A virtual conversation with Dr. Kwame Tua Opoku (on YouTube)

African Art in Western Museums: Making the Case for Object Repatriations

After decades of refusal to restitute looted African artifacts, Western museums and governments started in 2022 to return objects to the African States following a historic declaration by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017. The Friends of African and African American Art of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ 2023 nominee for the Margaret Herz Demant African Art Award, Dr. Kwame Tua Opoku (pictured), is a retired United Nations Legal Advisor and a recognized voice in African repatriations.

In a live virtual conversation with Dr. Nii Quarcoopome, Curator of African Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Dr. Opoku will discuss his vast experience with restitutions and the nuances and challenges confronting the debate. Also, he will address, among other topics, the merits and demerits of the partial repatriation of African cultural patrimony, when necessary, as part of the broader dialogue about decolonizing Western museums. 

USA/2022—directed by Harold Crooks and Judd Tully | 93 min.

The Melt Goes On Forever chronicles the singular career of the elusive African-American art star David Hammons, from Watts rebellion era ’60s L.A. to global art world prominence today. Hammons’ category-defying practice–rooted in a deep critique of American society and the elite art world–is in the words of one art critic “an invitation to confront the fissures between races” as the artist seeks to go beyond the dominant culture and his own to a new one for the 21st century.

Featuring eminent artists, curators and critics, a rich trove of archival footage, animation, and an evocative soundscape, The Melt is a striking portrait of a celebrated African-American art star whose elusive, rule-breaking practice offers an essential commentary on race in America.

Black History Month programs are generously supported by the Arn and Nancy Tellem Foundation.

Driven from Europe first by the Nazi conquest of France and then the Blitz in London, the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) settled in New York City where his “mind was blown” by a form of jazz whose popularity was sweeping the city—Boogie Woogie.

Mondrian expressed the revelations of this sonic encounter in some of the best-known and best-loved mid-century abstract paintings.

Leah Dickerman, Director of Research Programs at the Museum of Modern Art, will explore some of the contexts and meanings expressed by one of the artist’s most iconic and beloved works, Broadway Boogie Woogie, which MoMA acquired in 1943, only a few months after Mondrian completed it. 

Presented by the Associates of the American Wing with help from the Ida and Conrad H. Smith Fund.

In the first decades of the 20th century, art collector and philanthropist Charles Lang Freer helped make Michigan—especially Detroit and Ann Arbor—into a global hub for the collecting and study of Chinese art. How did Freer, who founded the Freer Gallery of Art that is now part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, connect Detroit with people, institutions, and artworks across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans? And how did these cultural networks relate to and amplify the rising political and economic power of the United States in the early 20th century?

Ian Shin (Assistant Professor of History and American Culture, University of Michigan) will discuss how Charles Lang Freer’s genuine desire to learn about and care for Chinese art and antiquities positioned Michigan in the vanguard of what foreign policymakers today call “America’s Pacific Century.”

This event is co-sponsored by The Freer House/WSU and the DIA's Friends of Asian Arts and Cultures.

In conjunction with the exhibition Van Gogh in America, the Detroit Institute of Arts is hosting two scholarly panel discussions on January 12, 2023. The first session, which will be all virtual, will explore the reception of Van Gogh and his art and the history of Van Gogh’s legacy across various geographies: in Holland, Germany, France, Great Britain, United States, and Japan.

Speakers include:

• Chris Stolwijk, General Director RKD–Netherlands Institute for Art History / Professor of History of Dutch Art in an International Context, 1800–1940, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
• Alexander Eiling, Head of Modern Art, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
• Bregje Gerritse, Researcher, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• Carol Jacobi, Curator of British Art 1850–1915, Tate Britain, London
• Jill Shaw, Head, The James Pearson Duffy Department of Modern and Contemporary Art and Rebecca A. Boylan and Thomas W. Sidlik Curator of European Art, 1850–1970, Detroit Institute of Arts
• Tsukasa Kōdera, Professor of Western Art History, Osaka University

Moderator: Dorota Chudzicka, Assistant Curator of Modern European Art, Detroit Institute of Arts
 

Join us for a virtual presentation exploring the history of the DIA and the individuals who founded the museum, built its collection, and supported the institution for over 137 years. This provides the basis for understanding why the DIA is considered one of the most renowned and innovative art museums in the world.

Jeremy Wheeler is a mid-career artist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Known for his bright, dynamic work in pop art posters, graphic design, cartooning, album art, and event promotion, Wheeler turned soft during the pandemic and learned to paint watercolors.

Join Jeremy as he talks about this new practice focusing on themes ranging from Jim Henson nostalgia, The Beatles, Hollywood, and politics, Jeremy will also demonstrate how to paint a festive watercolor of Kermit the Frog.

The DIA has a rich collection of Native American artwork that offers insights into the customs, rituals, and daily activities of several indigenous cultures, past and present. Come join us as we celebrate pieces from both North and South America.

Art has a unique ability to communicate ideas and emotions associated with pressing societal topics and the human condition beyond words. This virtual tour explores these magnificent works in the DIA’s collection. 

Born and raised in the Great Lakes region, Katie Bramlage has always collected stories, sticks and stones. Through the study of physical geology and interior design, while spending time out in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific NW, she found her medium, clay. In 2011 she received her BFA with honors in Crafts from the College of Creative Studies and has shown her work in a number of juried art fairs and gallery shows in the Detroit area.  

Join us for a chat with Katie live from her studio as she talks about her processes, techniques, and what inspires her work.