FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Modern Ancient Brown Foundation Appoints Justin Bayless, Mario Moore, and Dr. V. Joy Simmons to Board of Directors
New directors bring expertise in contemporary art, philanthropy, and business to support the Detroit foundation’s continued growth.
DETROIT, MI — November 10, 2026 — The Modern Ancient Brown Foundation (MABF), founded by artist McArthur Binion, announces the appointment of entrepreneur and philanthropist Justin Bayless, Detroit artist Mario Moore, and art collector and philanthropist Dr. V. Joy Simmons to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The appointments strengthen the Foundation's governance as it expands its support for artists and writers in and beyond Detroit.
“Detroit is where my story began,” said Dr. V. Joy Simmons. “So joining the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation feels like coming home. McArthur Binion has built something rare: a place where artists and writers are given time, space, and real support to do their work without having to prove anything first. I’m honored to help sustain that in the city that shaped us both.”
Central to MABF’s approach is the idea of peace of mind: providing artists and writers with the time, space, material support, and intellectual engagement needed to pursue their practices without predetermined outcomes. Rooted in Detroit, where Binion grew up, the Foundation builds on his legacy to cultivate a lasting ecosystem for future generations of artists and writers.
“As we expand our Residency and Fellowship programs and build on McArthur Binion’s legacy, we're thinking carefully about the leadership and relationships needed to sustain the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation over time,” said Taylor Renee Aldridge, Executive Director of the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation. “Justin, Mario, and Joy each bring distinct and invaluable perspectives to our organization. Their ongoing commitments in global contemporary art networks, and their collective interest in supporting Detroit’s art ecology through Binion’s charge, make them uniquely poised for the singular work we are growing at the Foundation.”
Since its founding in 2019, MABF has supported 25 artists, writers, and scholars through its Artist Residency and Visiting Fellowship. The three- to four-month Residency provides studio practitioners with dedicated time, workspace, stipends, and opportunities for critical engagement, while the six- to eight-week Fellowship supports emerging scholars and writers pursuing research and experimentation across genres and disciplines. Both programs are guided by Critical Studies, which brings research, critique, and dialogue into conversation with creative practice.
Justin Bayless is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. A graduate of Morehouse College, Bayless led the expansion of his family's healthcare business, Bayless Integrated Healthcare, into a nationally recognized provider of integrated physical and behavioral healthcare. After Magellan Health acquired it in 2020, he expanded his work with entrepreneurs through Bayless Ventures and helped establish The Journey Venture Studio, which works with underrepresented founders. Bayless serves as a trustee of Morehouse College and is involved with arts institutions including the Studio Museum in Harlem, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Phoenix Art Museum.
Mario Moore is a Detroit-born artist whose paintings explore the intersections of history, politics, literature, and contemporary Black life. A graduate of the College for Creative Studies and the Yale School of Art, he has received a Princeton Hodder Fellowship and a Kresge Artist Fellowship. His work is held in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Princeton University Art Museum, and the California African American Museum. His first survey exhibition, Mario Moore / Enshrined: Presence & Preservation, opened at Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in 2021. Moore lives and works in Detroit.
Dr. V. Joy Simmons is an art collector, philanthropist, and longtime advocate for artists of African descent and artists whose practices engage with Black culture. A retired physician who practiced at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, Simmons has played an important role in supporting cultural institutions and cultivating the next generation of art collectors. She previously served as a trustee of Stanford University and currently serves as a commissioner of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and a board member of the California African American Museum.
About the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation
Established in 2019 by artist McArthur Binion, the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation (MABF) is a Detroit-based organization supporting Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Queer artists and writers, with particular emphasis on Black practitioners. Through its Artist Residency and Visiting Fellowship, the Foundation pairs material resources with Critical Studies to create opportunities for sustained artistic practice, scholarship, and intellectual exchange. In addition to the Fellowship and Residencies, the Foundation offers public programs that connect the local arts ecology to global contemporary art discourses and histories.
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(L to R) Justin Bayless, Dr. V. Joy Simmons, Mario Moore