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Learning about history from art
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity and honor to speak at the Livonia Town Hall Lecture Series. Over 400 members of our communities, many of them seniors from Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, welcomed me warmly – one even placed a flower on my lapel before I stepped onto the podium. As I normally do, I started by explaining the reasons I came to Detroit and the many things I have learned during the 11 years I have lived with my family in Michig...
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Conservation on display
During the years I served as a DIA curator, I spent much time doing research in our conservation department. Exploring artwork under a microscope, discovering the elemental composition of pigments used during the Renaissance, and examining paintings with the help of X-radiography, raking or ultraviolet light were and still are some of my favorite activities.
Not many people know that the DIA is not only one of the best museums in the country, but also one that is eq...
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The importance of empty piazzas
Early in March, I was in Mount Clemens leading a tour of some DIA painting reproductions installed there for residents of Macomb County. It was a fun crowd to be with and I had the opportunity to speak about one of my favorite works in our collection: Canaletto’s Piazza di San Marco. The image shows one of the most famous town squares in the world, located in Venice (Italy), during a sunny winter morning. Scattered throughout the civic space one can observ...
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Reopening your DIA
Dear Friends,
This Friday, July 10, we will reopen the DIA for our members and tri-county residents and on July 15 to the general public. We wanted to do it this way to signal how grateful we are to Macomb, Wayne and Oakland counties for their recent millage renewal on March 10. Our re-opening team has done an extraordinary job putting together a plan with NSF International. We will have the necessary protocols in place with the highest standards so our workplace a...
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Fulfilling our mission
I could not start this monthly letter without expressing how terribly saddened I am by the events Detroit and the nation have seen during the last week. At the DIA, we stand in solidarity with the people of Detroit and those around the world appealing for an end to racism, inequality, brutality and fear. The Detroit Institute of Arts commits to serving as a place of inclusion, diversity and equity for everyone in our community and beyond. We believe in th...
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The impact of the DIA
In 2015 when I became the DIA director, I started to travel in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to any public place that would give me a microphone and an audience to speak to. I believed (and I still do) that it was necessary for everyone to be aware not only of the great art treasures that we keep in public trust, but also the extraordinary focus that our team places on our visitors and their experiences in the museum. I met many individuals from our tri-counties who...
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Kermit at the DIA
A couple of months ago, during our standing Tuesday Strategy Group meeting, where all the division heads gather to establish our chief lines of action, one of my colleagues announced that Kermit The Frog and Howdy Doody were going to go on display in our puppet case. I was familiar with the latter, but I had never heard the word Kermit in my life. So one of my colleagues pulled out her phone and showed me who Kermit was. Oh! I said, that is La Rana Gustavo (Kermit the ...
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Starting the next chapter
A couple of weeks ago my wife, Alex, drove our daughter Piper to New York City, where she is starting college this week. While they were traveling, I spent a good amount of time thinking about the current year, the upcoming one, and the opportunities we have ahead of us. With the school year just started, one looks back at 2020 and has the impression that much of the time was devoted to managing a world health crisis and how we have adapted to it. Let’s not forget, h...
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Conservation Science
After a short and very much enjoyed holiday break, I returned to work last week and started to catch up with our very exciting initiatives for 2020. I also had lunch with one of our patrons, who is a keen art collector and a very committed DIA supporter of our education work. He just got back from London where he saw beautiful art shows at the British Museum, National Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum among other institutions. We had a very animated conversation...
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An unexpected time
Over the last couple of days Tony Drake, DIA volunteer manager, has shared with me a number of images showing many of our volunteers as DIA visitors enjoying our galleries. During the last months, I have seen Tony walking around the museum with his camera taking pictures of our staff on-site to keep us engaged and upbeat during these challenging times. His friendly photos of our visiting volunteers are accompanied by a DIA floor plan indicating the location in which they we...