Create a pencil drawing to take home while taking a closer look at the collection. No experience is necessary. All supplies provided.

For age 6 and up (children 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Free with museum admission; capacity is limited.

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 - Adult (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

Use leather, beads, wire, and metallic markers to create a whimsical musical instrument.

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 - Adult (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

Join Michigan Poet Laureate, Nandi Comer, and InsideOut Literary Arts for a creative writing workshop inspired by the photos of James Barnor. Participants will discuss and explore a variety of writing forms and techniques and find entry points and inspiration in an array of portraits that deepen connection to the social and political context of the exhibit.

NANDI COMER is the Poet Laureate of Michigan. She is the author of two poetry collections, American Family: A Syndrome and Tapping Out. She has won numerous awards and fellowships including a 2019 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship. She currently serves as a poetry editor for Obsidian: Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora and as the Director of the Allied Media Projects Seeds Program. 

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 - Adult (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.

Jim Campilongo is a New York roots rock guitarist, known for the sound of his 1959 Telecaster that he plays with a hybrid right-hand technique that involves the use of both a plectrum and his fingers, capturing elements of country, bluegrass, blues, and rock and roll.

He writes the popular monthly column Vinyl Treasures for Guitar Player Magazine and has recorded a series of instrumental albums with his trio and is a member of The Little Willies band with pianist and vocalist Norah Jones.

For this intimate performance he will be joined by Luca Benedetti (guitar), Andy Hess (bass) and Dan Rieser (drums). 

Dimitri, a quirky, art-obsessed kid, embarks on a wild journey through Detroit to find his missing beloved cat Kitty Montellier. With the help of neighbors, animals, even plants, Dimitri take on any challenge to reunite with his friend. Flying Cardboard Theater’s deceptively simple hand puppets, cardboard creations, and live music create a cheery experience for the whole family. 

In the DIA's newly renovated Lecture Hall. Great for all ages! (45 min) 

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

Directed by Sander Burger / 2022

Eleven-year-old Ama is a top student and aspiring professional swimmer who thinks of herself unequivocally as Dutch, but her parents are Senegalese asylum seekers, and the world she aspires to create for herself is thrown into turmoil after her mother and brother are arrested. 

Winner of 2023 New York International Children’s Film Festival Audience Award, Grand Prize for Live Action Feature. Recommended for ages 8 and up. In Dutch and French with English subtitles. (95 min.)

Watch the trailer

Drama of Works’ toy puppet theater takes us back to 1920s Harlem, where a new and unique African American culture is rapidly coming together, and where rents are rising faster than some inhabitants can manage. Three children—Rose, Jenny, and Ricky—must help their mothers set up a rent party so they can stay in their home. All they need to do is get the ice (not so easy before refrigeration), hand out invitations (and not get caught by the police)—and get a real live musician to play. Shouldn't be too hard…

In the DIA's newly renovated Lecture Hall. All ages but best suited for children 8 and up and adults. 45 min.

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