Event
Please join the Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art for our Annual Meeting from 5:30–6 p.m.
At 6 p.m., guest artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons will give a lecture on her work, which is free with registration.
The lecture will be followed by an exclusive FMCA Member reception in FJC Dining Rooms A&B.
María Magdalena Campos-Pons combines and crosses diverse artistic practices, including photography, painting, sculpture, film, video, and performance. Her work addresses issues ...
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A welcome conversation
Over the past few months, important discussions in our country have expanded to include the cultural sector overall and art institutions in particular. The DIA has recently become part of this conversation – a conversation that I welcome and encourage. The role of the arts -- the role of the DIA – and its impact on social issues is a topic on which we have focused much energy, time and thought over the past several years and one that deserves even more of ou...
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My America
I was no older than ten when I first came to America. It was a family trip and we visited New York City, Washington, D.C., and some cities in Florida. I remember the skyscrapers in Manhattan, those long cars called limos, the Spanish spoken in the streets, and the heat shock in Miami when we exited the airport. All were bigger, faster, more charged with energy and, even though I lived in Madrid, I felt like someone from a remote village who, for the first time, had come to a big ci...
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Exploring our identity as Detroiters
The holiday season is a time when some go home to be with family and friends. We take a trip each year to Spain to see my family and celebrate the New Year. Now that I am a U.S. citizen, I enjoy having two homes, and I am sad when I leave Detroit. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate to travel to different countries. If you think about it, growing up in Spain, one can take a plane to get to France, Italy or Portugal in an hour or so. All these Europea...
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Every time I leave my third-floor office and go down to the DIA galleries, I encounter a new adventure, a learning opportunity, a moment of delight, and an empathetic connection with others. Engaging with the collection and sharing it with our friends always brings new insights. During the last decade at the DIA, we have created experiences that help each visitor find personal meaning in art. In the upcoming years, we would like those moments of personal meaning to become shared experiences with...
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DFT @ HOME is a virtual screening room that presents new Detroit Film Theatre selections every week, all week, at your convenience. In addition to providing access to the best new international feature films and documentaries as they become available, the DIA will receive revenue from every ticket sold, helping to assure that when the current crisis is over, the DFT’s beloved 1927 auditorium will be ready to greet you again.
New this week
The Wild Goose Lake (China/France/...
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In honor of Robert S. Duncanson
Over Labor Day weekend, while I was preparing this newsletter, I read the fascinating life story of the African American 19th century painter, Robert S. Duncanson. I was especially interested in his trip to Europe during the 1860s, to learn the great art of the British, Italian and French masters. Other fellow American artists, like Frederic E. Church, made similar trips during this time. However, in an era where many black Americans were still enslaved, D...