#ummannex

Join us at UMMA on Friday, April 20th at 6:30 pm in the Helmut Stern Auditorium for Building Contemporaries: Art and Economies in Detroit.  In conjunction with Excercising the Eye: The Gertude Kasle Collection, dive into a conversation about what current initiatives and leaders are contributing to the artistic ecosystem in Detroit today. 

A panel of art critics, curators, and directors will discuss the landscape of current efforts to center artists and communities within the larger context of economic viability in Detroit. 

The panel includes:

Taylor Aldridge, Art critic, curator, and co-founder of ARTS.BLACK

Cézanne Charles, Director of Creative Industries at Creative Many

Everard Findlay, Global brand strategist, currently serving as Chief Innovation Officer for The Platform, the real estate entity that owns the Fisher Building in Detroit 

Laura Mott, Curator of Contemporary Art and Design at the Cranbrook Art Museum

Gina Reichert, Co-founder of Power House Productions, an artist-run neighborhood-based nonprofit in Detroit

We hope to see you there!

The Cinetopia Film Festival, Detroit Voices, is now accepting submissions for 30-minute or less film, shot in southeast Michigan or depicting a Michigan-related story. 

Here is more information on the Festival from Cinetopia’s website:

“Created for the people of southeastern Michigan, the Cinetopia Film Festival features the best feature-length dramas, comedies, and documentaries from the world’s best film festivals (e.g. Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca, etc.).

The extensive festival program is selected exclusively for Cinetopia by a team that includes Indiewire Influencer Russ Collins (from the Michigan Theater) and the national “dean” of art house programming Elliot Wilhelm (from the Detroit Film Theatre).

Cinetopia honors the rich heritage of cinematic culture and Michigan’s proud legacy of outstanding cinema artists through special pre- and post-film events, including presentations, discussion panels, and Q&A sessions with directors, writers, and stars.”

The deadline for submissions is April 30th. 

For complete rules and regulations in addition to the submission link, please visit Cinetopia’s website. 

Join us and Maize Collective on March 28, at 5:30 pm in the UMMA Auditorium for the final installment of three-part speaker series to explore topics relating to the music industry. These panel-style discussions will serve as an opportunity to engage with professionals in the creative industry and learn from their experiences. Each event will include a moderated discussion followed by Q&A from the audience.

This program is free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served. This week's discussion will focus on the modern landscape for concert and event photography. Panelists include Alexandre Da Veiga, Brian Rozman, Taylor Ohryn and Doug Coombe, with moderation from Monica McGivern. Please fill out this form with any questions you may have for our panelists: https://goo.gl/forms/ZJXrfFfjIpsDlcDJ3. This will be used to help guide our discussion.

For more information on tonight’s event and speakers, check out the event page on Facebook.

Join us in the Helmut Stern Auditorium at UMMA on Tuesday, March 27th at 7 pm for Value the Voice: A Storyteller’s Lounge, a new collaboration between the Comprehensive Studies Program and the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies. 

This ongoing series continues to feature student, faculty, staff, and alumni who help participants to “tell it like it is - and to see how it was.”

See you there!

In observance of Black History Month, today’s featured artist is Kerry James Marshall. Marshall is one of the most well-known contemporary artists and his works often draw upon black stereotypes in America and the inequalities African-Americans face still.

I tend to think having that extreme of color, that kind of black, is amazingly beautiful...and powerful. What I was thinking to do with my image was to reclaim the image of blackness as an emblem of power. - Marshall