May 9, 2023 (Detroit) – The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is proud to announce a range of public programs this June that truly includes something for everyone. From a stunning new exhibition of photographer James Barnor’s work to an exhibition focusing on high school students’ creativity, plus family-friendly programs, art-making activities, films, and more, the DIA has a great summer ahead.

Plus, the DIA is honored to be hosting this year's Glass Art Society Conference, which brings together glass artists from around the world to showcase their work. 

 

Exhibitions

James Barnor: Accra/London—A Retrospective on view through October 15

dia.org/jamesbarnor

Wayne County High School Art Exhibition opening Thursday June 1; on view through July 16

bit.ly/WCHSAE2023

 

All programs are free with museum admission, which is free for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties unless otherwise noted.

 

Friday, June 2

Free Family Fun! Drawing in the Galleries: Arts of Africa (first floor) 6–8:30 p.m.
Unwind on a Friday night and create a pencil drawing while taking a closer look at the DIA’s collection. This program, which takes place in a different gallery each week, is sure to focus your creativity. No experience necessary.

All supplies provided. For ages 6 and above (children 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

Friday Night Live! Phyllis Chen 7 p.m.

Composer and sound artist Phyllis Chen performs her playful piece Through the Thicket of Stars using her collection of hand-made music boxes and miniature instruments based on an original scroll painting by children’s author Grace Lin. Other works in this program include the captivating Tone Grove and Still Cycles by composer and artist Danny Clay.

 

Saturday, June 3

Detroit Film Theatre: 55th Annual Michigan Student Film Festival 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

Recognized by the American Film Institute as the longest-running K–12 student film festival in the nation, the Michigan Student Film Festival gives students their first public venue. Learn more at daftonline.org.

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Weaving Noon–4 p.m.

Weaving has been practiced by almost every culture, for thousands of years. In this art-making session, you’ll learn to use a simple loom to make your own art. Gather inspiration by checking out woven pieces in our Native American and African galleries.

Detroit Film Theatre: Scarlet 3:30 & 7 p.m.

Drama, Romance | Runtime: 103 minutes

Scarlet begins by telling the story of a battle-scarred soldier who returns from World War I to his rural French village, only to discover his wife has died and left him to care for their infant daughter Juliette. As Juliette grows, she’s captivated by a local witch’s prophecy that she will be whisked away on a ship with scarlet sails. When a handsome pilot crash-lands in a field, Juliet is faced with uncertainty regarding love, family and her future.

Featured in the Cannes and New York Film Festivals. In French with English subtitles.

Tickets are $9.50 general admission and $7.50 for seniors, students, and members. Online purchases include a $1.50 convenience fee per transaction.

 

Sunday, June 4

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Weaving Noon–4 p.m.

See June 3 for description.

Detroit Film Theatre: Scarlet 2 & 4:30 p.m.

See June 3 for description.

 

Wednesday, June 7

OFFSITE SPECIAL EVENT: Afro-Beats and James Barnor at Spot Lite Detroit 5:30 p.m.–2 a.m.

Come early…stay late! The DIA is excited to partner with the brand Jerk X Jollof and gallery/event space Spot Lite Detroit for a night of drinks, West African dancing and cuisine, and Ghanian Highlife music fused with afro-rhythms—a party celebrating the legacy and career of photographer James Barnor. Free admission.

5:30–8 p.m. After-work mixer

8 p.m.–2 a.m. Dance Party

This event is in conjunction with the exhibition, James Barnor: Accra/London—A Retrospective, on view at the DIA through October 15, 2023.

 

Thursday, June 8

Glass Art Society Conference – DAY 1

The DIA is proud to be chosen as one of the three locations to host the Glass Art Society Conference, with special events, live artist demonstrations and more. This four-day conference gathers glass artists from around the globe to celebrate community and collaboration of the Glass Art Society (GAS). This year, they have partnered with the Michigan Glass Project, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering their community through the captivating power of glass art and music.

GAS is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission connects, inspires, and empowers the global glass community, with a vision to create a unified community of artists.

Day 1 Schedule:

10:30 a.m. Sally Prasch: Flame to Furnace to Lathe

12:30 p.m. Steven Hagan: All Juice, No Seeds

1 p.m. Film: The Flame: The Art and History of Flameworking

3:30 p.m. Christopher Day Politely Shouts

7 p.m. Film: Art That Gives Back: The Michigan Glass Project Documentary

 

Friday, June 9

Glass Art Society Conference – DAY 2

See June 8 for description.

Day 2 Schedule:

11:30 a.m. Bri Chesler & Minhi England

2:30 p.m. Henry Ford Greenfield Village’s Glassblowing Team

3 p.m. Creating with the Fourth State of Matter

Free Family Fun! Drawing in the Galleries: European: British & Decorative Arts 6–8:30 p.m.

See June 2 for description.

 

Saturday, June 10

Glass Art Society Conference – DAY 3

See June 8 for description.

Day 3 Schedule:

10:30 a.m. Partnership Demonstration with Detroit Cristo Rey HS

3 p.m. Film: Infinity Vessel

3 p.m. Marc Barreda & Kitty Lameris: Breaking the Ice

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Instant Photos and Picture Frames Noon–4 p.m.

Say “cheese!” Strike a pose, then create your own picture frame using a variety of materials, including beads, markers and colorful wire. Give it to someone you love or put it on your nightstand!

 

Sunday, June 11

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Instant Photos and Picture Frames Noon–4 p.m.

See June 10 for description.

 

Friday, June 16

Free Family Fun! Drawing in the Galleries: Islamic World 6–8:30 p.m.

See June 2 for description.

Friday Night Live! 30th Annual Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival: Shouse: Schumann & Shostakovich 7 p.m.

Performances by the Pelia and Hesper String Quartets, with a program of works by Robert Schumann and Dmitri Shostakovich. For more information and to register, visit dia.org.

Don’t miss these two young quartets, both of which came together in the last few years and are already blazing a path. Though the The Pelia String Quartet formed in 2019 and already has multiple awards including  special prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, a bronze at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and top prize at the Ackerman Chamber Music Competition.

The Hesper String Quartet is a Korean American chamber ensemble formed by four students at Stony Brook University in 2022. The group’s program is an energetic balance of Beethoven, Schumann, and Haydn, with works by living composers such as Joan Tower.

 

Saturday, June 17

Detroit Film Theatre: Soleil Ô 3 p.m.

Drama | 102 minutes

 Mauritanian director Med Hondo is known as one of the founders of modern African cinema, and this film—his first, made in 1970—follows a starry-eyed immigrant as he leaves West Africa and journeys to Paris in search of a job and cultural enrichment, only to discover a hostile society in which his very presence elicits fear and resentment. Soleil Ô draws on the experimental cinema of the 1960s, and Hondo uses an array of narrative techniques, including animation, docudrama, dream sequences, and more. Winner, Golden Leopard, 1970 Locarno International Film Festival. In French and Arabic with English subtitles.

The Detroit Film Theatre present this series of films by African directors, working in Africa and Europe during the 1960s and 1970s, in conjunction with the DIA special exhibition James Barnor Accra/London—A Retrospective.

Detroit Film Theatre: Lynch/OZ 7 p.m.

Documentary | Runtime: 108 minutes

Red shoes, hollow winds, gossamer bubbles, innocents in big trouble, and a longing for home are a few of the elements that crop up in almost every movie from legendary director David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet). Documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe takes a deep dive into Lynch’s work and his obsession with The Wizard of Oz (1939), which Philippe claims is the foundational text for all of Lynch’s work. Lynch/Oz expands the film’s scope from clever analysis to a larger meditation on the nature of creativity, and how the things we love form our visions of the world. Official Selection, 2023 Fantastic Fest and Tribeca Film Festival.

Tickets are $9.50 general admission and $7.50 for seniors, students, and members. Online purchases include a $1.50 convenience fee per transaction.

 

Sunday, June 18

Special Performance: 30th Annual Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival: Juneteenth Recital— Carlos Simon and Friends 2 p.m.

The DIA hosts composer Carlos Simon in a special Juneteenth performance as part of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.

An Atlanta native, Simon’s inspiration comes from his connections to gospel music and his lineage of preachers. He proves that a well-composed song can indeed be a sermon, spanning different genres, from jazz, gospel, and contemporary classical.

For more information and to register, visit dia.org.

Detroit Film Theatre: Lynch/OZ 2 p.m.

See June 17 for description.

 

Tuesday, June 20

Free Family Fun! Drawing in the Galleries: American Galleries 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

See June 2 for description.

 

Wednesday, June 21

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Creature Marionettes 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

See June 20 for description.

 

Thursday, June 22

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Creature Marionettes 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

See June 20 for description.

 

Friday, June 23

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Creature Marionettes 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m.

See June 20 for description.

Free Family Fun! Drawing in the Galleries: African American Galleries 6–8:30 p.m.

See June 2 for description.

 

Saturday, June 24

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Creature Marionettes Noon–4 p.m.

See June 20 for description.

Free Family Fun! Puppet Performance: MAROONED! A Space Comedy 2 p.m.

Jim Henson Foundation grant winners Alex and Olmsted return to the DIA with their charming puppet show MAROONED! A Space Comedy.

MAROONED! tells the story of an astronaut who crashes on an uncharted planet in the far reaches of space. With the help of the audience, she perseveres in a strange atmosphere with interesting creatures, but will she find her way home? For families of all ages.

 

Sunday, June 25

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Creature Marionettes Noon–4 p.m.

See June 20 for description.

 

Tuesday, June 27

Free Family Fun! Drawing in the Galleries: Native American 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

See June 2 for description.

 

Wednesday, June 28

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Sun Prints 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

A sun print or “photogram” creates a print by placing objects in the sun on photosensitive paper. Create your own using objects in the studio!

 

Thursday, June 29

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Sun Prints 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

See June 28 for description.

 

Friday, June 30

Free Family Fun! Drop-in Art-Making: Sun Prints 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m.

See June 28 for description.

Friday Night Live! Special Event: Highlife Music and Dancing 7 p.m.

Learn about Ghanian Highlife music and its expressive dance moves at this special Friday Night Live! event. Dance instructor Sasu Amen Ra will demonstrate and teach the elemental movements of Highlife dancing to the rhythms of Adom Highlife Band.

For more information and to register, visit dia.org.

 

Ongoing

• GooseChase | Self-guided Scavenger Hunt available on the GooseChase App.

Tour the museum and discover new works with our app-based scavenger hunts.

• Big Picture Guided Tour Tuesdays–Thursdays, 1 p.m.; Fridays, 1 & 6 p.m.; Saturdays & Sundays, 1 p.m.

Experience the highlights of the DIA with a free guided tour. Tours depart from Great Hall and last 45 minutes to one hour.

• Detroit City Chess Club Fridays, 4–8 p.m.

The club’s mission is to teach area students the game and life lessons. Members have won state, regional and national competitions. People wanting to learn to play chess should arrive between 4 and 6 p.m.; open play (no teaching) from 6 to 8 p.m.

 

Museum Hours and Admission  
9 a.m.–4 p.m., Tuesday–Thursday; 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Macomb, Oakland and Wayne County residents and DIA members. For all others, $14 for adults, $9 for seniors ages 62+, $8 for college students, $6 for ages 6–17. For membership information, call 313-833-7971.