Summer Fun for Everyone in July at Detroit Institute of Arts

Royal Marionette puppets, daily drop-in workshops, summer camps on tap 

Royal Marionettes from the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) Paul McPharlin Puppetry Collection are now on view. These intricate, large-scale puppets, popular in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries, are feats of stage craft design. The popular Family Fitting Room is back Wednesdays–Fridays, 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Staff will size up your interests and build a visit that’s tailor make for you and your family. July also features 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.

Drop-In Workshops (for all ages)
Wednesdays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. – Folk Art Toys: Ball & Cup
Thursdays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. – Refrigerator Magnets
Fridays, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. – Initial That!: Create designs using your own initials.
Fridays, 6–9 p.m. – Crayon Rubbings: Make a simple print using crayons, paper and other objects.
Saturdays, Noon–4 p.m. – It’s a Zoo in Here!: Create your favorite animal using crayons, markers, colored pencils and decorative papers. If you’d like to leave your finished creations, we will post them in our community arts gallery.
Sundays, Noon–4 p.m. – Musical Instruments: Wrist and Ankle Rattles

Drawing in the Galleries (for all ages): Fridays, 6–9 p.m. Sundays, Noon–4 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 between 6 and 8 p.m., but visitors can play chess.

Friday Night Live, July 1
Detroit Film Theatre: From Great Britain with Love: In Our Name: 9:30 p.m.
Suzy's a British soldier who finds it difficult to fit back into civilian life after fighting in Iraq. Haunted by the responsibility she feels for the death of an Iraqi child, she becomes obsessed with the safety of her own daughter. As Suzy's paranoia builds, she becomes more erratic, until she puts her own child in serious danger. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Detroit Film Theatre: Blank City: 7 p.m.
Blank City is about renegade filmmakers who emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous moment in New York history. In the late 1970's and mid 80's, when the city was still a wasteland of cheap rent and cheap drugs, these directors crafted daring works that would go on to profoundly influence the development of independent film. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Saturday, July 2
Detroit Film Theatre: DFT 101: Vertigo: 4 p.m.
Hitchcock’s masterpiece may well be the cinema’s most memorable and disturbing portrait of erotic obsession. James Stewart is a San Francisco detective forced to retire due to his newly discovered fear of heights. Kim Novak is the woman who Stewart is persuaded to follow, with labyrinthine and catastrophic results. Tickets: $5.00; DIA members free

Detroit Film Theatre: Blank City: 7 p.m.
(see July 1 for description and ticket prices)

Sunday, July 3
Detroit Film Theatre: Blank City: 2 p.m.
(see July 1 for description and ticket prices)

Friday Night Live, July 8
Music: Chicha Libre: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Chicha Libre plays a mixture of Latin rhythms, surf music and psychedelic pop inspired by Peruvian music from Lima and the Amazon. The Brooklyn-based band mixes up covers of forgotten Chicha classics with French-tinged originals, re-interpretation of 70’s pop classics as well as cumbia (Columbia style music) version of pieces by Erik Satie and Richard Wagner.

Detroit Film Theatre: Public Speaking: 7 p.m.
Public Speaking is Martin Scorsese’s portrait of literary phenomenon and raconteur Fran Liebowitz, who offers her endlessly witty and on-the-money opinions on absolutely everything from a cozy booth in New York’s legendary Waverly Inn. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Detroit Film Theatre: From Britain with Love: A Boy Called Dad: 9:30 p.m.
When he becomes a father at the age of 14, Robbie's life quickly spirals out of control. Feeling angry and neglected by his own dad, he kick-starts a series of events that will catapult him at light speed into adulthood. Some unexpectedly charming moments with his dad bring warmth and humor to this deeply moving and ultimately uplifting drama. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Saturday, July 9
Detroit Film Theatre: DFT 101: Faust: 4 p.m.
This expressionist fantasy is based on Goethe’s version of the story of a man who exchanges his soul for worldly pleasures. The phenomenal power of the film’s imagery is a textbook example of the stylistic heights reached during the golden age of German cinema in the 1920s. Live piano accompaniment by David Drazin. Tickets: $5.00; DIA members free.

Detroit Film Theatre: Public Speaking: 7 p.m.
(see July 8 for description and ticket prices)

Detroit Film Theatre: From Britain with Love: A Boy Called Dad: 9:30 p.m.
(see July 8 for description and ticket prices)

Family Sunday, July 10
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, call (313) 833-4005.

Storytelling: Hotter ‘n July!: 2 p.m.
Bring your funny bone and your thinking caps as Master Storyteller Ivory D. Williams presents his unique brand of wit, wisdom and humor to delight both youth and adults.

Detroit Film Theatre: Public Speaking: 2 p.m.
(see July 8 for description)

Monday–Friday, July 11–15 Summer Camps
Summer Camps at the DIA Session I (ages 5–12): 9 a.m.–noon
Teaching artists introduce children to a variety of media and creative processes that encourage individual expression. Typical projects include clay masks, multimedia puppets, painted portraits, imaginative drawings, and wood sculpture. Kids also exercise skills in interpreting art while exploring the galleries. By the end of the five-day camp, everyone will have a personally meaningful portfolio they can share with family and friends. All levels of experience are welcome. Camp size limited to 20 people. Members $180, nonmembers $225. To register, call 313.833.4249.

Friday Night Live, July 15
Music: Concert of Colors Mr. B’s Joybox Express: 4:30 & 6 p.m.
Mr. B’s Joybox Express will start its cross-state ride in Saugatuck, MI on July 1 and finish at the DIA for this performance of blues and boogie-woogie music. The heart of Mr. B’s Joybox Express is a custom made trike that nestles a 352-pound piano. Mr. B is joined by a full ensemble of musical bikers, including guitar, bass and drum.

Music: Concert of Colors: Maraca: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Born in Havana, Cuba, world class virtuoso flautist Orlando “Maraca” Valle is arguably the most famous and versatile contemporary Cuban flautist in the world. Maraca has been leading his different bands and projects for more than 15 years with performances in some of the most prestigious international jazz festivals. His original style of fusing jazz improvisations with his afro-Cuban roots has made his sound highly recognized worldwide, as the epitome of Cuban popular dance music and afro-Cuban jazz.

Detroit Film Theatre: From Britain with Love: Africa United: 9:30 p.m.
The extraordinary story of three Rwandan children who walked 3000 miles to South Africa, hoping to attend the Soccer World Cup. Using ingenuity and sass, the pint-sized protagonists set off through the endless horizons of Africa in pursuit of an unlikely dream. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Saturday, July 16
The 47th Annual Bal Africain Gala: 6–11 p.m.
The DIA auxiliary Friends of African and African American Art (FAAAA) present the annual gala fundraiser Bal Africain®. This year’s honorary guests are Maureen and Roy S. Roberts, for whom the DIA recently named a gallery. The theme is “Caribbean Splendor, and ambassadors from Jamaica, Barbados and the Republics of Trinidad and Tobago will be among the distinguished guests.

Tickets are $200, and $350 for the VIP cocktail reception. For tickets, call 313-833-4005 or go to www.dia.org/balafricain2011.

Sponsors include Ford Motor Company Fund, DTE Energy Foundation, General Motors Corporation, Delta Air Lines, Comerica Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network and the Richard and Jane Manoogian Foundation. Proceeds support educational programs and art acquisitions for the African and General Motors Center for African American Art departments.

Detroit Film Theatre: DFT 101: It’s a Gift: 4 p.m.
A store owner (W.C. Fields), hounded by his wife, goes to the porch to get some sleep, where he is tormented by a little boy from the floor above and an insurance salesman down below. He buys an orange ranch and drives to California with his family. The orange grove is a withered tree, the ranch house a shack, and the car falls to pieces. But a racetrack operator wants the land, so all ends happily. Tickets: $5; DIA members free.

Detroit Film Theatre: Went The Day Well?: 7 p.m.
Residents of the quaint British village of Bramley End suspect that Nazi agents are in their midst. This realization leads to unexpected consequences for both invaders and villagers. Clearly intended as a cautionary propaganda film, this 1942 adaptation of a Graham Greene story brilliantly evokes suspense and terror. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Detroit Film Theatre: From Britain with Love: Africa United: 9:30 p.m.
(see July 15 for description)

Family Sunday, July 17
Family Performance: Wild Swan Theater presents Frog and Toad: 2 p.m.
Award-winning Wild Swan Theater continues its tradition of bringing the finest professional theater to families with Frog and Toad, an enchanting production created for little theater goers. Based on Arnold Lobel's wonderful stories, Frog and Toad will captivate children from ages 3 to 8. Through storytelling, puppets and charming props, the play explores the adventures of these two very dear characters and their great friendship.

Detroit Film Theatre: Went The Day Well?: 7 p.m.
(see July 16 for description)

Detroit Film Theatre: Public Speaking: 4:30 p.m.
(see July 8 for description)

Friday Night Live, July 22
Music: Great Lakes Taiko: 7 & 8:30 p.m.
Great Lakes Taiko brings the excitement and beauty of Japanese Taiko drumming to the DIA. Taiko, which means drum in Japanese, features a wide range of two-sided stick percussion instruments.

Detroit Film Theatre: The Magic Flute: 7 p.m.
The Magic Flute is one of Mozart’s most charming and engaging operas. This celebrated production by artist William Kentridge joyfully bursts onto the stage of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, and onto the big screen. In high-definition; sung in German with English subtitles. Special ticket price: general admission $20; students, seniors and DIA members, $18.

Saturday, July 23
Detroit Film Theatre: Diary of a Country Priest: 4 p.m.
A new priest arrives in the French country village of Ambricourt to attend to his first parish, where the apathetic and hostile rural congregation rejects him. With his fourth film, Robert Bresson (Pickpocket) exacts a purity of image and sound. Diary of a Country Priest is a rarely seen classic of French cinema. In French with English subtitles. Tickets: $5; DIA members free.

Detroit Film Theatre: The Magic Flute: 7 p.m.
(see July 22 for description and ticket prices)

Family Sunday, July 24
Artist Demonstration: Pop Art Paintings: Noon–4 p.m.
Carl Oxley III’s Pop Art paintings are full of color and whimsy with happy, glowing characters. Watch as he does a painting demonstration of some of the characters he’s created.

Detroit Film Theatre: The Magic Flute: 2 p.m.
(see July 22 for description and ticket prices)

Monday–Friday, July 25–29 Summer Camps
Summer Camps at the DIA Session II: (ages 5–12): 9 a.m.–Noon
(see July 11–15 Session I for details)

Friday Night Live, July 29
Music: TBD (see dia.org for details)

Detroit Film Theatre: Bride Flight: 7 p.m.
This visually lush romantic epic charts the lives of three women from different backgrounds, forever changed when they emigrate to New Zealand as war brides. They part ways upon arrival in their new country, but their paths continue to cross in unexpected ways as love affairs, betrayals and unbreakable bonds spur them toward an eye-opening final reunion 50 years later. Tickets: $7.50; DIA members, seniors and students with I.D., $6.50.

Saturday, July 30
Detroit Film Theatre: DFT 101: Stagecoach: 4 p.m.
John Ford’s Stagecoach represented the first great maturing of the Western. Shot in the iconic Monument Valley, Stagecoach tells the stories of passengers thrown together for a perilous journey. While the characters are woven into a memorable tapestry, it was John Wayne’s role as the wanted Ringo Kid that turned him into a star. Tickets: $5; DIA members free.

Detroit Film Theatre: Bride Flight: 7 p.m.
(see July 29 for description)

Family Sunday, July 31
Class: It’s a Zoo in Here! – Clay Animal Jars: (ages 5–8 must be with an adult): 1–3 p.m.
Ancient Egyptians made jars in the shapes of animals to carry possessions with them into the afterlife. What will you carry in yours? Class size limited to 20 students. Members $24, non-members $32. To register, call (313) 833-4005.

Puppet Performance: Animalia: 2 p.m.
Hobey Ford has created a stage production to feature his famous large-scale foam puppets exploring the world of animals through movement, music and visually stunning puppetry. Ford breaks out of the traditional puppet theater booth, turning the whole theater into his stage. The pieces include a magnified look at butterfly and frog metamorphosis, the world of birds, his classic undersea ballet of whales, frolicking dolphins and otters.

Detroit Film Theatre: Bride Flight: 2 and 4:30 p.m.
(see July 29 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 ages 62+, $4 for ages 6-17, and free for DIA members. For membership information call 313-833-7971.