, building a layered account of a social practice that operates across generations. Barnes positions the cotillion not as a static inheritance, but as a site of ongoing reinterpretation, where questions of identity, aspiration, and belonging are negotiated in the present.
