Japan Week, sponsored by the U-M Center for Japanese Studies, is a week of Japan-related programming for youth and families. Storytime at the Museum, which promotes art enjoyment for our youngest patrons, will feature a story about Japan this week, and a hands-on activity related to it. Children ages three to six are invited to join Storytime. Parents must accompany children. Siblings are welcome to join the group. Meet in front of the UMMA Store.

See Through looks at how photographers of these images doubly frame the world around us —once through the frame of the camera lens and, again, through the frame of a reflective mirror or transparent window. UMMA Docents will reveal which photographers include their own reflections in their photographs, highlighting their active role in the creation of images. A tour will also indicate which photographers look outward, enacting an exchange of public and, sometimes, voyeuristic glances; and which look inward to domestic spaces, framing intimate views and personal moments among families and lovers. Mirrors and windows, like the medium of photography itself, expand the limits of the human eye to perceive the world and, in turn, invite viewers to see through to new visual possibilities.

The daughter of internationally acclaimed musicians, Lauren Scales has been performing most of her life. She earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music as a Songwriting Composition student at New York University. Lauren was named the NYU Steinhardt Songwriting Scholar of 2017, received national recognition as a composer/performer in the 2016 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, and claimed Second Runner Up in the 2016 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition hosted by the NJPAC and judged by such jazz icons as Christian McBride and Dianne Reeves. Most recently, she was a participant in the first annual 2018 UNISA International Jazz Vocal Competition, hosted by the University of South Africa. Blending her jazz background with soul, R&B, pop and classic rock influences, Lauren enjoys taking classic tunes and re-harmonizing them into her own eclectic style.

Find Lauren on Facebook @LaurenScalesMusic and Instagram @laurenscalesmusic.

This exhibition celebrates Gertrude Kasle (1917–2016), a key figure in the formation of Detroit’s contemporary art community in the 1960s and 70s. A pioneering female gallerist, Kasle provided midwest audiences with a venue in which to experience avant-garde art from centers like New York City, while also supporting and exhibiting regional artists. Featuring a collection of paintings, works on paper, and sculptures from the height of the Abstract Expressionist movement through the early twenty-first century including Philip Guston, Jane Hammond, Grace Hartigan, Jasper Johns, Michele Oka Doner, and Robert Rauschenberg, among others. Join docents as they explore a dynamic moment in Detroit’s cultural history and insight into Kasle’s love of looking and learning.

Danielle Belen, celebrated violinist, founder of Center Stage Strings, and U-M Associate Professor of Violin, has gathered the nation's finest young musicians for a four-week-long festival in the heart of Ann Arbor. Inspired by the art at UMMA, these artists will present a program of chamber works written throughout the centuries - from the 18th century Classical period to Brahms and beyond. 

In celebration of the University of Michigan’s Bicentennial in 2017, artist and distinguished Stamps School of Art and Design professor Jim Cogswell has been invited to create a series of public window installations at the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. For this visionary project, the artist will adhere a procession of vivid images to the glass walls of the museums in a rhythmically evocative narrative of reassembled fragments from a diverse range of artworks in both museums’ permanent collections. By leveraging the buildings’ unique architecture, the artist expands our understanding of a museum as a cultural repository and highlights the significant role of these institutions in the life of the campus community. UMMA docents will introduce the juxtaposed images and help connect the viewer to the origins and meaning of objects and their power to shape knowledge, memory, and identity.

Join Assistant Curator Jennifer Friess for a conversation about the exhibition Exercising the Eye: The Gertrude Kasle Collection, which focuses on Gertrude Kasle’s pioneering role as a contemporary art gallerist and collector in Detroit. This tour will highlight key artists from Kasle’s private collection, including Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Grace Hartigan and will explore Kasle’s significant efforts to foster new visual and cultural ideas in the Midwest during the 1960s and ‘70s.

Join Assistant Curator Jennifer Friess for a conversation about the exhibition Exercising the Eye: The Gertrude Kasle Collection, which focuses on Gertrude Kasle’s pioneering role as a contemporary art gallerist and collector in Detroit. This tour will highlight key artists from Kasle’s private collection, including Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and Grace Hartigan and will explore Kasle’s significant efforts to foster new visual and cultural ideas in the Midwest during the 1960s and ‘70s.

Taking inspiration from Urban Sketchers, a global community of artists devoted to on-location drawing, July's Family Art Studio will focus on drawing and painting what's around us at UMMA. Enjoy a tour through the galleries followed by a hands on workshop with local artists Susan Clinthorne and Nora Venturelli. Designed for families with children ages 6 and up. Parents must accompany children.

Taking inspiration from Urban Sketchers, a global community of artists devoted to on-location drawing, July's Family Art Studio will focus on drawing and painting what's around us at UMMA. Enjoy a tour through the galleries followed by a hands on workshop with local artists Susan Clinthorne and Nora Venturelli. Designed for families with children ages 6 and up. Parents must accompany children.

Historical collecting practices have had a lasting impact on representations of Africa, its history,
culture, and life today. Labeled as ‘unknown’ or ‘anonymous,’ African artists became associated
with broad cultural styles and collective identities rather than personal creativity and individual
agency. The exhibition Unrecorded: Reimagining Artist Identities in Africa includes artworks
from both named and unrecorded, contemporary and historic artists to tell an alternative story.
It explores how the changing attributes of an ‘African’ artist’s identity, and constructions of
African identity more broadly, have shaped perceptions of Africa outside of the continent.

Meet Me at UMMA invites people with mild memory loss to enjoy a guided gallery experience along with family members or care partners. This program is designed for people who live at home and their companions.

If you or someone you care about is experiencing mild memory loss, research has shown that the visual and expressive arts can be good for your mind. In addition, great enjoyment is to be found in seeking out the sights, sounds, textures, and good feelings that come with looking at, learning, and sharing feelings about paintings, music, and other creative arts.

UMMA's trained docents will accompany small groups for a guided tour and provide the opportunity for everyone to experience different kinds of art and share their responses.

Join us for a special edition of Fridays After 5 on Friday, July 20! Orange barrel season is underway in Ann Arbor (including on our front lawn!), but there's plenty to enjoy at the museum:

• Naked Ace returns to UMMA to perform outside on the steps of Alumni Memorial Hall. Bring a chair and enjoy A2's Rock N' Soul cover band!
• UMMA's galleries are open until 8 p.m. Explore our current exhibitions and permanent collections at your own pace–or use our family-friendly scavenger hunt!

Americana singer-songwriter Ed Dupas’ lived-in melodies unwind with reflective lyrics and speak to the current state of the human condition. Come enjoy an hour of songs that are soothing where possible, agitating where necessary, and seeking change where appropriate.  

Find Ed on Instagram and Facebook

This exhibition celebrates Gertrude Kasle (1917–2016), a key figure in the formation of Detroit’s contemporary art community in the 1960s and 70s. A pioneering female gallerist, Kasle provided midwest audiences with a venue in which to experience avant-garde art from centers like New York City, while also supporting and exhibiting regional artists. Featuring a collection of paintings, works on paper, and sculptures from the height of the Abstract Expressionist movement through the early twenty-first century including Philip Guston, Jane Hammond, Grace Hartigan, Jasper Johns, Michele Oka Doner, and Robert Rauschenberg, among others. Join docents as they explore a dynamic moment in Detroit’s cultural history and insight into Kasle’s love of looking and learning.

Storytime at the Museum promotes art enjoyment for our youngest patrons. During the summer we take advantage of the warm weather and the public art situated outside the Museum. As always, we include a fun, age-appropriate hands-on activity related to the story. Children ages three to six are invited to join Storytime. Parents must accompany children. Siblings are welcome to join the group. Meet in front of the UMMA Store. 

See Through looks at how photographers of these images doubly frame the world around us —once through the frame of the camera lens and, again, through the frame of a reflective mirror or transparent window. UMMA Docents will reveal which photographers include their own reflections in their photographs, highlighting their active role in the creation of images. A tour will also indicate which photographers look outward, enacting an exchange of public and, sometimes, voyeuristic glances; and which look inward to domestic spaces, framing intimate views and personal moments among families and lovers. Mirrors and windows, like the medium of photography itself, expand the limits of the human eye to perceive the world and, in turn, invite viewers to see through to new visual possibilities.

Dan Hazlett's original songs fuse folk, jazz, blues, and pop. 

Find Dan on Facebook @dan.hazlett.96 and on YouTube @DanHazlett

In celebration of the University of Michigan’s Bicentennial in 2017, artist and distinguished Stamps School of Art and Design professor Jim Cogswell has been invited to create a series of public window installations at the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. For this visionary project, the artist will adhere a procession of vivid images to the glass walls of the museums in a rhythmically evocative narrative of reassembled fragments from a diverse range of artworks in both museums’ permanent collections. By leveraging the buildings’ unique architecture, the artist expands our understanding of a museum as a cultural repository and highlights the significant role of these institutions in the life of the campus community. UMMA docents will introduce the juxtaposed images and help connect the viewer to the origins and meaning of objects and their power to shape knowledge, memory, and identity.

Historical collecting practices have had a lasting impact on representations of Africa, its history,
culture, and life today. Labeled as ‘unknown’ or ‘anonymous,’ African artists became associated
with broad cultural styles and collective identities rather than personal creativity and individual
agency. The exhibition Unrecorded: Reimagining Artist Identities in Africa includes artworks
from both named and unrecorded, contemporary and historic artists to tell an alternative story.
It explores how the changing attributes of an ‘African’ artist’s identity, and constructions of
African identity more broadly, have shaped perceptions of Africa outside of the continent.

More than ever, ideas cross geographic, generational, and ethnic boundaries, even at a time when national borders are becoming increasingly impenetrable. Beyond Borders: Global Africa reflects on this moment by considering the arts of Africa and how they have been shaped by, and have contributed to, conversations taking place across the world. Join exhibition curator Laura De Becker to look at the dynamic and influential qualities of contemporary African art and discuss works by leading artists such as Kudzanai Chiurai, Yinka Shonibare, and Serge Alain Nitegeka, among others.

See Through looks at how photographers of these images doubly frame the world around us —once through the frame of the camera lens and, again, through the frame of a reflective mirror or transparent window. UMMA Docents will reveal which photographers include their own reflections in their photographs, highlighting their active role in the creation of images. A tour will also indicate which photographers look outward, enacting an exchange of public and, sometimes, voyeuristic glances; and which look inward to domestic spaces, framing intimate views and personal moments among families and lovers. Mirrors and windows, like the medium of photography itself, expand the limits of the human eye to perceive the world and, in turn, invite viewers to see through to new visual possibilities.

Storytime at the Museum promotes art enjoyment for our youngest patrons. During the summer we take advantage of the warm weather and the public art situated outside the Museum. As always, we include a fun, age-appropriate hands-on activity related to the story. Children ages three to six are invited to join Storytime. Parents must accompany children. Siblings are welcome to join the group. Meet in front of the UMMA Store. 

More than ever in the era of globalization, ideas traverse geographic, generational, and cultural boundaries, even as national borders seem to be closing. Beyond Borders: Global Africa reflects on this moment by considering how Africa and its artists have been at the center of complex histories of encounter and exchange for centuries. Bringing together a dazzling array of works made in Africa, Europe and the United States from the nineteenth to twenty-first century, the exhibition demonstrates the international scope and reach of art from Africa and the African diaspora. Join UMMA docents as they explore the significant themes of our times including slavery, colonization, migration, racism and identity.

UMMA and Arts at Michigan celebrate Welcome Week by introducing new University of Michigan students to the wide array of possibilities for arts participation on campus. This evening event will feature live music and performances, dance, poetry, film, games, prizes, and a variety of art-making activities. 

Historical collecting practices have had a lasting impact on representations of Africa, its history,
culture, and life today. Labeled as ‘unknown’ or ‘anonymous,’ African artists became associated
with broad cultural styles and collective identities rather than personal creativity and individual
agency. The exhibition Unrecorded: Reimagining Artist Identities in Africa includes artworks
from both named and unrecorded, contemporary and historic artists to tell an alternative story.
It explores how the changing attributes of an ‘African’ artist’s identity, and constructions of
African identity more broadly, have shaped perceptions of Africa outside of the continent.

More than ever in the era of globalization, ideas traverse geographic, generational, and cultural boundaries, even as national borders seem to be closing. Beyond Borders: Global Africa reflects on this moment by considering how Africa and its artists have been at the center of complex histories of encounter and exchange for centuries. Bringing together a dazzling array of works made in Africa, Europe and the United States from the nineteenth to twenty-first century, the exhibition demonstrates the international scope and reach of art from Africa and the African diaspora. Join UMMA docents as they explore the significant themes of our times including slavery, colonization, migration, racism and identity.

See Through looks at how photographers of these images doubly frame the world around us —once through the frame of the camera lens and, again, through the frame of a reflective mirror or transparent window. UMMA Docents will reveal which photographers include their own reflections in their photographs, highlighting their active role in the creation of images. A tour will also indicate which photographers look outward, enacting an exchange of public and, sometimes, voyeuristic glances; and which look inward to domestic spaces, framing intimate views and personal moments among families and lovers. Mirrors and windows, like the medium of photography itself, expand the limits of the human eye to perceive the world and, in turn, invite viewers to see through to new visual possibilities.

Paul Rand was a giant of American design whose influential career spanned the second half of the twentieth century. His visionary and pithy conceptions of corporate and non-profit brand identities—though often graphically minimal—embody the artist’s complex philosophy, interest in modernist aesthetics, and singular wit. This exhibition features posters, book covers, and packaging designs from the entirety of Rand’s career. Visit Paul Rand: The Designer’s Task with an UMMA docent to explore the genre of graphic design within the context of the art museum and examine how Rand’s intellectual process and impact on visual culture developed over time.

Stop in to UMMA on select Friday evenings to enjoy special exhibitions and engaging activities at Fridays After 5! With all of UMMA's galleries remaining open until 8:00 p.m., this exciting series provides an interactive atmosphere for all audiences.

Park in the Maynard Structure (between Liberty and William) and receive free, validated parking. The Museum is always free.
 

Join us for future Fridays After 5 dates:

• November 9 or 16 (TBD)
• December 21
• February 15
• April 19
• May 10
• June 14
• July 19—Art Fair Edition

Abstraction, Color, and Politics in the Early 1970s explores large-scale works of art by Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Louise Nevelson, Sam Gilliam, and Al Loving, within the context of highly-charged debates of the early 1970s about aesthetics, politics, race, and feminism. This exhibition explores the gendered and racialized terms upon which great art was defined and assessed, and the strategy of artists to question the identity and aesthetics of the artist making the art. UMMA docents will help visitors look through the lens of the five artists’ works to explore the aesthetic choices inherent in abstraction as well as the acts of staining, pouring, draping, —or even taking apart the wall itself—within this charged political context.

More than ever in the era of globalization, ideas traverse geographic, generational, and cultural boundaries, even as national borders seem to be closing. Beyond Borders: Global Africa reflects on this moment by considering how Africa and its artists have been at the center of complex histories of encounter and exchange for centuries. Bringing together a dazzling array of works made in Africa, Europe and the United States from the nineteenth to twenty-first century, the exhibition demonstrates the international scope and reach of art from Africa and the African diaspora. Join UMMA docents as they explore the significant themes of our times including slavery, colonization, migration, racism and identity.

The story of Japanese archaeologist Ryoichi and evidence of his worldwide excavations are
explored by Patrick Nagatani in this series of photographs. Nagatani presents a narrative of
Ryoichi’s archeological work, supported by images of excavation sites, unearthed artifacts, and
Ryoichi’s own journal pages. According to the photographs, Ryoichi discovered evidence of an
automobile culture buried at sites across several continents: Stonehenge, the Grand Canyon,
and a necropolis in China. Docents will introduce this provocative and playful series that compels viewers to reflect on how photographs and institutions, such as museums, shape our
knowledge of the past and present.

Paul Rand was a giant of American design whose influential career spanned the second half of the twentieth century. His visionary and pithy conceptions of corporate and non-profit brand identities—though often graphically minimal—embody the artist’s complex philosophy, interest in modernist aesthetics, and singular wit. This exhibition features posters, book covers, and packaging designs from the entirety of Rand’s career. Visit Paul Rand: The Designer’s Task with an UMMA docent to explore the genre of graphic design within the context of the art museum and examine how Rand’s intellectual process and impact on visual culture developed over time.

Stop in to UMMA on select Friday evenings to enjoy special exhibitions and engaging activities at Fridays After 5! With all of UMMA's galleries remaining open until 8:00 p.m., this exciting series provides an interactive atmosphere for all audiences.

Park in the Maynard Structure (between Liberty and William) and receive free, validated parking. The Museum is always free.
 

Join us for future Fridays After 5 dates:

• February 15
• April 19
• May 10
• June 14
• July 19—Art Fair Edition

Stop in to UMMA on select Friday evenings to enjoy special exhibitions and engaging activities at Fridays After 5! With all of UMMA's galleries remaining open until 8:00 p.m., this exciting series provides an interactive atmosphere for all audiences.

Park in the Maynard Structure (between Liberty and William) and receive free, validated parking. The Museum is always free.
 

Join us for future Fridays After 5 dates:

• April 19
• May 10
• June 14
• July 19—Art Fair Edition

Stop in to UMMA on select Friday evenings to enjoy special exhibitions and engaging activities at Fridays After 5! With all of UMMA's galleries remaining open until 8:00 p.m., this exciting series provides an interactive atmosphere for all audiences.

Park in the Maynard Structure (between Liberty and William) and receive free, validated parking. The Museum is always free.
 

Join us for future Fridays After 5 dates:

• May 10
• June 14
• July 19—Art Fair Edition

Stop in to UMMA on select Friday evenings to enjoy special exhibitions and engaging activities at Fridays After 5! With all of UMMA's galleries remaining open until 8:00 p.m., this exciting series provides an interactive atmosphere for all audiences.

Park in the Maynard Structure (between Liberty and William) and receive free, validated parking. The Museum is always free.
 

Join us for future Fridays After 5 dates:

• June 14
• July 19—Art Fair Edition