Events Calendar

Create your own pencil drawing to take home while exploring the collection up close. No experience necessary, and all supplies are provided. Open to ages 6 through adult (children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult). Space is limited.

Many people doodle as a fun, spontaneous way to express ideas. Grab some drawing materials and see where your creativity takes you! Experiment with Paint markers, Color Pencils, Gel Pens and more-to make something truly unique.

It’s awards night at the Detroit Film Theatre! Walk the red carpet into the Scarab Club for pre-film hors d'oeuvres and drinks ahead of the first screening of the Oscar-nominated Live Action and Animated Short Films.

Purchase includes:

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary, and all supplies are provided. For ages 6 to adult (children 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Space is limited.

New members are invited to a brief welcome and orientation, offering an introduction to the benefits, programs, and experiences that come with museum membership.

All members, both new and longtime, are then encouraged to gather in CafeDIA, which will serve as the Member Lounge, for a relaxed reception. Enjoy flatbread pizza, connect with fellow members, and raise a glass at the cash bar featuring signature cocktails created just for the evening.

Join us for a complimentary DIA tour and reception during our Friday night programming!

Formed in 2020, the Anzû Quartet is an ensemble dedicated to the music of our time and the evolving contemporary canon. A collaboration between internationally renowned performers of new music, the quartet pays homage to Olivier Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps by actively commissioning and performing new works for this iconic instrumentation alongside Messiaen’s original masterpiece.

The DFT’s most popular annual program brings together all of this year’s nominees in both the short animation and short live-action categories into one spectacularly entertaining event. Experiencing the Oscar® Shorts on the big screen is an astonishing reminder of how cinema can tell boldly imagined stories through the unbridled creativity of emerging filmmakers. Advance ticket purchase guarantees admission.

Join Detroit-based artist and Memory Engineer Elonte Davis for an immersive workshop that transforms memory into art.

Through the lens of love, thoughtfulness, and appreciation, participants will reimagine personal stories, found photographs, and fragments of everyday life into a collective visual narrative.

Experience the audience favorites from the latest edition of the New York International Children’s Film Festival! These amazing short films from around the world are sure to inspire curiosity and conversation for viewers big and small. Celebrating Black Stories spotlights narratives that transcend national boundaries, culture, and language.

Join Detroit-based artist and Memory Engineer Elonte Davis for an immersive workshop that transforms memory into art.

Through the lens of love, thoughtfulness, and appreciation, participants will reimagine personal stories, found photographs, and fragments of everyday life into a collective visual narrative.

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary, and all supplies are provided. For ages 6 to adult (children 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Space is limited.

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ Friends of African and African American Art Auxiliary will honor multimedia artist Alison Saar with the 33rd annual Alain Locke Award on February 22nd, 2026. Saar’s lecture, “Hither and Yon” and will draw from her 45-year career in making art in response to struggles of women and African Americans in their pursuit of equity and justice.

All five of this year’s Academy Award®-nominated shorts in the documentary category will be presented in this special program. While feature-length documentaries continue to enjoy a high profile in theaters and online, short documentaries can be just as powerful and surprising as their longer counterparts. 

The term collage, derived from the French word coller, meaning “to glue,” describes artwork made from a mix of different materials. Using this distinctive process, create a neighborhood scene with a variety of paper materials.

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience necessary and all supplies are provided. For ages 6 to adult (children 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

A three-time Grammy nominee, ELEW has solidified his place as one of the most electrifying and innovative pianists of his generation. 

Trained in and inspired by European classical counterpoint, he draws on wide-ranging historical references while maintaining the idiosyncratic Afrocentric timing at the core of jazz improvisation. 

All five of this year’s Academy Award®-nominated shorts in the documentary category will be presented in this special program. While feature-length documentaries continue to enjoy a high profile in theaters and online, short documentaries can be just as powerful and surprising as their longer counterparts. 

The term collage, derived from the French word coller, meaning “to glue,” describes artwork made from a mix of different materials. Using this distinctive process, create a neighborhood scene with a variety of paper materials.

This Guest Artist Workshop with Judy Bowman has been postponed - please join the DIA staff for a Drop-In Workshop inspired by collage artwork in the DIA collection by artists like Judy Bowman, Romare Bearden, Charles McGee and more.

Celebrate Hinamatsuri (Japanese Girls’ Day) at the DIA. Enjoy beloved traditions such as a tea ceremony, a display of hina dolls, ikebana flower arrangements, and soothing koto music, along with new programs for 2026.

The term collage, derived from the French word coller, meaning “to glue,” describes artwork made from a mix of different materials. Using this distinctive process, create a neighborhood scene with a variety of paper materials.

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience necessary and all supplies are provided. For ages 6 to adult (children 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

Join the Detroit Institute of Arts for Gabriele Münter’s Worlds, an FMCA lecture by Megan Fontanella, Curator of Modern Art and Provenance at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, at 5:30 PM in the Marvin and Betty Danto Lecture Hall, followed by a Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art member reception.

See "The Rooster's Crow" Automaton Clock come to life in the DIA's European Medieval & Renaissance galleries during its once-monthly day of operation! Throughout the day, visitors can see this rare 16th-century clock's mechanical rooster flap its wings and open its beak every fifteen minutes, and witness the figures of seven princes parade around an enthroned emperor as the clock strikes each hour.

Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary, and all supplies are provided. 

Recommended for ages 6 and up; children 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Capacity is limited.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Audra Kubat will share new and past material in a special night of music. Her ability to weave story and melody draws listeners into songs that uplift and open the heart. From stripped-down solos to expansive choral arrangements created by a team of talented musicians from Detroit and beyond, it promises to be a memorable evening of music-making.