December 1, 2017: Your Arts & Culture Adventure Picks

By UMS

This post is a part of a series of posts curating adventurous arts and culture experiences in Southeast Michigan. Sign up for email updates (choose “Arts & Culture Adventures” list). 

UMS Wallace Blogging Fellow Hailey Dukes is a sponge for all things related to art and culture. Originally from Kent, Ohio, this Detroit-based transplant has spent over three years showcasing and highlighting Detroit music art and culture through her work as a Contributing Editor for with Detroit creative arts agency PLAYGROUND DETROIT and Detroit based publication Grand Circus Magazine. She has been in Southeast Michigan for over eight years. With an inherent passion for writing, a social nature, and a personal draw to cultural happenings of all sorts, she has combined her love and interests to promote a bouquet of talent in Detroit while having fun in the process. Hailey is excited to expand her love for showcasing underground arts to the larger region of Southeast Michigan and can’t wait to serve juicy, appetizing and flavorful events to the the UMS readership!

UMS blog, you’ve been so good this year  I have a wonderful gift for you. MY amazing, one of a kind, heartfelt December recommendations! Okay. Really this is something  you get every month so let’s just call it the gift that keeps on giving. Read on for reasons to trudge outside through one of Michigan’s most dreaded seasons. You won’t regret warming up your car for 20 minutes to go to these, I promise!

Chantae Cann
December 1
7 PM – 10 PM
Jazz Cafe At Music Hall, Detroit

Chantae  Cann is a vibrant ray who emanates self-empowerment, inner strength, and the honesty it takes to look inside.  Accompanied by piano, horns, organ, drums and other typical jazz ingredients, Cann’s voice and lyrics set a calming tone that just makes you feel like everything’s gonna be okay.

Cann’s debut album “Journey to Golden” climbed the iTunes and Billboard jazz charts piquing industry attention and this artist is now on tour following the recent release of her 2017 album Sol Empowered. I’d say this artist would be the resulting child if Tony Robbins, Erykah Badu, Norah Jones,  and India Arie had a baby. (LOL) By combining  neo-soul and jazz influences in an uplifting package, Cann’s music resonates with listeners’ thoughts and emotions on a sublime level.

Come warm your soul with Chantae Cann! Tickets here.

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Noel Night
December 2
5 PM – 10 PM
Midtown Detroit, Detroit

Everyone loves Noel Night in Detroit. On this special occasion, Detroit’s cultural center  lights up (literally) like a child’s eyes on Christmas morning as the public hits the streets for a night of fun. With “over 100 participating venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Michigan Science Center, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Public Library,” these institutions along with art galleries, retail shops and food vendors will stay up late for an open house of sorts.

All museums will be free of charge on Noel Night, and activities like horse-drawn carriage rides and holiday shopping are available. As noelnight.org states, “over 200 area music theatre and dance groups” will perform throughout Midtown’s cultural center near Wayne State University. Headlining performers include: Afro Blue, Cantus, Sidewalk Chalk, The Cactus Blossoms, Les Nubians, Etienne Charles’ Creole Christmas, The Tartan Terrors, the Rhythm Society Orchestra with Paul King, and Thornetta Davis.

Noel Night is a great night for friends, lovers, families and individuals to go out, interface with the community, check out Detroit’s AMAZING museums, drop some dollars and catch some interesting performances. For a price of FREE.99 you can’t beat it! Come check out one of Detroit’s awaited community events on Saturday, December, 2.

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Talk Juliana Huxtable
December 7
7 PM – 8 PM
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit

Juliana Huxtable is the prototype. An educated  writer, artist, author, and amazing DJ, this hardworking and highly visible powerhouse has taken NYC (and the world) by storm with  her individuality, expression, activism, and style.

About four years ago, when Soundcloud was still  “underground,” and I got my first car auxillary cord, nothing gave me more joy than bumping new mixes from Juliana and another Soundcloud DJ named SXYLK that I was 100% sure only my friends and I knew about. We were obviously the epitome of cool.

A House of Lodosha member and founder/member of Shock Value underground dance parties (NYC), Huxtable has used the nightlife scene to unite various identities and create safe spaces through dance music and club culture. Huxtable has been featured  in NYC’s New Museum Triennial , Reena Spaulings Fine Art, and MoMA/PS1  as well as Project Native Informant  Art Museum (London, UK) and that’s just me naming a few.

Huxtable is currently a part of MOCAD’s group exhibition ‘Sonic Rebellion: Music as Resistance’ where she and other artists explore “music’s role in social change and empowerment” in connection with Detroit’s historical 1967 riots (the exhibition is up until January 7, 2018)  As an early present to us, MOCAD is putting on a free (or $5 donation) discussion with the prolific artist where she will navigate  her body of work and how it serves as a vehicle for expression around themes of  human rights, gender , sexuality, and identity. This is a rare chance to come face to face with underground club royalty. Don’t miss it! More here.

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The Nutcracker
December 9
6:30 PM
Michigan Theatre, Ann Arbor

No one can escape December without seeing that little Nutcracker’s face someplace or another, so why not make it intentional while checking out a beautiful and classic ballet? Hosted in one of Ann Arbor’s classic venues, this 2017 Nutcracker  production boasts talented and professional dancers both local and international. I personally think ballet is beautiful, exquisite, and awe-inspiring, just like the delicate snowflakes that fall each predictably frigid Michigan winter. The event is also family friendly!

As a 90’s baby I grew up in the era of both Center Stage and Black Swan, so I’ve got a thing for ballet (movies). How do they do it? IDK, all I have to say is… mad respect for the craft, so I definitely wanted to add this Christmas classic to the list. Ticket info here.

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DIYPSI Holiday Market
December 9
11 AM
Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti

I recently moved back to Washtenaw County after living away for a few years, and I’ve got to say, one thing that stands out to me in Ypsilanti is the amazing sense of community and support that the local artists give each other. At DIYpsi, talented, quirky and sometimes overlooked  Michigan artists bring their goods to market for a plethora of one of a kind gifts. Hosted at Ypsilanti’s Riverside Arts Center, this seasonal event  brings local vendors under one roof for a night of fun and meaningful spending.

DIYPSI has previewed some of the vendors online, and there are items ranging  from clothing to essential oils,  prints, jewelry, and more.  (Pro Tip – DIYpsi ALWAYS has the best jewelry.)

This event will be going on both December 9 and December 10 so don’t go get something everyone will have at the mall, don’t get that impersonal gift card, and don’t make that ugly scarf you knit for all the family members each year. Support local art and get some cool, original and unconventional gifts at your local artist market.

Learn More.

UMS Wallace Blogging Fellow Hailey Dukes is a sponge for all things related to art and culture. Originally from Kent, Ohio, this Detroit-based transplant has spent over three years showcasing and highlighting Detroit music art and culture through her work as a Contributing Editor for with Detroit creative arts agency PLAYGROUND DETROIT and Detroit based publication Grand Circus Magazine. She has been in Southeast Michigan for over eight years. With an inherent passion for writing, a social nature, and a personal draw to cultural happenings of all sorts, she has combined her love and interests to promote a bouquet of talent in Detroit while having fun in the process. Hailey is excited to expand her love for showcasing underground arts to the larger region of Southeast Michigan and can’t wait to serve juicy, appetizing and flavorful events to the the UMS readership!

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