We're sorry, this workshop with Ellen Rutt will be rescheduled at a later date this fall.

Made from a repurposed painting rack, Library For Now is a mobile art and climate exploration station in Detroit—a space to learn, share, sit, draw, talk about your favorite animal, grieve, rest, hope, and envision a regenerative future together. With books, art supplies, and activity prompts, participants are invited to engage in a medium of their choosing, whether for a moment or an entire afternoon. Library For Now will be stationed outside the DIA on the North lawn.

Ellen Rutt is a painter, quilter, and interdisciplinary artist living and working in Detroit. Through her work as an artist and facilitator, she creates objects and experiences that highlight abundant local knowledge and resources.

An immersive multimedia experience, this is the newest program from NIYAZ — a Persian, Turkish, and Indian electroacoustic musical tour de force. Prepare to be mesmerized.

Concert of Colors takes place at multiple locations across Detroit.

For more information on the full event and to view the full schedule, visit www.concertofcolors.com

The DIA’s Sensory-Friendly Saturdays offer a welcoming, inclusive art-making experience for neurodivergent children, teens, adults, and their families and friends. Each session features a thoughtfully designed project in a comfortable, supportive environment.

Join us from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the DIA Artmaking Studio. Registration is required, and all materials are provided. Open to all ages; children under 16 must be accompanied by a guardian.

This session’s project: Drawing with Scissors

Using just paper and a pair of scissors, create your own experimental collage focused on layering shapes and combining vivid colors, inspired by Henri Matisse’s Jazz series. Adaptable scissors and pre-cut shapes will be available for those who may need them.

Kid Flicks: Pride is a celebration of self-expression, community, legacy, and love. Curated specifically for ages 9 and up by the New York International Children’s Film Festival, these shorts from around the world showcase a wide range of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences in equally diverse styles. From schoolyard matchmakers to a Belgian teen and a group of Indigenous Hawaiian māhū, these stories highlight the power of embracing who you are. Presented in English or with English subtitles. (65 min.)

This program is free with museum admission.

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.

Please join us for this two-day introduction to Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)! VTS is an inquiry-based teaching method that enhances students’ abilities to describe, analyze, and interpret content through the observation and discussion of visual art. During this workshop, participants will learn how to facilitate a VTS conversation, explore the impact of VTS on student writing, and receive coaching from DIA educators.

All educators are welcome. 5.5 free State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) are pending approval.

Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art Annual Meeting, Artist Conversation, and Reception

Presented by the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art and Michigan Central Art

Schedule

5:30–6 p.m. | FMCA Annual Meeting, Marvin and Betty Danto Lecture Hall

• For FMCA members only; advance registration required.

6–7:30 p.m. | Artist Conversation: Ash Arder & Kevin Beasley, Marvin and Betty Danto Lecture Hall

• Free and open to the public; no registration required.
• Join contemporary artists Ash Arder and Kevin Beasley for presentations on their work, followed by a conversation moderated by Kelly Kivland, Director and Lead Curator at Michigan Central, and Katie Pfohl, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the DIA.

7:30–9 p.m. | FMCA Member Reception, Rivera Court

• For FMCA members only; advance registration required.

Artist Bios

Ash Arder (she/they) is a Detroit-based artist whose work explores ecology, industry, and labor through installations, sound, and material experimentation. Their recent solo exhibition Flesh Tones was presented at Cranbrook Art Museum in 2023.

Kevin Beasley (he/him) is a New York-based artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, sound, photography, and performance. His recent installation PROSCENIUM | Rebirth / Growth: The Watch / Harvest / Dormancy: On Reflection is on view at Storm King Art Center until November 2025.

Hailing from Flint, Tunde Olaniran is a creative force whose work spans music, dance, film, literature, and performance art. Filled with vibrant costumes and catchy lyrics, their performances are surrealist spectacle, blending genres like pop, dance, folk, hip-hop and R&B. Expect intricate dances, soaring vocals, throbbing basslines, and sweat-soaked sequins on the stage.

Olaniran's albums have earned critical acclaim from outlets including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and NPR. Their most recent album, Chaotic Good, features a collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, the first original composition by the world-renowned cellist. Tunde has created impactful collaborations with artists such as Mona Haydar, adrienne maree brown, Nick Cave, and Esperanza Spalding. A 2017 Art Matters Fellow, 2019 United States Artist Fellow, and 2020 University of Michigan Artist-in-Residence, Olaniran’s work for PBS earned a Regional Emmy in 2021. In 2022, they premiered Made A Universe, an experimental short film and exhibition commissioned by Cranbrook Art Museum.

This Friday Night Live! performance is proudly presented as part of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Pride Month offerings.

Pride Themed docent-led guided gallery tours will be offered one hour prior to event start time, meeting at the DIA Woodward lobby entrance. The tours will be approximately 45-minutes in length.

See "The Rooster's Crow" Automaton Clock come to life in the DIA's European Medieval & Renaissance galleries during its once-monthly day of operation!

Throughout the day, visitors can see this rare 16th-century clock's mechanical rooster flap its wings and open its beak every fifteen minutes, and witness the figures of seven princes parade around an enthroned emperor as the clock strikes each hour.

Winding the clock for one day each month is vital to maintaining its fully functional condition. This important conservation work offers a unique opportunity to see a work of Renaissance art and technology in motion.

“The Rooster’s Crow” Automaton Clock, present-day Germany (Augsburg or Nuremberg), ca. 1585, gilt copper, brass, engraved silver, steel with partial bluing. Museum purchase, Ernest Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, DIA. No. 2023.601.

The Detroit Puppet Company reimagines Shazia Omar's children's book Sun Moon Secret as a delightful shadow puppet show. Light and shadow weave together with rhythmic storytelling about sibling love, self-discovery, and the power of unleashing your inner strength.

Twin sisters Surya and Chandra live in Shanti, a beautiful village by the Bay of Bengal. The sisters love to sing, but every time they do, something strange happens. Surya's tunes create heat, while Chandra's melodies bring cold! The villagers begin to fear them, so the girls keep their powers a secret. But one summer, disaster strikes—the rain clouds disappear, leaving Shanti dry and barren. As the villagers pray for a miracle, Surya and Chandra decide they must help. Can the sisters discover the true purpose of their powers and save their home?

After the performance, families can create their own shadow puppets and learn basic techniques to tell their own stories! This program is for families of all ages.

On any given night in Detroit in the early Eighties, chances were good that Don Tapert and Tim Sparling could be heard in several Cass Corridor night spots — from the Song Shop and Café Detroit to the New Miami, Alvin’s, or downtown at The Soup Kitchen Saloon and Café Harmonie. First performing as a soulful guitar-and-piano vocal duo, and later as the rocking four-piece Tapert Sparling Band, they captivated audiences with Tapert’s original songs. Inspired by the Cass Corridor’s community of artists, writers, musicians, and actors, their unique arrangements combined acoustic guitar and piano, anchored by electric bass and drums.

The release of Cass Corridor Sunset, a 12” vinyl LP featuring eight songs recorded in the 1980s, celebrates the vibrant Wayne State music scene. Created in partnership with Cass Corridor artist Robert Sestok and Third Man Records, the project has brought Tapert and Sparling back together with the original band members: Don Tapert (guitar/vocals), Tim Sparling (piano/vocals), Mike Marshall (bass guitar), Greg Calder (drums), and Ray Goodman (electric guitar).