#ummannex

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Transgender Awareness Week begins today, November 12! Join the Spectrum Center for a series of events throughout the week. These events can also be found on Happening@Michigan and Spectrum Center's Facebook Page.

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African Art in Museums: Ethical Quandries  October 26, 6 pm @ UMMA

"Where do you think your ancestors got these?" asks Eric Killmonger in the recent Black Panther film. 

Join us at UMMA on Friday, October 26 at 6 pm in the Helmut Stern Auditorium for African Art in Museums: Ethical Quandaries. In conjunction with the exhibition Beyond Borders: Global Africa, the conversation will explore what we can learn from the display of African art objects in Western art museums, diving deep into fraught questions of collecting, display, and repatriation.

The discussion will be facilitated by African Art Historian and University of Michigan Professor Raymond Silverman with participation from three additional curators, activists and scholars: 

Nii Quarcoopome - Co-Chief Curator, Detroit Institute of Arts

Sylvester Ogbechie - Professor of Art History and Visual Cultures of Global Africa, University of California Santa Barbara 

Monica Udvardy - Associate Professor of Anthropology, Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Kentucky

We hope to see you there!

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Building Contemporaries: Art and Economies in Detroit, Friday, April 20 @ 6:30 pm

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!

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Calling Michigan Filmmakers - Detroit Voices is Accepting Submissions!

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. 

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The Obama Portraits and the History of African American Portraiture

Like many African American portraitists, Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley represent the Obamas as themselves, and as more than themselves.

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Industry Insight: The Modern Landscape of Concert Photography March 28 @UMMA (5:30 pm)

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.

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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

He has continued depicting this kind of subject matter over the span of his career with some works dating almost 40 years ago, and the issue is still relevant and prominent in society today. It’s important to look critically at Marshall’s works and ask ourselves if we are part of the problem or part of the solution. Black History Month is a time that these issues are brought to light more than usual, but when the month is over, these issues do not go away. Marshall has been painting the suffering of African-Americans for his entire career going to show how deeply rooted racism is in our society.

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Value The Voice: A Storyteller’s Lounge - 7 pm, 3/27 @ UMMA!

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!