Please join us in the Josephine F. & Walter B. Ford II Great Hall (2nd floor) between 5:30 and 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec, 8 for a simultaneous chess match between Justus Williams and 50 members of the Detroit City Chess Club at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Justus Williams became an International Master in chess in the year 2021. After achieving the National Master title at the age of 12, Williams has been a magnet in the chess community as a key piece to the award nominated and award-winning documentary “Brooklyn Castle” Williams has shined a positive light on the chess world.

We invite you to witness International Master Justus Williams as he continues to enrich the chess experience for participants and spectators alike competing in a simul match with the Detroit City Chess Club. 

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

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

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

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

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

Noel Night is an open house of the Midtown Detroit and Cultural Center districts that celebrates diverse holiday traditions amid the state’s premier arts and cultural institutions, historic churches, galleries, and a growing number of small businesses. Noel Night is the perfect backdrop for an evening packed with performances and holiday experiences—all free of charge.

Hours

• The Cultural Center (North of Woodward) 5–9 p.m.
• Midtown Detroit (South of Woodward) 5–10 p.m.

At the DIA

Detroit Film Theatre 

• Mosaic Youth Theatre Singers | 5–5:45 p.m. 
• Frisson Ensemble Performance - A Classic Christmas | 6:15 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. 

Crystal Gallery

• Free holiday make-and-take crafts | 5–9 p.m. 

Rivera Court

• Montreal Guitar Trio Performance - Holiday Music | 6 p.m. & 8 p.m. 

Great Hall

• Visit with Santa | 5–9 p.m. 

Only the Detroit Film Theatre, Crystal Gallery, Great Hall, and Rivera Court will be open to the public. 

Noel Night features:

• Live music and interactive holiday experiences
• Holiday shopping at local businesses and pop-up marketplaces
• Make-and-take activities for families
• Visits with Santa throughout the Noel Night area
• Lots of restaurants and bars to visit
• Food trucks and hot beverage stands
• Free shuttle service

Noel Night is produced by Midtown Detroit Inc., a nonprofit planning and development organization that supports the maintenance and revitalization of the Midtown Detroit and New Center neighborhoods.

For a schedule of all Noel Night events and performances at the DIA, visit their website.

The DIA Teen Arts Council invites teens ages 13–19 for a night of artmaking, mingling, exploration, and fun! Centered around the exhibition After Cubism, teens will have the opportunity to tour the gallery with Dr. Clare I. Rogan, curator of Prints & Drawings, before heading into the studio for collage making. This event includes a free pizza dinner!  

Take in the audience favorite and award-winning films from the 2023 New York International Children’s Film Festival! These amazing short films inspire curiosity and conversation for viewers big and small. With animation, live action, and documentary shorts, Kid Flicks programs offer a chance to explore new frontiers from around the world, across the street, and the ever-expanding boundaries of our own perspectives.  

Whether dreaming up the fantastical, like a spider’s goal to capture the moon, or the practical, like a young animator’s future stardom, the shorts in Kid Flicks One are sure to enchant and delight all audiences (but especially our youngest!) 65min.

Designed for ages 5 to 10, but fun for all ages. 

Registration encouraged.

The Vanaver Caravan, in collaboration with Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, present this fanciful multicultural dance, music, and theater spectacle that follows a young girl as she looks for joy in the dark days of winter. She is helped by a kind old Bear, who guides Lucia around the world to see how people everywhere keep the light of hope alive in the winter months, through the dance and music traditions of holidays like Santa Lucia, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Diwali, Yule, Advent, and Solstice. 

Into the Light wraps all the magic of Arm-of-the-Sea Theater's giant puppets into the celebratory vision of The Vanaver Caravan's world dance repertoire. The performance raises our spirits and awareness for cultural traditions, using the winter holiday season as common ground. 

For families of all ages. 

This program is supported through the generous support of the Dr. Audley M. Grossman and Paul McPharlin Puppetry Funds.