January 24, 2020 (Detroit)—This March, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings back the popular celebration of Japanese Girls’ Day (Hinamatsuri) with performances and workshops that highlight traditional and modern Japanese culture. Throughout the month, the DIA presents movies, music and more plus free family fun, providing access to history and cultures not found on the internet or TV.

March 15 is the last day to see “Detroit Collects: Selections of African American Art from Private Collections,” exploring Detroit’s rich history as a center for African American art and artists.

General admission is always free for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

The DIA thanks its sponsors for the following programs: Friday Night Live! is supported by the DTE Energy Foundation; the Detroit Film Theatre is generously supported by Buddy's Pizza.

Exhibitions

“Kermit the Frog” on view through March 2020

“Detroit Collects: Selections of African American Art from Private Collections” on view through March 15, 2020

Guests of Honor from the Musée du Louvre: “Jean-Antoine Houdon’s Portraits of Americans in the Age of Enlightenment” on view through May 3, 2020

“Michigan’s Great Lakes: Photographs by Jeff Gaydash” on view through May 3, 2020

“From Bruegel to Rembrandt: Dutch and Flemish Prints and Drawings from 1550 to 1700” on view through July 26, 2020

“Bruegel’s The Wedding Dance Revealed” on view through August 30, 2020

Guests of Honor: Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dalí on view through September 27, 2020

Ongoing

General Guided Tours: Tuesdays–Thursdays, 1 p.m.; Fridays, 1 & 6 p.m.

Enjoy a guided tour of select galleries for an overview of the collection.

General and Family Guided Tours: Saturdays & Sundays, 1 & 3 p.m.

Enjoy a guided tour of select galleries or a family and kid-friendly tour.

Gallery Adventures: Saturdays & Sundays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

These family-friendly pop-up tours by DIA docents provide activities for children and the whole family. They take place in the French galleries on Saturdays and the Native American galleries on Sundays.

Gallery Games: Saturdays & Sundays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Families of all ages can enjoy free, take-away, kid-tested and approved games at the cart in Prentis Court next to Artie the Donkey.

Thursdays at the Museum: 1 p.m.

Special programs, including light refreshments, for adults 55+, including tours, talks, art-making, films and more.

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) is between 6 and 8 p.m.

Drawing in the Galleries (for all ages): Fridays, 6–9 p.m.; Saturdays & Sundays, Noon–4 p.m.

Drop-In Art-making (for all ages): Fridays, 6–9 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, Noon–4 p.m.

Sunday, March 1

Japanese Girls’ Day (Hinamatsuri) 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Celebrate Japanese Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri) with free family fun for all ages, with a showcase of traditional arts and modern Japanese culture including music, storytelling and films plus a tea ceremony, a Hina doll display, a Kimono demonstration and hands-on workshops featuring origami, Ikebana and Japanese sweets.

Presented by Japan Culture Development along with the General Consul of Japan in Detroit and the DIA auxiliary Friends of Asian Arts and Cultures.

DFT Family: The Tale of Princess Kaguya Noon & 2:45 p.m.

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her – but ultimately, she must confront her fate, the punishment for her secret crime.

Thursday, March 5

Thursdays at the Museum: Tour: Highlights of the Permanent Collection 1 p.m.

Friday, March 6

Friday Night Live! Detroit Youth Choir 7 & 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 7

Detroit Film Theatre: Salvador Dalí on Screen: Spellbound 2 p.m.

Ingrid Bergman is a psychiatrist attempting to recover the memory of an amnesiac patient accused of murder. The patient’s remarkable dream sequence was designed by surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Presented in conjunction with the DIA’s exhibition, Guests of Honor: Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dalí, on view at the DIA through September 27. Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.

Detroit Film Theatre: The Traitor 4:30 & 7 p.m.

This real-life story of Mafia boss Tommaso Buscetta, who fled to Brazil in the wake of an all-out war between Sicilian mob bosses over the local heroin trade then makes a decision that will change the world he’s known; striking up a rapport with crime-fighting Judge Giovanni Falcone. In the resulting “Maxi trial” of 1986, a spectacle in which hundreds of Mafiosi are tried simultaneously in a cage-equipped courtroom, the fury of Buscetta’s testimony propels The Traitor to an unforgettable, fever-pitch climax. In Italian with English subtitles. Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.

Sunday, March 8

Detroit Film Theatre: Salvador Dalí on Screen: Spellbound 2 p.m.

(see March 7 for description)

Detroit Film Theatre: The Traitor 4:30 p.m.

(see March 7 for description)

Thursday, March 12

Thursdays at the Museum: Storytelling: Great Lakes Shipwrecks 1 p.m.

In celebration of National Storytelling Day, storyteller and diver Ric Mixter shares little known secrets of the six greatest shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, including the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Special Event: Bruegel and the Brewer’s Art 6:30 p.m.

Brew masters from Atwater Brewery will be on site for this special event in conjunction with the DIA’s exhibition “Bruegel’s The Wedding Dance Revealed” inviting visitors for a narrated tasting with a specially selected flight of beers and a cheese and charcuterie board. The evening will also include a private tour of the exhibition from the exhibition team, and a performance by an early music ensemble using instruments designed in the 15th century. Purchase tickets online at dia.org/events.

Friday, March 13

Detroit Film Theatre: What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael 7 p.m.

Film critic Pauline Kael was not only controversial, she was, as Roger Ebert wrote, “the most powerful, loved, and hated film critic of her time.” Her reviews at The New Yorker both energized and infuriated readers on a weekly basis, while inspiring a generation of young filmmakers, such as Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and Brian de Palma. Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.

Friday Night Live! Ellen Rowe Octet 7 & 8:30 p.m.

Detroit Film Theatre: The Traitor 9:15 p.m.

(see March 7 for description)

Saturday, March 14

DFT Family: The Muppet Movie 2 p.m.

From the very first strum of Kermit's banjo playing The Rainbow Connection, to the road trip that brings the fearless frog together with Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, and most importantly of all, Miss Piggy, The Muppet Movie features heartwarming hilarity, outrageous antics and many Hollywood cameos. Before or after the film be sure to visit one of the original Kermit the Frog puppets on display in the museum.

Detroit Film Theatre: What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael 4:30 & 7 p.m.

(see March 13 for description)

Sunday, March 15

DFT Family: The Muppet Movie 2 p.m.

(see March 14 for description)

Detroit Film Theatre: What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael 2 & 4:30 p.m.

(see March 13 for description)

Thursday, March 19

Thursdays at the Museum: Art-Making: Accordion Books 1 p.m.

Friday, March 20

Detroit Film Theatre: Mr. Klein 7 p.m.

In Nazi-occupied France, art dealer Robert Klein exploits his country by buying and selling works of art from Jews desperate to escape. But when a Jewish man of the same name surfaces in Paris, Klein, a Catholic, comes under suspicion and begins to experience firsthand the same persecution as his victimized countrymen. In French with English subtitles. Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.

Friday Night Live! Detroit Bureau of Sound Koyaanasqatsi 7 & 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 21

Detroit Film Theatre: Mr. Klein 4 & 7 p.m.

(see March 20 for description)

Sunday, March 22

Detroit Film Theatre: Mr. Klein 2 & 4:30 p.m.

(see March 20 for description)

Thursday, March 26

Thursdays at the Museum: Film: Strangers on a Train 1 p.m.

One of Alfred Hitchcock's most exciting American masterworks is the story of two men (Robert Walker and Farley Granger) whose chance encounter on a brief train trip leads to a nightmare of suspense, paranoia and murder. Containing some of Hitchcock's most memorable set pieces, including a frenzied climax on a runaway merry-go-round.

Friday, March 27

Special Event: The Soldier’s Tale with Great Lakes Chamber Winds and Strings 7 p.m.

For more information, visit dia.org/events.

Saturday, March 28

Puppet Performance: Puppetkabob’s Dirty Gerts 2 p.m.

Puppetkabob’s paper pop-up extravaganza features a blend of historical fiction, 60s pop culture and colorful confetti as middle-schooler Carol Lee Bell discovers the best way to fit in is not to fit in at all.

Detroit Film Theatre: The Whistlers 4 & 7 p.m.

A corrupt cop named Cristi travels to the Canary Islands to collaborate with mobsters on a heist that could net millions in cash. Along the way, he meets a femme fatale who educates him on how to communicate with the gangsters in an indigenous “whistling language,” unintelligible to the police because of its resemblance to bird calls. In Romanian and English with English subtitles.  Tickets are $9.50 for general admission and $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.

Sunday, March 29

Puppet Performance: Puppet Kabob’s Dirty Gerts 2 p.m.

(see March 28 for description)

Detroit Film Theatre: The Whistlers 2 & 4:30 p.m.

(see March 27 for description)

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 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.