Detroit Institute of Arts to hold “DIA & You, A Community Conversation” Panel discussion a follow up to museum’s series of conversations in various Detroit neighborhoods
Updated Jan 12, 2018
January 11, 2018 (Detroit)—The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will host “DIA & You, A Community Conversation” on Jan. 20 from 1 to 3 p.m., with a light reception from 3 to 3:30 p.m. The event is free with museum admission, which is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county residents.
The panel discussion is a follow up to community conversations that took place in five Detroit neighborhoods last year. The DIA held the conversations in order to establish and develop deeper relationships with Detroit communities. Through open dialog, the museum learned about the needs and interests of these five neighborhoods and identified opportunities to improve residents’ engagement with the DIA.
Panelists will discuss outcomes, strategies and ideas surrounding issues of diversity, inclusion and relevancy that were brought up during last year’s conversations. The program will be facilitated by Nichole Christian, and attendees are encouraged to come with statements and ideas of their own.
“This panel discussion is just one of several ways the DIA staff collaborates with members of our local communities to make sure our exhibitions, programs and communications are relevant and meaningful to the broadest audience possible,” said Salvador Salort-Pons.
Panelists
Nichole Christian is a Detroit native and journalist with more than 25 years in the newsrooms of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, The St. Petersburg Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is co-author of the award-winning book “Canvas Detroit,” which profiles 40 artists at the center of Detroit’s creative revival.
Halima Cassells is a native-Detroit artist and community advocate who exhibits widely and produced the Congressional Seal commemorating Rosa Parks. She is devoted to fostering community interconnectivity and is affiliated with Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition, O.N.E. Mile project, the Free Market of Detroit, PeoplesHub.org and Center for Community Based Enterprise.
Sterling Toles is a sonic and visual artist who emerged from Detroit's hip hop scene. He has created media projects with youth through Detroit Summer, and used art therapy in his work with the Rosa Parks Youth Program. Toles is a 2016 Kresge Fellow.
Chace Morris is a poet, emcee and educator from Detroit. He is writer-in-residence with the InsideOut Literary Arts Program, recipient of the DIA’s 2016 Alain Locke Award, a 2015 Knight Arts Challenge Winner, a 2013 Kresge Literary Fellow, two-time Rustbelt Poetry Slam champion and part of the Hip-Hop collective Cold Men Young.
Museum Hours and Admission
9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb 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.
January 11, 2018 (Detroit)—The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will host “DIA & You, A Community Conversation” on Jan. 20 from 1 to 3 p.m., with a light reception from 3 to 3:30 p.m. The event is free with museum admission, which is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county residents.
The panel discussion is a follow up to community conversations that took place in five Detroit neighborhoods last year. The DIA held the conversations in order to establish and develop deeper relationships with Detroit communities. Through open dialog, the museum learned about the needs and interests of these five neighborhoods and identified opportunities to improve residents’ engagement with the DIA.
Panelists will discuss outcomes, strategies and ideas surrounding issues of diversity, inclusion and relevancy that were brought up during last year’s conversations. The program will be facilitated by Nichole Christian, and attendees are encouraged to come with statements and ideas of their own.
“This panel discussion is just one of several ways the DIA staff collaborates with members of our local communities to make sure our exhibitions, programs and communications are relevant and meaningful to the broadest audience possible,” said Salvador Salort-Pons.
Panelists
Nichole Christian is a Detroit native and journalist with more than 25 years in the newsrooms of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, The St. Petersburg Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is co-author of the award-winning book “Canvas Detroit,” which profiles 40 artists at the center of Detroit’s creative revival.
Halima Cassells is a native-Detroit artist and community advocate who exhibits widely and produced the Congressional Seal commemorating Rosa Parks. She is devoted to fostering community interconnectivity and is affiliated with Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition, O.N.E. Mile project, the Free Market of Detroit, PeoplesHub.org and Center for Community Based Enterprise.
Sterling Toles is a sonic and visual artist who emerged from Detroit's hip hop scene. He has created media projects with youth through Detroit Summer, and used art therapy in his work with the Rosa Parks Youth Program. Toles is a 2016 Kresge Fellow.
Chace Morris is a poet, emcee and educator from Detroit. He is writer-in-residence with the InsideOut Literary Arts Program, recipient of the DIA’s 2016 Alain Locke Award, a 2015 Knight Arts Challenge Winner, a 2013 Kresge Literary Fellow, two-time Rustbelt Poetry Slam champion and part of the Hip-Hop collective Cold Men Young.
Museum Hours and Admission
9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb 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.