Lots to Do in June at Detroit Institute of Arts

Animals in art, puppet shows and live music part of springtime fun

Enjoy a variety of activities and art experiences in June, including the exhibition It’s a Zoo in Here! Prints and Drawings of Animals. Programs are free with museum admission unless otherwise noted. For more information call (313) 833-7900 or visit www.dia.org.

Guided Tours: Wednesdays–Thursdays, 1 p.m.; Fridays, 1, 6, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays–Sundays, 1, 3 p.m.

Detroit City Chess Club: Fridays, 4–8 p.m.
The club’s mission is to teach area students the game and life lessons. Members have won state, regional, and national competitions. People wanting to learn how to play chess should show up between 4–6 p.m. There will be no teaching from 6 to 8 p.m., but visitors can play chess.

Drawing in the Galleries (for all ages): Fridays, 6–9 p.m.; Sundays, Noon–4 p.m.

Drop-In Workshops (for all ages)
Fridays, 6–9 p.m. – It’s a Zoo in Here!: Use colored pencils and decorative papers to create your favorite animal.
Friday, June 17, 6–9 p.m. – Community Drop-In Workshop: Help us make a baby elephant, using recycled newspapers, paper towels and maps, to accompany a large wooden elephant crafted from recycled wood.
Saturdays, Noon–4 p.m. – Rod Bug Puppets: Use foam core, toothpicks, pipe cleaners, beads and markers to make a fantastic bug puppet on a stick.
Sundays, Noon–4 p.m. – Folk Art Toys: Pinwheels: Create a simple folk-art toy using pencils, markers, beads and transparent paper.

Wednesday, June 1
Lecture: New Discoveries in American Ceramic History: 6:30 p.m.
New archaeological research has transformed the study of early American ceramics over the past 20 years. Ceramic historian Robert Hunter discusses the most important discoveries, paying particular attention to excavations at 17th-century Jamestown, the late-18th-century Bonnin and Morris manufactory in Philadelphia, and several 19th-century Southern potteries.

Friday Night Live, June 3
Music: Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Detroit native Jessica Hernandez’s vocal style is a sultry blend of Fiona Apple and Amy Winehouse. Her talented band, the Deltas, features Adam Davis on drums, Nick Maher on guitar, Jake Shadik on saxophone, John Raleeh on trombone and Ben Sturley on bass.

Lecture: Kiss & Tell…Partners on Partners: 7 p.m.
For more than 30 years, local and internationally recognized artists have come to Stewart & Stewart in Detroit to create hand-printed screenprints in the tradition of collaborative printmaking. Norm Stewart provides insight into the unique collaborative printmaking process at one of America’s oldest printer/publishers. Stewart gives a history of these partnerships using visuals that show the artists at work developing their complex, multicolored images.

Family Sunday, June 5
Storytelling Performance: Madam to You: 2 p.m.
Madelyn Porter explores the wondrously wide world of women through poetry, prose, music and dance. The works of Georgia Douglas Johnson, Nikki Giovanni, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and other renowned writers open the window of literary genius to celebrate the magnificent matriarch.

Friday Night Live, June 10
Music: Melvin Davis and the United Sounds: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Detroit soul legend Melvin Davis brings his vintage sound to the DIA, backed by Detroit band the United Sounds. His 1965 recording “Find a Quiet Place (and be lonely)” is a rarity in the history of Detroit soul.

Detroit Film Theatre: 13 Assassins: 7 p.m.
Set at the end of Japan's feudal era, 13 Assassins tells of a group of unemployed samurai enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne, which would plunge the country into a war torn future. For a detailed description, visit www.dia.org/dft/schedule.asp. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students, $6.50.

Saturday, June 11
Detroit Film Theatre: 13 Assassins: 7 p.m. (see June 10 for description)

Family Sunday, June 12
Artist Demonstration: Jeff Blandford: 1–4 p.m.
Jeff Blandford uses clay for his works that are often a marriage of architecture and interior design. He creates ceramic pieces, displays completed works, and discusses his creative process.

Class: Potter’s Wheel Workshop: (adults only): 1–4 p.m.
Enjoy an introduction to the potter’s wheel in this hands-on class that includes individual guidance and demonstrations. Projects will be fired for pick-up at a later date. Class size limited to 12 students. Members $36, non-members $48. To register, email registration@dia.org or call (313) 833-4005.

Detroit Film Theatre: 13 Assassins: 2 p.m. (see June 10 for description)

Friday Night Live, June 17
Music: Salim Washington Quartet: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Harlem-based jazz musician Salim Washington is an accomplished composer/arranger who plays tenor saxophone, flute and oboe. He is joined by Detroiters Marion Hayden (bass), Pam Wise (piano) and Djallo Djakate Keita (drums).

Detroit Film Theatre: Into Eternity: 7 p.m.
Nuclear devastation is the subject of this darkly funny new film, which chronicles a 100-year-long building project in Finland designed to safely bury nuclear waste until it no longer poses a safety hazard – that is, 100,000 years from now. For a detailed description, visit www.dia.org/dft/schedule.asp. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students, $6.50.

Saturday, June 18
Class: It’s a Zoo in Here! – Animal Papier Mâché: (ages 5–8 must be with an adult): 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Get inspired as you visit our exhibition It’s a Zoo in Here! Then head back to the art studio to create your own Papier Mâché animal. Class size limited to 20 students. Members $36, non-members $48. To register, email registration@dia.org or call (313) 833-4005.

Detroit Film Theatre: Into Eternity: 7 p.m. (see June 18 for description)

Family Sunday, June 19
Brunch with Bach: Musicians from the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival: 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The 18th annual Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival presents the finest music in the chamber music repertoire performed by world-class musicians. Led by Artistic Director James Tocco, this year’s festival presents Music of the Spheres, which features music both earthly and heavenly. Tickets: Brunch and Concert, 1:30 p.m. performance only, $35; Continental breakfast and concert, 11 a.m. performance only, $20; Concert only: $15. Call 313-833-4005 or visit dia.org.

Class: Sample It! (ages 5–8 must be with an adult): Noon–4 p.m.
Make a terra-cotta clay tile or creating a simple painting using milk, cloth and chalk. Clay projects will be fired for pick-up at a later date. Class size limited to 20 students. Members $12, non-members $16. To register, email registration@dia.org or call (313) 833-4005.

Family Performance: Eugene Clark's Rocky the Dinosaur in OZ: 2 p.m.
Master puppeteer Eugene Clark presents a puppet adventure featuring Rocky the Dinosaur, Tim the Tin Man, Leo the Lion and Sam the Scarecrow. The characters work with the audience to help Tim the Tin Man to keep from rusting. They must follow the “yellow stick” road along with Rocky’s side kick dog DeSoto. Even the Moonchkins make an appearance in this silly story.

Detroit Film Theatre: Into Eternity: 2 p.m. (see June 18 for description)

Detroit Film Theatre: 13 Assassins: 4:30 p.m. (see June 10 for description)

Friday Night Live, June 24
Music: Saline Fiddlers: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Led by Artistic Director Ben Culver, the Saline fiddlers perform music, song and dance from the traditions of American folk fiddle, bluegrass, jazz, western swing and Celtic music. They have performed across the United States and have introduced European fans to this unique style of American music.

Detroit Film Theatre: Bill Cunningham New York: 7 p.m.
Bill is the 80-something New York Times photographer and Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist who for decades has been obsessively chronicling fashion trends and high society soirées. For a detailed description, visit www.dia.org/dft/schedule.asp. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students, $6.50.

Saturday, June 25
Detroit Film Theatre: DFT 101: Faust: 4 p.m.
This visually brilliant fantasy is based on Goethe’s version of the story of a man who exchanges his soul for worldly pleasures. The opening sequence, in which Mephisto makes his deal with Faust, then sweeps him away on his satanic coattails, is enough to provide nightmares for months. The phenomenal power of the imagery is a textbook example of the stylistic heights reached during the golden age of German cinema in the 1920s. For a detailed description, visit www.dia.org/dft/schedule.asp. Free with museum admission and for DIA members; $5 for general public without museum admission.

Detroit Film Theatre: Bill Cunningham New York: 7 p.m. (see June 24 for description)

Family Sunday, June 26
Class: Potter’s Wheel for Adults & Children: (ages 5–8 must be with an adult): 10–11 a.m., 11 a.m.–noon, 1–2 p.m. and 2–3 p.m.
Try a potter’s wheel in this small class, with plenty of individual guidance, for absolute beginners. Participants have their own wheels for one hour of hands-on clay time. Projects will be fired for pick-up at a later date. Each class is limited to 20 people. Members $12, non-members $16. To register, email registration@dia.org or call (313) 833-4005.

Family Performance: “Whistle-Stop Renaissance Music Tour”: 2 p.m.
Anne and Rob Burns have plenty of whistles (and bells, too) to play in this fun family program. The Burnses take the audience to Shakespeare's England, Galileo's Italy and Dürer's Germany, as well as to Ireland, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Spain and even to the New World, through performances of lively songs and dance tunes. They show a fascinating array of instruments with origins in Renaissance Europe and the Middle East. See drums, winds, strings and more.

Detroit Film Theatre: Bill Cunningham New York: 2 p.m. (see June 24 for description)

Detroit Film Theatre: Into Eternity: 4:30 p.m. (see June 18 for description)

Hours and Admission
Museum hours are 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for ages 6-17, and free for DIA members. For membership information call 313-833-7971.

About the DIA
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the premier art museums in the United States, is home to more than 60,000 works that comprise a multicultural survey of human creativity from ancient times through the 21st century. From the first van Gogh painting to enter a U.S. museum (Self-Portrait, 1887), to Diego Rivera's world-renowned Detroit Industry murals (1932–33), the DIA's collection is known for its quality, range, and depth. The DIA’s mission is to create opportunities for all visitors to find personal meaning in art.