2018/China—directed by Xuan Liang & Chun Zhang | 105 min. 

From ancient Chinese legends comes an exciting tale of myth and magic. Under the ocean is a mystical race of beings that control the tide and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a restless girl named Chun, wants to experience the human world, not simply observe it. When she turns 16, she is allowed to transform into a dolphin to explore the human world.

Recommended for ages 9 and up. In Mandarin with English subtitles. 
 

The Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) auxiliary Friends of Art & Flowers welcomes Paul D. Orpello, CPH Director of Gardens and Horticulture at Hagley Museum and Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for it's annual Betsy Campbell Lecture on November 5, 2022. 

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.

"Dead on arrival. Or not? The present state of crypto and the future prospects for NFTs"

Not only has the weather this summer been scorching, to a record extent; but also, the crypto and NFT markets have experienced a commensurate meltdown. The naysayers are wagging their collective fingers and gleefully retorting in response to the recent barrage of NFT hype in a chorus of “We told you so!” But, to paraphrase Mark Twain: the death of NFTs is greatly exaggerated. Why the nascent market for digital art will outlive the current decline and rebound in rude health, sooner than you think.  

Kenny Schachter has been curating contemporary art shows in museums and galleries while teaching art history and economics for more than thirty years between Switzerland and the United States. Schachter has a column on Artnet.com and contributes to various international publications, including the New York Magazine and The Times Magazine (UK).

After making digital art for decades, Schachter has spearheaded the traditional art world’s adaptation of Non Fungible Tokens in 2020-1 by lecturing at Harvard Law School, Art Institute of Chicago, Yale and the Hirschhorn Museum and writing a series of feature articles on the subject. In 2021, he curated wide-ranging NFTism exhibitions (a term he trademarked) at Nagel Draxler in Cologne, Institut in London. An interview with Arturo Galinsino, director of Florence’s Palazzo Strozzi Museum and Schachter was published in a book on the occasion of the exhibit Let’s Get Digital in 2022.

Schachter had a retrospective of his art at Joel Mesler’s Rental Gallery in New York in the summer of 2018, curated a show at Simon Lee Gallery in London (Fall 2018) and a solo show at Kantor Gallery in LA (Feb. 2019). He recently had a show with Eva Beresin at Galerie Charim in Vienna (May 2021) and participated in Art Basel 2021/22  on multiple occasions with Nagel Draxler Gallery. In addition, Schachter inaugurated the first one-person exhibit in Nagel Draxler’s Crypto Kiosk Gallery in Berlin between January - March 2022. He is the subject of a documentary under the production and direction of Chris Smith (Tiger King/Fyre Festival) and a Hulu/ABC NFT film. Schachter lives in New York.

(Denmark, Norway, Sweden/2021 —directed by Linda Hambäck) 

Though Jonna’s home is filled with wonderful kids and a caring guardian, she can’t help but pin her hopes on one day being adopted. When that long-awaited day finally arrives, she learns that love comes in all shapes, sizes, and, er, creatures… like the enormous ape with the equally enormous heart who wants to take Jonna home. Using her own experience as an adoptee, director Linda Hambäck shares this hilarious and moving story through a powerful, nuanced lens.

A warm tale of love over greed, the joy in the things that make us different, and the life-changing magic of sometimes letting things get a little messy, The Ape Star is sure to win hearts. Recommended for families with children 6 and over. (73 minutes)  

Narcissus blossoms, tasty dim sum dishes, bowing to elders and lucky red envelopes filled with money encompass puppeteer Tom Lee’s memories of celebrating Lunar New Year when he was growing up. Born in Seoul, Korea and raised in Mililani, Hawai’i, Tom Lee is a director, designer and puppet artist based in New York & Chicago. His original works include Shank’s Mare (performed in the DFT in 2017).

He has collaborated extensively with other puppetry companies, including War Horse by the Handspring Puppet Company and Dan Hurlin’s Obie-award-winning Hiroshima Maiden and Disfarmer. In The Great Zodiac Animal Race—a live-streaming puppet show that will be projected on the DFT's giant screen—Lee retells the classic tale with shadow puppet animals inspired by Asian languages and pictograms in a film suitable for all ages. (50 minutes)

The Adventures of Prince Achmed and Tom Lee's Great Zodiac Animal Race are presented in partnership with Cinema Lamont and Detroit Puppet Company as part of their 2022 Puppet Film Series. Screenings are scheduled every weekend in August at participating Detroit venues and will focus on historic and contemporary perspectives on the art of puppetry on film. For full series schedule and film details visit the Detroit Puppet Company website >

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 Detroit-based Art Director & Illustrator, Heather Miller for a draw-along workshop. She’ll be sharing her passion for mixed media along with drawing prompts to encourage you to keep drawing regularly.

No previous drawing experience is required, all skill levels and ages are welcomed, and mistakes are strongly encouraged. All art supplies will be provided by the studio.

Heather looks forward to drawing together and cheering you on!

The Shan Puppet Theater combines traditional Taiwanese hand puppetry with indigenous Hakka culture, song, and language. Founded in 2002 by performing artist Huang Wu-shan, Shan Puppet Theater performs with live musical accompaniment, masterful vocal characterizations, and hands-on demonstrations for audiences after the show.

Journey to the West recounts the sixteen-year pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Hsüan-tsang (596-664), who journeyed to India to return lost Buddhist sutras to China. This hundred-chapter epic combines religious allegory with romance, fantasy, humor, and satire. It is one of the most popular literary works in East Asia and continues to be adapted into new media such as live-action and anime films.

Mischief in Crystal Palace, an adapted excerpt of Journey to the West, features the Monkey King and trickster hero Sun Wukong, who was born from a stone and acquired supernatural powers through Taoist practices. He was punished by the Buddha with imprisonment under a mountain for 500 years for rebelling against Heaven, only to be released when he agreed to accompany Hsüan-tsang on his journey. In this puppet play, he matches wits with the Demon Bull King and, along the way, raises a hilarious ruckus for the ages in the Crystal Palace.

The program runs 40 minutes and will be presented in Hakka, with Mandarin and English subtitles.

This program is made possible through partnerships with Michigan Taiwanese American Organization and Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York and is supported through a generous grant from the Freeman 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 - Adult (children ages 12 and younger should be accompanied by an adult). Capacity is limited.