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). Capacity is limited.
 

Fiber artist Meli Bandera will teach participants about the structure and components of an ofrenda, then assemble one themselves.

Participants will be able to try different media and techniques, including paper cutting, punch needle, paper crafting, corn husks, and more to create papel picado, flowers, and other offerings for an ofrenda.
 

This program made possible by the PNC Foundation.

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). Capacity is limited.

USA/1936 | Dir. Charles Chaplin

Modern Times, Chaplin’s last outing as the “Little Tramp,” puts the iconic character to work as a giddily inept factory employee who becomes smitten with a gorgeous gamine (Paulette Goddard).

With its barrage of unforgettable visual gags and sly commentary on class struggle during the Great Depression, Modern Times pushes boundaries in every way.

It’s mostly a silent film, but with a synchronized Chaplin score that includes the melody “Smile”, as well as a startling comic song from Chaplin  near the end, yet it was made and successfully released almost a decade after sound came to the movies. 

Admission is free. (87 min.)

“A masterpiece. The opening sequence is possibly Chaplin’s greatest encounter with the 20th century.”—Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

USA/1931 | Dir. Charles Chaplin

Releasing a silent film years after the introduction of sound was an astonishing risk for Chaplin, yet City Lights is anything but old-fashioned. A poor tramp (Chaplin) encounters a blind flower-seller (Virginia Cherrill) on a busy city street.

She believes he’s wealthy, and rather than disillusion her, he vows to keep his status a secret, and somehow find enough money to pay for the operation that will restore her sight. His comic genius is at its height in legendary sequences, but the final moments are what it’s all about.

Admission is free; our holiday gift to you. (86 min.)

“Magical… comes closest to representing all the different notes of Chaplin’s genius.” —Roger Ebert, The Great Movies
 

Explore the variety of styles and techniques in the special exhibition After Cubism: Modern Art in Paris, 1918–1948, then experiment with materials such as graphite, pastels, and ink to create a still-life drawing of your own. 

The Recognizing Women Project is a monthly community workshop that uses dance, theater & music to illustrate our stories & experiences of the women in our lives. Join us every first Friday in November, December and January to discover our common understandings, while co-creating them into a live culminating performance that illustrate the wisdom, power and passion of the women that have touched our lives.

Who can participate? Daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, great-grandmothers, great-grandfathers… anyone who knows a woman is invited to participate.

How do you participate? Share your stories, experiences and perspectives through our monthly workshops on November 3, December 1 and January 5.

Want to be a part of the culminating March 22, 2024 performances? Join the monthly workshops and our rehearsals.

November Workshop

The next community workshop & creation process is Friday, November 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Kresge Reception.

Space is limited and registration is required.

Choreographer, anti-racist organizer, and inter-spiritual practitioner Nathan Trice is the founder and artistic director of nathantrice / RITUALS Dance. Theater. Music. performance group. He has been in residence at Brooklyn’s historic Billie Holiday Theater for nearly 20 years, with a mission to develop residencies and performances that reflect the importance of empathy, compassion, and social understanding.

In 2001 Trice created the Recognizing Women Project in response to being raised by women and a deep fascination of the power, stamina, and wisdom that live in their stories. The Recognizing Women Project has been committed to developing residencies and performances about women by gathering local community, young adult and adult female dancers, with students and practitioners of the social sciences, to work as a research analysis team. The project’s goal is to explore the commonalities in women’s experiences across generations, and present these findings through discussions and performances. 

The Recognizing Women Project will be presented in four monthly workshops (November, December, and January) beginning with this event in October and culminating in a full-stage performance on Friday, March 22, 2024, during Women’s History Month.

Who can participate? Daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, great-grandmothers, great-grandfathers… anyone who knows a woman is invited to participate.

How do you participate? Share your stories and perspectives through the monthly workshop experience.

1st Inquiry:  As a son or daughter, what is the most memorable obstacle we witnessed our mothers navigating? Without our mothers saying it, could you see, in their eyes, the complexity and weight of that obstacle?

Space is limited and registration is required.

Kelly Church is a Pottawatomi / Ottawa / Ojibwe artist and educator whose work is in the DIA’s permanent collection. Participants in this workshop will meet Church, learn about her practice, and have a black ash + cedar mat making session led by Church. The mat will be yours to keep! Other objects in the DIA’s Native American collection will be discussed.

All educators welcome. SCECHs pending.
 

Dr. Daniel Jaquet, an internationally recognized educator, curator, and swordsman, will lead six 30-minute mini-lessons, each open to six participants. Participants will learn the basic stances and foundational movements of Renaissance longsword fencing, using blunt training swords modeled after historical longswords. These exercises will emphasize careful and precise movement and will be practiced individually, with no sparring or swordplay between participants.

This fun and informative hands-on experience is suitable for families and young visitors ages 10 and up! Participants under 12 must be signed up with a parent or guardian.

Those interested in a mini-lesson should register for their preferred time and get a free ticket for admission to the temporary DIA fencing academy in the Great Hall.

Arrive early to enjoy Dr. Jaquet’s lecture and Q&A at 12:30 p.m.

Sign up soon, as tickets are limited!