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 Director's Letter
A year has passed since I became director, and it feels like the time just flew by. During this year at the DIA, we have experienced change and progress. I am grateful to the staff, volunteers, and patrons for their patience, effort, and enthusiasm. They have been generous supporters and believers in me as we shift the organization for the better. Thanks to a fresh strategic plan, we have positioned the museum to play an active role in the community, working with the city and our three counties to help revitalize our neighborhoods and bring us all together through the power of art. The bedrock of our work is our extraordinary art collection, brilliant scholarly research, and engaging art interpretation. We believe art should be accessible to all and see it as the platform to learn and raise awareness about important issues in our society, such as identity and social justice. The DIA is a place for dialogue, a neutral ground where diverse communities can come together to understand each other better. Our vision is that of a town square, a point of reference, a gathering place where all are included and welcomed. We are more than an art collection; we are more than a museum. We aspire to become a vital, useful institution for everyone for the betterment of our society. Last year we implemented new initiatives to diversify our audience, board, and staff. The benefits of diversity are huge: bringing new talent, perspectives, and ideas improves the museum's performance and relevance. We have already made important additions to our staff, and soon we will announce our new team of contemporary art curators and new board members. Led by a cross-functional team, we have started an initiative, "Reflecting Our Community," that aims to have our museum's audience mirror the demographic diversity of our tri-county area. We are not working alone. We have started collaborations with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, and other organizations and community leaders. Our operating endowment is stronger than last year, thanks to important gifts from individuals and foundations. We still have much to do, and we will soon strengthen our development team and intensify our attention to this area. This has been such a rewarding year, and what I have enjoyed most has been reaching out through my "Director's Cut" series of talks. In our tri-county area, I visited more than thirty libraries, art centers, and other local institutions. Meeting you, speaking about your DIA, and listening to your thoughtful suggestions has been a humbling and illuminating education. I am impressed by how much you care about our extraordinary DIA! Together we will keep working to keep the doors open forever. 
Salvador Salort-Pons
Director
Detroit Institute of Arts Back to top |
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Exhibitions
BITTER|SWEET
Coffee, Tea & Chocolate
November 20, 2016-March 5, 2017
Special Exhibition Galleries South
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Coffee Grinder (Moulin a café)
1756-57, yellow, green, and rose gold, steel, ivory; Jean Charles Ducrollay, French.
Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Objets d'art
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This exhibition features a diverse array of European ceramics, silver, sculpture, and paintings from the DIA's renowned holdings that relate to the service and consumption of coffee, tea, and chocolate. These drinks were strongly associated with eighteenth-century Europe as the fashionable beverages of the day, yet none of the plants required for their preparation were native to the continent. Coffee arrived from Africa and the Middle East, tea from Asia, and chocolate from the Americas. Their introduction to Europe in the 1600s as the "new hot drinks" caused a near revolution in drinking habits and social customs, as well as an insatiable demand for specialized vessels, such as coffeepots, tea canisters, and chocolate pots.
Matching hot beverage sets became a mainstay of European manufactories and the exhibition includes several examples: a twenty-four piece set from Germany's Fürstemberg Porcelain Manufactory, an example from France's Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, and one from England's Royal Worcester. Individual pieces include silver coffee and chocolate pots, ceramic tea pots, and a gold coffee grinder belonging to France's
Madame de Pomadour.
The exhibition catalogue,
Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate: Consuming the World, is available in the museum shop.
The exhibition is free for DIA members, who can see it first on member preview days (Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 20). Admission is on a timed basis, and complimentary tickets must be reserved in advance, either
online or by calling 313.833.7971. There are no ticket handling fees for membees. Not a member? Join
here. For the general public,
tickets are $14 for adults, $10 for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb county residents, $7 for ages 6-17, and $5 for young visitors from the tri-county area.
The exhibition is free on Noel Night, Saturday, December 3, when the museum is open until 10 p.m. The last time to enter the exhibition is 9 p.m.
The exhibition is organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Tea and Coffee Service, 1842-43, hard-paste porcelain, porcelain enamel, gold; Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, France, designed by Hyacinthe Regnier, French, and painted by Pierre Huard, French, active 1811-46/47. Museum Purchase in memory of Tracey Albainy with gifts from many donors
DETROIT AFTER DARK
Photographs from the DIA Collection
Through April 23, 2017
Albert and Peggy de Salle Gallery of Photography
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MC5, Grande Ballroom, Zenta New Year, October 31, 1968
, 1968, pigment print; Leni Sinclair
American, born Germany. Museum Purchase with funds in memory of Mary Watson Wiese
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Leni Sinclair says she was especially obsessed with photographing musicians, compiling an archive of more than tens of thousands of images documenting Detroit's music scene, beginning in the 1960s. Her decades of photographs produced what she calls a "virtual
Who's Who of Detroit musicians, from jazz blues, R&B, Motown, rock'n'roll, reggae, African music."
She was recently given the 2016
Kresge Eminent Artist Award, which will allow her to organize and catalogue her archive. Throughout the decades she has been taking photographs, Detroit has undergone extensive changes, but she says, "the music never stopped and never will. And that is what makes Detroit such an exciting place to live."
What makes her work so memorable, says Juanita Moore, president of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, is that Sinclair "is always looking to present the soul of the artist. She wants you to feel what people at the concert feel. Her photographs show that you missed a moment, and you know it."
Sinclair has two works in
Detroit After Dark of the MC5, taken in 1968 and 1969. "I was the house photographer for the MC5, literally," she says. "We lived in the same house."
OFRENDA ALTARS
Through November 6
Special Exhibitions Galleries Central
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Ofrenda by Pilar Cote, El Amor De Mis Abuelitos, dedicated to the loving memory of the artist's maternal grandparents, Javier and Aurora Perez.
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There are only a few days left to see the popular exhibition of
ofrenda altars by local artists commemorating Day of the Dead (
Dia de los Muertos), a traditional celebration in Mexican and Mexican American communities.
Ofrenda means offering in Spanish, and the altars provide a means for people to pay respect to and remember those who have passed away, including the deceased's favorite foods, mementos, pictures, sugar skulls, and flowers as decorative elements.
Ofrendas are also used to pay homage to places, moments in time, ideas, and events that people feel are worth remembering.
THALASSA
Through March 19, 2017
Woodward Lobby
It was no easy feat to raise a work of art weighing just over 400 pounds to the ceiling of the Woodward Lobby.
Thalassa, a massive twenty-foot-tall, 400-pound sculpture of the ancient Greek goddess of the sea, was created by the New York street artist Caledonia Curry, known as Swoon.
It took ten days and two people in a mechanical lift, along with others on the ground to remove the chandelier in the Woodward Lobby before
Thalassa could be hoisted into place. The ceiling in the lobby is forty feet tall, approximately two inches higher the reach of the lift. The technicians on the Collections Management team spent long hours, sometimes until midnight, working with the artist to get everything right.
Click
here for a stop-action video of the installation.
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Detroit Film Theatre
The overwhelming success of the premiere of Gimme Danger, director Jim Jarmusch's documentary about the rise and demise of Ann Arbor's legendary band The Stooges, has led to the addition of more screenings of the film to the DFT schedule. The film can be seen on Saturday, November 5, at 1 p.m., and Sunday, November 6 at 7 p.m., as well as the previously scheduled showings Friday, November 4 through Sunday, November 6. The extra time slots ensure that tickets will be available at the door for all performances.
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Do Not Resist, the directorial debut of Detroiter Craig Atkinson, opens on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, as the community grapples with the death of Michael Brown. Step by step, across eleven states and more than two-years' time, the film tackles the rapid militarization of police forces in small American communities that have acquired the technologies and tactical weapons originally developed for use in the War on Terror. Atkinson introduces the film and discusses it with audience members on Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5, at 7 p.m. These showings are co-presented by the Detroit Free Press's Freep Film Festival and its monthly screening program.
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A work of spellbinding beauty, Julie Dash's Daughters Of The Dust is a landmark of independent American film, designated a national cinematic treasure by the Library of Congress's National Film Registry in 2004. The epic story of an African-American family preparing to move north in 1902, Daughters explores the culture of the Gullah people, descendants of slaves who lived in isolation on the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast. For more DFT information, including dates and times, or to purchase tickets, click here. |
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Awesome Fun The DIA concludes its celebration of the Mexican and Mexican American Day of the Day holiday with a last chance to view the ofrenda exhibition, dance performances, and artist talks. On Saturday, November 5, Ballet Folklórico de Detroit, a group based in Southwest Detroit, gives two presentations of traditional dances and costumes from various regions of Mexico. The performances, at 1 and 3 p.m., are suitable for families with children of all ages, On Sunday, November 6 at 3 p.m., artists with ofrendas altars in the exhibition discuss their work. This activity is for families with children at least eight years old.
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This month, the DFT Animation Club offers selections from the 2016 New York International Children's Film Festival (left), featuring more than a dozen animated and live-action films from New Zealand, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, Iran, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, and this country. Films are either in English or have easy-to-read English subtitles. This year's program, shown Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20, is recommended for audiences ages eight to adult. Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, catch Stories and Dances of the Ho-Chunk Nation at 2 p.m., Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 25, 26, and 27. Reg Pettibone, a Native American champion dancer, and members of his family provide an understanding of true Native American culture through dance, song, narration, and a display of artifacts. Looking ahead to December, don't miss Midtown's forty-fourth annual Noel Night, Saturday, December 3, when more than seventy cultural institutions and attractions, including the DIA, open their doors to the public free of charge for an array of seasonal festivities. At the museum, which is open until 10 p.m., activities include puppet performances of three traditional central European winter folk tales and a drop-in workshop featuring a community art-making project to create a winter village. Every DIA Awesome weekend includes family-friendly guided tours, art-making workshops and, on Sundays, drawing in the galleries. Activities are free with museum admission, except for the Animation Club screenings, which are free for members and $5 for the general public.
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NEW IN THE SHOP
Take advantage of the Members' Double Discount Days at the Museum Shop to get a head start on your holiday shopping. Members receive 20 percent off regularly priced merchandise now through Sunday, November 13. Find exactly what you need with the help of the shop's 2016 Holiday Gift Guide. Not a member? Click here to join. On Friday, November 4, and Saturday, November 5, during museum hours, the shop is hosting a trunk show of modern Murano glass jewelry from Diane and Mauro Gennaretti of Italianissimo. If you can't make the exclusive showing, you can find select Italianissimo pieces in the shop and online. The Bitter|Sweet: Coffee, Tea, & Chocolate shop, opening on November 18, features exhibition-related items that go beyond coffee cups and tea pots, from eco-friendly "teascarves" sporting patterns created from steeped tea bags to a made-to-order Quad Tier Spoondelier--a grand chandelier made from repurposed teaspoons that will add a touch of whimsy to any decor. A range of gift baskets filled with locally or internationally produced coffees, teas, and chocolates, are perfect for corporate and personal gift giving. For special events, including book signings and tastings, in the exhibition shop, click here.
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HONORING VETERANS The DIA is offering free museum admission, along with special programs, to veterans, active service members, and their families on Sunday, November 13, in recognition of the November 11, Veterans Day holiday. Eligible visitors should come in through the museum's John R Street group entrance and sign in at the registration table to take advantage of the day's offerings. The first 300 participants receive a 10 percent discount in the museum shop and a free coffee or soft drink with a purchase at CaféDIA. Programs include art-making workshops, tours of patriotic artwork in the American art galleries, and a screening of the film Where Soldiers Come From, an intimate look at a group of close friends' journey from reckless teenagers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to soldiers looking for roadside bombs in Afghanistan, to veterans dealing with the silent war wounds of traumatic brain Injury and posttraumatic stress disorder. Visitors can drop-in to the art-making workshops anytime from noon to 4 p.m.; tours are at 1 and 3 p.m.; and the film, appropriate for ages thirteen and older, plays at 1 p.m. Visitors can also view works created by local veterans in the DIA's eighth annual Community Group Exhibition, on view from Thursday, November 10, to Sunday, December 4 in the Walter Gibbs Learning Center. A variety of projects will be on display, including preparatory drawings and individual paintings made as studies for the Masco Veterans Park mural painted this summer by veterans and DIA studio staff at the Southwest Solutions Piquette Square housing facility in Detroit. The DIA's Community Group Program, which is supported in part by the Ford Motor Company Fund, has been serving social service agencies in the Detroit area for twenty years, providing meaningful experiences through art with gallery tours and art-making projects. Back to top |
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GALA Tickets are still available for the late-night component of the DIA's annual gala fundraiser, which this year celebrates Salvador Salort-Pons' inaugural year as director. Gala Grandiosa on Saturday, November 12, will transport guests to Salort-Pons's native Spain for the night, complete with Spanish-inspired desserts, lush gardens, and flamenco. Proceeds will ensure that the museum continues to serve as a place of inspiration and relevance for generations to come. "La Hora Loca" late-night activities begin at 9 p.m., with cocktails, light bites, desserts, music, and dancing. Click here to purchase tickets.
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| Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202
www.dia.org
313.833.7900 Comments or questions about the newsletter? Please contact us: [email protected] ADMISSION
$12.50 adults
$8 seniors (62+)
$ 6 youth (6-17)
The museum is free for members and residents of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties
Contact the Membership HelpLine at
313.833.7971 or [email protected] For group sales (15 or more) contact 313.833.1292 or dia.org/grouptours
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HOURS
Museum
Mon CLOSED
Tue, Wed, Thur 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Fri 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sat, Sun 10 a.m.-5 p.m. PARKING
Lighted, secure self-parking is available in the museum parking lot, between John R and Brush behind the museum, for $7. |
CaféDIA
313.833.7966
Tue, Wed, Thur 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Fri 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 4-9 p.m.
Sat, Sun 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Kresge Court
Tue, Wed, Thur 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Fri 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Sat., Sun 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Museum Shop
313.833.7944 or [email protected]
Open during museum hours or online at diashop.org |
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