Black men and women figure prominently in many of William Sidney Mount’s paintings, most of which are based on people and places on the north shore of eastern Long Island, New York, where Mount was born and lived most of his life.

Bruce Robertson, professor emeritus of art history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will focus on Robin Mills, the model for the Black man standing outside the barn in Mount’s famous The Power of Music.

Although the Black man in Mount’s painting is denied full participation in the activity within the barn, his substantial presence reveals, perhaps inadvertently, the substantiality of Mill’s place in Mount’s community, and hints at the agency of rural Black people like Mills who agitated to end slavery and gain full civil rights.

The Power of Music, 1847. William Sidney Mount (American, 1807–1868). Oil on canvas; framed: 67 x 78 x 7.5 cm (26 3/8 x 30 11/16 x 2 15/16 in.); unframed: 43.4 x 53.5 cm (17 1/16 x 21 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1991.110

(USA/1978 — dir. by Sidney Lumet) 

Adapted from the 1974 Broadway musical of the same name, The Wiz reimagines L. Frank Baum's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  with an all-Black cast. Diana Ross plays Dorothy, a Harlem schoolteacher who finds herself magically transported to the urban fantasy Land of Oz. As she travels to find the mysterious Wiz, Dorothy befriends a Scarecrow (Michael Jackson), the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell), and the Cowardly Lion (Ted Ross). 

This Motown Productions film has become a cult favorite, with many innovations that impacted popular Black cinema from the 1970s. While at the museum, be sure to check out the DIA's special exhibition Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971 on view through June 23, 2024.  
 

In conjunction with Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971, Mr. B’s 27th Annual Piano Celebration will explore the works of composers such as Jelly Roll Morton, Meade “Lux” Lewis, Jimmy Yancey, Blind John Davis, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Errol Garner, Earl “Fatha” Hines, and many others. Featured guest pianists will include Lluis Coloma, Brendon Davis, and Elder Robert Moore.

This is an excellent opportunity to experience the original sounds and rhythms of the artists that came to define American music across the twentieth century. 

The Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and conductor Timothy Weiss celebrate the solar eclipse weekend with a performance exploring light, dark, and creativity.

This program features Canti Dell’Eclisse by Bernard Rands, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy, and Franz Joseph Hayden’s String Quartet in B-flat, op. 76, no. 4. 
 

Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen explores new sounds by applying elements of American jazz to the classical, church, and folk music of his youth. The result is an immediately identifiable Norwegian kind of jazz, a descendant of the original with new sources of inspiration that has established Gustavsen as one of Scandinavia’s leading artists.

The trio will preview selections from their soon-to-be-released tenth album which features Gustavsen (piano and electronics), Steinar Raknes (double bass and electronics), and Jarle Vespestad (drums).

“...the cleanest, most genuine manouche jazz being performed in Michigan,” a style originally developed by Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt (Local Spins). Led by guitarist Andrew Brown, the project has gathered a community of musicians who channel the tenacious agility that this music demands.

Djangophonique features Tyler Rindo (clarinet), Jorian Olk-Szost (double bass), Nicholas Martin (rhythm guitar) Katie Smith (vocals) whose soulful approach channels the mystery and appeal of an era.
 

Hailed as “an intrepid illuminator of the classical avant-garde” by the New York Times, Sarah Cahill has commissioned and recorded over seventy compositions for solo piano, including works by Terry Riley, Frederic Rzewski, Pauline Oliveros, Julia Wolfe, Roscoe Mitchell, and Ingram Marshall.

Cahill’s latest project is The Future is Female, a compilation of pieces by women composers from the Baroque to the present. 

Join us as we celebrate Women’s History Month with a talk and mixer featuring Nancy Tellem.

Tellem is the Executive Chairperson of media company Eko (formerly Interlude), co-founder of BasBlue, former President of Xbox Studios, and former President of CBS Entertainment Network and CBS Studios.
 

Join us for a public lecture with award-winning photojournalist Alan Chin as he shares his story, “Home and Away: A Photographer’s Journey Through Conflict and Culture.”

Chin will discuss his experiences as a photojournalist working in China, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Central Asia, and Ukraine, as well as the US. Copies of his book Infinity Goes Up on Trial will be available for purchase and signing.

This lecture is sponsored by the DIA's Friends of Prints, Drawings and Photographs.

Celebrate international women's month at the Detroit Institute of Arts with nathan trice / RITUALS: dance, theater & music company's Recognizing Women Project. Come experience a live transformational performance that illustrates the power, presence, and wisdom of women. Performers include Ta'Rajee Omar, Martha Bryan, Paige Bearse, Kiarra Ambrose, Halimah Consuelo, Brooklyn Purry, Lacee Chatman, Roxanne Young, Jasmine Gobourn, and Sofia Gonzalez.

Program:

• Elemental (pt. 1)
• "3"
• Acceptance
• Alchemist In the Garden
• Elemental (pt. 2)
• Their Speech Is Silver, Their Silence Is Gold

The performances will feature the music of Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Peter Gabriel, Keith Jarrett, and Arvo Part.

The Recognizing Women Project was created in 2002 as research and performance initiative to develop dance, theater, and music performances about women across cultures, generations, and geographies. Learn more about the artistic director / choreographer Nathan Trice at nathantricerituals.com