August 25, 2016 (Detroit)—Art|Pride, which features works by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) artists, is the latest addition to the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) “Behind the Seen” talks and group tour offerings, joining an eclectic mix of 13 other topics. Behind the Seen (formerly Speakers Bureau) brings presentations on various aspects of the DIA and its collection to adult civic and social groups, libraries, senior centers and other community-accessible locations in metro Detroit. Most of the talks can also be given as in-museum tours.

As a benefit of the 2012 tri-county millage, the talks are free for groups in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, and $150 for other Metro-Detroit counties.

Art|Pride raises awareness of the significant contributions by LGBT artists and their impact on the art world. These artists are among leaders of modern and contemporary art and have shattered stereotypes and defied prejudice and discrimination on their path to success. Among the artists highlighted in the talk are Francis Bacon, Beauford Delaney, Gilbert and George, Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, Mickalene Thomas, Andy Warhol, Kehinde Wiley and Claude Cahun aka Lucy Schwob.

“The DIA is actively engaged in connecting to diverse communities both within our building and beyond the museum's walls,” said Salvador Salort-Pons, DIA director. “Adding this LGBT talk to our Behind the Seen lectures allows us to facilitate a dialogue that helps all members of our community find a personal connection to the DIA’s collection and to each other.”

The DIA developed the Art|Pride talk in collaboration with museum curators and LGBT communities in Detroit and Ann Arbor. The included artists have self-identified as LGBT or have lived an LGBT lifestyle as defined by their partners, family or official biographers.

To schedule a talk or group tour call 313-833-1510 or email [email protected].

Here is a list of topics; descriptions are available on the DIA website: http://bit.ly/2bkFdFE.

• DIA: The Essentials (highlights of the collection)
• Your DIA: (R)evolution (history of the DIA, its patrons and the people who built Its collection)
• Diego Rivera and the “Detroit Industry” murals
• In Our Own Voice: African American Art
• Through Her Eyes: Women Artists in the DIA Collection
• In the Garden (images of flowers, gardens and animals)
• Picturing Music (the role of music in visual art across cultures and time)
• Vogue: Clothing and Adornment
• Ordinary People by Extraordinary Artists: Degas, Renoir and Friends
• Seeking the Sacred (how art is used to communicate and reinforce ideas about religion, spirituality and cosmology)
• To Die Upon a Kiss (art that explores behaviors associated with love)
• Let Me Tell You a Story (how visual artists use stories for inspiration)
• Cows at the Opera House and Other Museum Mysteries (mysteries of the DIA, including stories and images, newly discovered meanings and issues of authenticating art)
• Through Her Eyes: Women Photographers in the DIA Collection (Behind the Seen talk only)