January 13, 2018: Your Arts & Culture Adventure Picks
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 Amanda Krugliak is an artist, curator, and arts administrator best known for performance and conceptual experiential installations, most notably as curator at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities since 2007. Amanda is most recently recognized nationally as co-creator artist/collaborator with Richard Barnes and anthropologist Jason De Leon for “State of Exception,” an exhibition about De Leon’s “Undocumented Migration” project. Her essay about the work of Richard Barnes will be included in the upcoming book “Object Lessons,” about the University of Michigan Collections and Museums, and a collection of her essays will be included in a catalog commemorating the U-M Institute gallery, which will be published in December 2017.
Here we are, the New Year! and the town is covered in a sheet of ice, cold snap. I wear sunglasses in the house, listening to Leonard Cohen. But then, just like the forgotten can of La Croix that explodes in the back of my friend Jen’s car, sometimes all you need is a wake-up call, a bottle rocket, a Sign….to remind you how lucky we are just to be Here.
The State Theatre Marquee by Mark Chalou
State Street, Ann Arbor
Neon Artist/Lighting Designer Mark Chalou’s new renovation of the State Theatre Marquee is nothing short of spectacular, Oscar-worthy. Just stand under the glow and bask. Chalou is an artist who understands the notion of Place, cities and towns, haunts and watering holes …his signs inhabit them. Raised in Detroit, with more than thirty years in his practice, his work is authentic, innovative, and requires no museum frame job, street becomes gallery. He carefully researches historic motifs for context, and sketches out his many revisions over time, ultimately re-inventing the way we see things in the process, from once familiar to new again. Remember to look up, and check out other stand out Chalou monikers here and in Detroit: Cafe Zola, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Adventura, Eastern Market Brewery.
Learn more about the renovation here.
Making Home
Through June 6
Detroit Institute of the Arts
DIA assistant curators of Contemporary Art Taylor Renee Aldridge and Lucy Mensah make their museum
Abelardo Morrell’s photograph Laura and Brady in the Shadow of Our House/ from Making Home.
curatorial debut with this incredibly smart and insightful exhibition. Culled from the DIA’s permanent collection, the exhibition includes works on paper, photographs, as well as installation works, all offering concepts and perceptions of home, both reassuring and still searching, resonant in complexity and the universal longing for a place we belong. The exhibition’s reach offers the opportunity to see the work of a wide range of artists such as Tyree Guyton, Clinton Snyder, Charles McGee, Jane Hammond, Carlos Diaz, Lorna Simpson and Joanne Leonard among others. The exhibition bodes well for exciting and provocative future endeavors from these dynamic new curators with sensitivity to where they stand, and a futuristic gaze.
Through June 6, entry included with regular admission/Detroit Institute of Arts/5200 Woodward Ave.
Also, in conjunction with the exhibition, the Detroit Film Theatre offers a series about Home.
Homegoing: A Conversation with Yaa Gyasi
February 6
7-8:30 PM
Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor
A few days into the future, but put it on your calendar…not to be missed.
The work of Yaa Gyasi has proven deeply relevant for many of us questioning our identities, journeys, and exact locations at this tumultuous pivot in history. Gyasi’s novel also served as inspiration for curators Aldridge and Mensah when crafting their recent exhibition Making Home (noted above)
Gyasi was born in Ghana in 1989, raised in Huntsville, Alabama, and is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Gyasi’s extraordinary novel Homegoing follows the parallel paths of two half-sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Though the sisters never meet, their journeys dovetail through a series of narratives that emerge like short stories, interconnected.
Alexis Rockman/ The Great Lakes Cycle
January 27-April 29
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids
Off of our usual squirrel track, but this is a show worth the trip, and not to be missed.
Rockman is an art star, an icon, a fixture in NYC, a presence internationally. His work is both out of this world, yet a real life imperative, conjuring up sublime painted and drawn images that also serve as beacons and omens, bringing attention to the impact climate change, globalization, invasive species, mass agriculture and urban sprawl on our environment and ecosystems.
This multifaceted project was initiated in 2013 when artist Alexis Rockman embarked on a research tour of the Great Lakes region. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a suite of five mural-sized paintings which explore separate themes that emerged during Rockman’s travels.
Make a day of it.
New York Times article about the project.
Helado Negro, Cuco + Lido Pimenta
February 19
8 PM
Museum Of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit
MOCAD is magic when it comes to avant-garde musical performances. The space lends itself to taking chances, out on a limb, yet you always feel a strong sense of community, the energy that comes from a gathering in the best sense.
Cuco is a Los Angeles based artist making synth experimental music. Helado Negro is a music and performance artist, alter ego/alias for artist Roberto Carlos Lange, whose song lyrics are consistently bilingual in English and Spanish. His work is daring, yet soulful, expressive and introspective. His fourth LP Double Youth released in 2014 garnered acclaim with Pitchfork naming it “the boldest and most intricate Helado Negro work to date.” His practice includes work in Computer Art and Animation, worked video, sculpture, sound and performance. Lange has worked on projects with numerous artists including Sufjan Stevens, Julianna Barwick (as Ombre), Mikael Jorgensen (of Wilco), Guillermo Scott Herren (of Prefuse 73), Mouse on Mars, and sculptor David Ellis.
Lido Pimienta is a Colombian-Canadian musician and human rights advocate whose music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, including traditional indigenous and Afro-Colombian musical styles and contemporary synthpop and electronic music.
Art Detroit/ Second Saturday
January 13
12-6 PM
Detroit
How fantastic, to spend the afternoon in Detroit, moseying from one gallery to another, talking about art, asking 
the difficult questions, offering up disparate opinions, drinking too much coffee, who knows… it just might change your mind about a few things, or you just might fall in love. Stand -outs destinations include David Klein Gallery/Downtown, who represents such “who’s who” terrific artists like Liz Cohen, Mith Cope, Gina Reichert, Scott Hocking, Mario Moore, Corine Vermeulen, Alison Saar etc etc. Currently on view is the work of Lauren Semivan: Door Into the Dark, hauntingly beautiful prints suggestive of psychological landscapes between sleeping and waking; Playground Detroit/Eastern Market, with the last day of the group exhibition COMM[UNITY] , which represents a small cross-section of Detroit’s creative landscape, “bound not by geography or practice, but by an enduring set of shared values and virtues;” Salt and Cedar Letterpress and Signal Return Press, two gems in Detroit that make extraordinary prints both run by two amazing women… Megan O’Connell(Salt and Cedar) and Lynne Avadenka (Signal Return); and Mark Newport at Simone deSousa Gallery /Midtown, whose surprisingly intimate works on fabric explore the vulnerabilities of loose threads, wear andtear, holes that need mending, seams exposed, the doing and undoing of things.
Jim Cherewick Exhibition
Through February 4, Closing Reception February 2
Ferndale District Library, Ferndale
Artist Jim Cherewick is a legend in these parts, reclusive Ypsi artist whose quirky watercolor paintings take you down the rabbit hole, baby. It takes me back to my days in SF, staying up all night, dreaming big, ceiling fan whirring, painting in my kitchen,where music and art were so deeply connected, and individuality fiercely embraced, and (before texting existed) you wrote late night boozy poems about crushes. The work is fresh, authentic, weird, wonderful, and wandering. Raised in Brighton, he’s lived in Ypsi for several years, where he has been featured in art exhibitions, and he spends a good deal of his time writing, recording and touring with the Detroit-based quartet Best Exes.
UMS Wallace Blogging Fellow Amanda Krugliak is an artist, curator, and arts administrator best known for performance and conceptual experiential installations, most notably as curator at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities since 2007. Amanda is most recently recognized nationally as co-creator artist/collaborator with Richard Barnes and anthropologist Jason De Leon for “State of Exception,” an exhibition about De Leon’s “Undocumented Migration” project. Her essay about the work of Richard Barnes will be included in the upcoming book “Object Lessons,” about the University of Michigan Collections and Museums, and a collection of her essays will be included in a catalog commemorating the U-M Institute gallery, which will be published in December 2017.
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November 10, 2017: Your Arts & Culture Adventure Picks
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 Amanda Krugliak is an artist, curator, and arts administrator best known for performance and conceptual experiential installations, most notably as curator at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities since 2007. Amanda is most recently recognized nationally as co-creator artist/collaborator with Richard Barnes and anthropologist Jason De Leon for “State of Exception,” an exhibition about De Leon’s “Undocumented Migration” project. Her essay about the work of Richard Barnes will be included in the upcoming book “Object Lessons,” about the University of Michigan Collections and Museums, and a collection of her essays will be included in a catalog commemorating the U-M Institute gallery, which will be published in December 2017.
Hard to believe we landed here, the first week of November, almost another year. There is no going back, only forward. Soon butter will be molded into the shape of farm animals, turkeys will be stuffed, leftovers will be lauded, and somebody will yell, “Yatzee!” I told my iPhone to call the Ann Arbor YMCA and it started playing the Village People. Even if we can’t exactly go home again, “Young Man, there’s a place you can go, have a good meal, have some fun, no need to be unhappy.” Here’s a line-up to keep you on your toes to the beat and offer sustenance till the holidays overwhelm us.
Susan Goethel Campbell:
Faulty Vision
Nov 4-Dec 16
DAVID KLEIN GALLERY, Detroit
Detroit artist Susan Goethel Campbell continues to investigate, with strong intuitions, our tenuous and complicated relationship to our environment, exploring landscapes organic and manufactured in this new exhibition at the stellar David Klein Gallery. The exhibition morphs into installation, where “[the pairing of architecture and earth becomes the focal point…]” Goethel-Campbell has consistently created work that is complex and challenging intellectually, while at the same, time, visceral and moving in regards to the emotional terrain it delves into, which we ultimately inhabit with the artist in the process.
Wonderland
Through Nov 25
Call (567) 661-7081 for hours and details
Terhune Art Gallery, Owens Community College, Perrysburg, Ohio
A little off of our usual squirrel track, but well worth the shout out and the trip…the exhibition Wonderland brings together a roster of really inventive and unique artists all on my own personal “A” list. Collectively, they design a tactile and visual experiential exhibition that is both playful and adventurous, running the gamut from survivalist skills to hope and reincarnation. Each of these artists is so compelling in their own right, and together, a very likely force.
Dar Williams
Nov 12 at 7:30 pm
The Ark, Ann Arbor
Back in the day, before I returned to Ann Arbor, my super cool folk/rock boyfriend in SF opened for Dar. We sat back in the green room chatting it up, along with her BFF, Joan Baez…wow, now that my friends is a 4 star recommendation. Dar Williams continues to combine great melodies with incredibly smart and moving lyrics, growing into herself over the years like the rest of us, refusing to read the road signs that try and tell us to turn around, or determine when we have arrived. Take advantage of seeing Dar Williams in the intimate setting of the Ark, an institution itself, and bring your daughter, and your son.
Art Demo: Something Old, Something New: An Intro to Mixed Media and Collage
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit
As part of the ongoing series of engaging workshops at the Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit-based visual artist Lucy Cahill, who specializes in illustration and poster design, shows participants how to take images from retro magazines, comics, and other sources and incorporate them as collage elements in entirely new works. Cahill offers a refreshingly contemporary voice in her own work, feeling entirely of the moment, with a nod to the past. Visitors will have the opportunity as part of the experience to make their own collage self-portrait, with guidance from the artist using different media and methods.
Jeanne Bieri: The Way In
Saturdays, Nov 11-25 at 12 noon-6 pm
Artist talk on Nov 18 at 2 pm
Hatch Art, Hamtramck
Jeanne Bier, a 2017 Kresge Artist Fellow, has her first solo exhibition at Hatch, debuting lush and intricate largescale fiber works. Bier combines the mundane with the sublime, sewing together remnants of Army blankets as well as quilt pieces, all part of the artist’s personal collection, with their own significance and stories. The stitching of these two disparate elements become meditative, according to the artist, and serve to find healing and peace amidst turmoil
Alexander Buzzalini and John Charnota:
100 Beavers
Nov 11-Dec 20, 7 -11 pm
Public Pool, Hamtramck
The name alone suggests an inventive, celebratory, irreverent, earnest, and dedicated collaboration. The exhibition intends to “serve as a metaphor for labor and production, as well as the accomplishments and shortcomings that result.”
It is no secret that the Beaver trade played heavily into history and economy of place and culture, including places like Detroit. The auto industry as well played a role in a similar way to shaping the city’s landscape and neighborhoods. And the beaver like the worker played a fundamental role overall. (Stay with me, I’m getting to the point) These conceptual artists work (like beavers) both independently and collaboratively, creating over 100 mixed media paintings and sculptures that make up the exhibition. The exhibition pays homage to a nearly forgotten resource that shaped Detroit, and also takes us through a process that promises to be both prolific and exuberant.
Sarah Innes
Through Nov 29
Bona Sera Café, Ypsilanti
Sarah Innes is an everyday painter, meant in the best sense of the word. Her paintings capture the gesture and energy of the day, her life, and town, the people in them, relationships beyond your cellphone. If you are headed to Ypsilanti, stop into Bona Sera restaurant, get a coffee, cocktail and something delectable from one of my favorite Ypsi haunts, and enjoy the view.
Through November 29th, during restaurant hours: Tuesday-Thursday 11-3, 5-9; Saturday and Sunday 10-3, 5-10; Sunday 10-3.
UMS Wallace Blogging Fellow Amanda Krugliak is an artist, curator, and arts administrator best known for performance and conceptual experiential installations, most notably as curator at the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities since 2007. Amanda is most recently recognized nationally as co-creator artist/collaborator with Richard Barnes and anthropologist Jason De Leon for “State of Exception,” an exhibition about De Leon’s “Undocumented Migration” project. Her essay about the work of Richard Barnes will be included in the upcoming book “Object Lessons,” about the University of Michigan Collections and Museums, and a collection of her essays will be included in a catalog commemorating the U-M Institute gallery, which will be published in December 2017.
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October 23, 2017: Your Arts & Culture Adventure Picks
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!
November is almost here and I am thankful to report that this month, Southeast Michigan has a cornucopia of amazing cultural events to attend. I will serve as your provisionary UMS host, serving you the most enticing events I came across this month. Let’s dig in!
The Black Opera
October 27
8 PM
Museum Of Contemporary Art Detroit
OK, so I know this event is technically in October, but let’s just call it an appetizer for the rest of the tasty events that will follow in November. The Black Opera has created a serious buzz at the MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit) over the last few years, and I would be remiss to exclude their highly anticipated return. An anonymous group of performance artists, TBO, eloquently discusses community and society using visual art, spoken word, performance art. humor and ingenious lyricism. Dripping in a funky hip-hop sound and hidden by costume, TBO leads their outstanding live band in an all-encompassing show you won’t forget. Admission is $12 and $7 for MOCAD Members. Find additional info here and don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook.
First Friday Fusion
November 3-4
Kenville Studios, Ann Arbor
AACTMAD’s dance collective A2Fusion is starting November off with footwork, hip swaying, mingling, music and more. November 3 and 4, A2 Fusion presents Indigo 2017, two days jam-packed with fusion dancing, workshops, music. learning and late night hangs. Friday November 3, catch First Fusion Fridays dance event with open dancing, live music and late night blues. Don’t know how to move or want to sharpen your skills? Join in on Saturday for the Skill Share Workshops + Practica where you can learn some steps before the Shades of Indigo dance party on Saturday night. The weekend will encompass styles of blues milonga, alternative tango +blues, blues + fusion and more. Come get your groove on with AACTMAD and A2Fusion to learn something new while moving your body! Tickets, Volunteer Info and Schedule Here.
Kelela
November 7
8 PM
El Club, Detroit
I am a total fan girl for Kelela, and once you hear her sing one note, you will be too. This Los Angeles based singer and songwriter reaches deep into listeners’ heartstrings with her sultry, soulful, jazzy and candid music. Ever since I heard Kelela’s debut mixtape ‘Cut 4 Me’ in 2013, I was hooked. Sadly, I’d never heard of her performing anywhere in Michigan ever since, and believe me, I was checking! Luckily REACT DETROIT and Southwest Detroit’s El Club are FINALLY bringing this one-of-a-kind performer to the stage. This burgeoning star is on the rise in alternative/contemporary R&B and has released music through Solange Knowles’ Saint Records. Most recently, her first full-length album Take Me Apart has set Spotify ablaze, with emotive and catchy songs that send you reminiscing through thoughts of love, relationships, and the past. She has also recently graced the cover of FADER magazine, Calvin Klein’s latest ad campaign, and received raving reviews from cultural barometer Pitchfork Media. An inimitable songstress and fashionista, Kelela is changing the sound of R&B music. She is sure to leave a lasting impression at El Club this month. Get tickets for this (all ages) show here!
Thursday Night Jazz at the Tower
November 9
9 PM – 12 AM
Tower Inn Café, Ypsilanti
I love a good night of jazz, especially over food and drinks. Stop by one of Ypsilanti’s staple restaurants for live sounds from talented jazz ensembles. Ranging from local legends to area student groups, the acts rotate just like the delicious fall beers on tap. Personally, I love going for a chill night out during the week just to remind myself that work isn’t all there is to life. With the reasonably priced food and drinks, this is a midweek event that won’t have you breaking the bank. Tower Inn always keeps a tasty selection of fall brews on draft, and I love trying the seasonal beers around Ypsilanti since they have so many local beer destinations. I would also suggest Tower Inn’s classic pizzas and apps for a quick grab and low bill. (Love those spinach triangles!)
BASQUIAT BEFORE BASQUIAT: East 12th Street, 1979-1980
November 17 – March 11
Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills
Jean Michel Basquiat’s personality and art have always intrigued me. As a fellow weird person, I have remain captivated by this artist’s psyche, unconventional technique and rise to fame, so I’m super excited to learn more at this traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.
Lucky for Southeast Michigan, Cranbrook Art Museum is the first stop for this roving spectacle, giving us a first look at Basquiat’s art prior to his ascension (as the exhibition title suggests.) Although Jean Michele Basquiat became wildly known, revered, and dissected in his final years and especially after his premature death, this exhibition explores his time as an everyday struggling street artist on the streets of New York in the late 70’s. At this time, Basquiat was living in New York’s East Village with his lover and fellow artist Alexis Adler just trying to make ends meet. Located on East 12th street, Basquiat used the NYC streets as his canvas and source of materials before he made it big in high society.
By the way, did you know that in May 2017 Basquiat’s Untitled (1982) sold for 110.5 million dollars making it the highest sum ever paid at auction for a U.S.-produced work of art? The growth of this artist’s career is inspirational! Curated by Nora Burnett Abrams, this exhibition is a heavy hitter in Cranbrook’s exciting fall season. This is a do not miss event for local art lovers! More here.
(P.S. if you’re into the iconic NY art aesthetic, don’t miss the Keith Haring exhibition also taking place this fall J — It will simultaneously be on display.)
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!
Like what you read? Sign up for email updates (choose “Arts & Culture Adventures” list).
February 22, 2017: Your Arts and Culture Adventure Picks
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).
Over the years musicians like Brandi Carlile, Carole King, Alanis Morisette, and Andra Day have felt more like companions to me. Their music makes me feel stronger, more inspired. With these events, I was happy to find a few female musicians I had never heard of, but will surely be listening to in the future. I hope this list provides a path for more opportunities to feel influenced by strong female vocalists in honor of Women’s History Month in March.
Vanessa Carlton
The Ark | February 23
Credit: Emilia Paré
Yes, THE Vanessa Carlton is playing an intimate show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. For anyone who listened to the radio in 2002, we know her best for “A Thousand Miles”. I have seen a number of great performances at The Ark, such as Lucius and Judy Collins, and I have a feeling this will be the perfect setting for Vanessa Carlton. Her soft yet powerful voice is always accompanied by her lifelong skill for the piano. Playing since she was 2 years old, Vanessa Carlton learned piano from her mother who was a music teacher. Vanessa Carlton has continued to steadily produce catchy yet complex piano-folk songs for the last 15 years. Enjoy another female vocalist, Tristen, as the opener. She has a much more poppy sound, so it will be exciting to see how she adjusts that to the intimate space at The Ark. It is one of my favorite music venues in Ann Arbor, since you are never more than 50 feet from the stage. Tickets are still on sale!
Bettye LaVette
DIA | February 23
Bettye LaVette, a queen of soul, is performing at the Detroit Institute of Arts for an evening of high caliber entertainment in a marvelous venue. Concerts at the DIA are so magical, once the sun is down, the music brings the space even more alive. A Detroit native, Bettye LaVette, had her breakout hit in 1962 with “My Man-He’s a Lovin’.” Her voice harkens Etta James, and Aretha Franklin. Since the 60’s Bettye LaVette has been nominated for a Grammy Award and performed at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008. It’s unbelievable this performance is free of charge, because it is sure to be an evening to remember. FYI: It is still recommended to make a reservation on the DIA’s website to guarantee a seat.
Dua Lipa
The Shelter | February 25
Don’t let the electronic poppy sounds of her songs fool you. Dua Lipa has serious vocal abilities. Born in London, Dua Lipa was discovered then she was 14 by posting covers of Christina Aguilera and Nelly Furtado on YouTube. She clearly has a large group of dedicated fans with 174K Twitter followers and 657K Instagram followers. Honestly, I had never heard of her before I began looking for performances by female vocalists in the area. Now I find myself downloading her music on iTunes, and getting her songs stuck in my head! The Shelter is always a great space for live music if you are looking for more of a “rock concert” feel. This should be a fun show.
Mariana Risquez
Next Wave Media Lab | March 4
Mixing Latin American music with soul, rock, and pop – Mariana Risquez’s exquisite voice transcends genres into her own unique sound. She’s working on writing and producing her own music in Michigan, and is having her debut performance at Next Wave Media Lab in Troy. When I asked her about her writing style she said, “I am inspired by the release of my emotions, love, unloving, impossible, forgiveness, betrayal, loneliness, confusion, eternity, faith, god, the past, and guilt… I know! Basically everything.” Check out this awesome international singer on the rise on March 4 in Troy!
Lisa/Liza
Magic Stick | March 11
Angelic vocals and a softy strummed guitar creates a hauntingly immersive sound from Lisa/Liza. Opening for Jens Lekman at the Magic Stick, Lisa/Liza performs with two others, but records her music alone. Her debut album Deserts of Youth was recorded at home with just her voice and acoustic guitar. The mellow sound of her music will be sure to captivate the audience like a quiet lullaby. Take a listen to her album, and hear for yourself.
Thanks for reading! If you know of some upcoming female powerhouse performances, let me know on Twitter! I’m always looking to be inspired by new voices.
Photos courtesy of artists and performance spaces.
Marissa Conniff is a UMS Blogging Fellow. Learn more about the blogging fellows program.
January 10, 2017: Your Arts and Culture Adventure Picks
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).
Happy New Year! I’m excited for this cold winter chock full of funky, affordable, and spectacular events to share with you! I’m still bursting about Batsheva Dance Company this past weekend at the Power Center and am really quite pumped for the rest of the UMS season, which you can gander here. Now, onto my picks for what I think will bring you warmth when the weather can’t.
Metropolis at the Senate Theater
Looking to the future? Maybe 2026? Then check out the 1927 silent film classic Metropolis, which will be playing at the historic Senate Theater in Detroit. The German expressionist epic is a dizzying two and a half hour wonder of mechanics, special effects, class struggles, and futuristic dystopian city living as told by the past. Also, there will be live musical accompaniment by Stephen Warner on the Might Wurlitzer Organ. Tickets are $10 and the film starts at 8 pm on January 14. One night only, don’t miss out. More.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Keynote + Talks at the University of Michigan
As a part of the great number of Martin Luther King Jr. Day events happening at the University of Michigan, three talks involving four truly exceptional thinkers + creators have me mouth-breathing, to say the least. The first is the keynote lecture, more so discussion between Issa Rae, writer, producer and star of the hit HBO series Insecure, and Amy Goodman, award-winning investigative journalist, author and host of Democracy Now! The two will be in conversation at 10 am on January 16 at Hill Auditorium. That same day, star poet Claudia Rankine gives a talk at Rackham Auditorium at 4 pm, and on January 18 at noon, author + activist Junot Díaz will also grace the stage. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, all of these events are free. More here and here.
Printers Without Presses at Public Pool
A group exhibition highlighting the ingenuity of printmakers without access to presses is the next show hitting the Hamtramck art space. With open doors for the past 6 years, Public Pool continues to be dedicated to showcasing contemporary art, collaborating with artists from near and far, and creating a space where community members can dive right in to whatever is going down. Printers Without Presses will accomplish all of the above, exhibiting fresh press-less work and inviting you to also make a print on the premises. The show opens on January 21 from 7-11 pm and gallery hours are Saturdays 1-6 pm until February 25, where there will be a reading + neighborhood potluck to wrap up the show. More.
Hank Willis Thomas at the Michigan Theater
Featuring a roster of prominent artists, designers, makers + creators, the Penny Stamps Speaker Series is back from winter vacation and in full throttle. Normally taking place every Thursday at 5:10 pm at the Michigan Theater, the series allows audience members to listen and learn from these creatives (for free!) as they present, converse, ask + answer questions and show work. On January 26 at 5:10 pm, contemporary photographer and visual artist Hank Willis Thomas will speak about his work, and hopefully much more, including his series Unbranded, which focuses on stripping slogans + brands from ads to direct attention to the visual and social content at play. Fingers crossed. More.
Facebook Page // Facebook Event
The Wright Museum of African American History
As the new Museum of African American History and Culture in DC continues to create buzz and ticket lines, you need not travel far to find a reputable, innovative, and an all-around wonderful local equivalent. Throughout the year, the museum hosts a great number of programs ranging from the African World Festival in the summer to field trips, film screenings and conferences. This month, the Wright has a strong line-up of MLK-related events including dance workshops, lectures, and an art exhibition opening, which are just small additions to the two permanent and two temporary exhibitions already on display. If you haven’t been, you’ve got to go. More.
Thanks for giving this a read! Which events do you have on your calendar? Have any suggestions? Feel free to shoot me an email at adamedesj@gmail.com, or comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
Photos courtesy of artists and performance spaces.
Adam Desjardins is a UMS Blogging Fellow. Learn more about the blogging fellows program.