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UPCOMING EVENTS / PAST EVENTS

MOCAD hosts musical, literary, and artistic events throughout the year. Check back often or contact us at info@mocadetroit.org if you would like to be kept up to date on upcoming events.


MOCAD VIDEOS
2011: SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER
2011: FEBRUARY-JULY
2010: SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER
2010: JULY - DECEMBER
2009: SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER
2009: FEBRUARY - JULY
2008: JULY - DECEMBER
2008: JANUARY - JUNE
2007: JULY - DECEMBER
2007: JANUARY - JUNE
2006: OCTOBER - DECEMBER
 
Saturday, June 28
TIME STEREO UFO FACTORY EVENT:
PERFORMANCE: SUPERNATURAL LAW
 
 
 

Saturday, June 28 at 2pm
RESIDENTIAL GREEN BUILDING DESIGN:
Hue Projects: Hills Residence
Thomas Gardner: 2126 Pierce Street
Steven C. Flum, Inc,: The Power of Green Living


These presentations will discuss the products and systems that can make a home more energy efficient, urban centric, and reusable. Each design will focus on unique characteristics of their approach to green building, giving the audience a range of ideas to incorporate into common residential construction. Please join us for an education in modern living.

Hue Projects
 

Thursday, June 26 from 7pm
READING: PETER MARKUS AND KRISTIN PALM

Peter Markus is the author of four books of fiction, the most recent of which is the novel Bob, or Man on Boat (Dzanc Books). He is also a guest editor of the forthcoming MOCAD journal Detroit: Stories.

Kristin Palm is the author of The Straits (Palm Press), her first full-length work featuring two long poems about Detroit. A Detroiter for many years, Kristin now lives in California.

Kristin Palm, author of The Straits (Palm Press)

Saturday, June 21 at 8pm
MUSIC: SPACE BAND
DANCE PERFORMANCE: LEYYA TAWIL AND MICHAEL KHOURY
Admission $3
All ages

considering Detroit participating artist Maurice Greenia Jr.'s oddball, costumed collective performs psychedelic, improvisational music using toys and hand-created, otherworldly instruments.

Dancer Leyya Tawil works in a style that integrates momentum, precision and personality. Influenced by the visual arts, violinist Mike Khoury is an improvising violinist whose work incorporates the use of metaphor and abstraction.

From top: Space Band (2007); bottom: Leyya Tawil and Michael Khoury
 

Thursday, June 19 at 1pm
MUNICIPAL PROJECTS:
- Hamilton Anderson (Detroit, MI): Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Gateway
- inFORM Studio - Traverwood: Ann Arbor District Library
-
SmithGroup: Indian Springs Metropark Environmental Discovery Center


These presentations will highlight the projects and the green building elements associated with each project. The basis of the design with the site and the reuse of Ash trees will be highlighted for the Ann Arbor Public Library. The Indian Springs Discovery Center has a unique HVAC system utilizing the pond the building is situated in, which will be discussed. The Detroit River Wildlife Refuge Center will center on the brownfield site conditions and the verdant power of Micro-turbines for energy creation. Join us for an informative presentation and discussion.

The inForm Studio
 
Sunday, June 15 from 1-3pm
CHILDREN & FAMILY DAY WORKSHOPS:
YOUTH WORKSHOP DROP-IN

Free admission, materials provided, all ages welcome

Electric Kalimba Conference
Teacher: Warn Defever, UFO Factory: TIME STEREO
Join in for free drop-in workshop led by TIME STEREO artist Warn Defever as he leads a cacophonous symphony using thumb pianos. All materials provided. Large groups please call ahead.
 
 

Saturday, June 14th at 7pm
FILM: MOTOR CITY'S BURNING
Free admission

A BBC produced documentary about the rise and fall of the most notorious elements of Detroit's rock 'n' roll legacy. From Motown to the Stooges, Motor City's Burning tells the musical story of Detroit in the 60s, as told via an "impressive soundtrack, extensive archive footage and contributions from top names of the time."

See the BBC website's synopsis of the movie

after the film:

TIME STEREO UFO FACTORY EVENT:
PERFORMANCE: WOLFMAN FREEDOM RALLY
Promotional picture of MC5 from Motor City's Burning
 

Friday, June 13 at 10:30pm
PERFORMANCE: CHAMBER MUSIC: NEW MUSIC DETROIT
$10 admission; or $5 with the 8 Days In June festival pass

In conjunction with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s 8 Days In June** program, New Music Detroit (NMD) will perform a special late night concert. New Music Detroit is a contemporary music collective made up of Detroit’s most highly accomplished and versatile musicians. NMD is dedicated to performing challenging and dynamic works from the late 20th century to the present day — from seminal, recent music classics to the innovative new works written by today’s emerging composers. For this special concert they will be performing select movements from "Consort Suite" by Marc Mellits and "Cobra" by John Zorn and Stockhausen.

Check out the New Music Detroit website.

**As a MOCAD member you receive 50% off tickets to 8 Days in June, including Festival Passes.

New Music Detroit
 

Thursday, June 12 at 8pm
READING: "POETRY STILL AIN'T NEWS" A READING CELEBRATING JIM GUSTAFSON

Jim Gustafson (1949-1996) was Detroit's legendary boisterous bard. This event, celebrating his life and work, features a reading by Bill Berkson, famed San Francisco poet and critic, as well as readings by Lynn Crawford, Mark Grafe, Glen Mannisto, Ken Mikolowski, Michelle Perron, Ned Richardson, Dennis Teichman, Mick Vranich and others.

Jim Gustafson; Photo by Carl Schurer
 

Thursday, June 12 from 7-8pm
"ART AND DEATH OF THE ADDRESSEE: A CONVERSATION WITH BILL BERKSON"

Born in New York in 1939, Bill Berkson is a poet, critic, teacher and sometimes curator, who has been active in the art and literary worlds since his early twenties. Director of Letters and Science at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1993 to 1998, he taught art history, critical writing and poetry and directed the public lectures program there from 1984 to 2007.
After moving to Northern California in 1970, he began editing and publishing a series of poetry books and magazines under the Big Sky imprint. He was awarded a creative writing fellowship in poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980 and has also received awards and fellowships from Yaddo, Artspace, the Poets Foundation, The Fund for Poetry, and Briarcombe Foundation. Before coming to the Art Institute, he taught regularly in the California Poets in the Schools program.
In the mid-1980s he resumed writing art criticism on a regular basis, contributing monthly reviews and articles to Artforum from 1985 to 1991; he became a corresponding editor for Art in America in 1988 and also writes frequently for such magazines as Aperture, Modern Painters, Art on Paper, and others.
Recently, he was Distinguished Paul Mellon Lecturer for 2006 at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. A collection of his criticism, The Sweet Singer of Modernism & Other Art Writings, appeared in 2004, and Sudden Address: Selected Lectures 1981-2006 in 2007.
Designed to stimulate audience dialogue and responses, poet, art critic and curator Bill Berkson will read provocative passages from his recent books. Covering topics ranging from museum practice, to art criticism and art history, Berkson will then ask the audience to respond to these passages and engage and direct a lively discussion amongst audience members.

Bill Berkson; poet, critic, teacher, and occasional curator
 

Friday, June 6th at 8pm
MUSIC: ? AND THE MYSTERIANS + F'KE BLOOD
Admission $10
All ages

In 1966 in Bay City, Michigan, five Latinos unleashed the garage rock classic "96 Tears" upon the world. The band, the Mysterians, was led by enigmatic frontman ? [Question Mark], whose claims of a Martian birthright and other wild antics led the band to success and eventual near-legendary obscurity. "96 Tears" has subsequently become an iconic hit, influencing everyone from the White Stripes and the Stooges to Alan Vega's Suicide. Over 40 years later, ? and the Mysterians are still rocking stages around the world. Joining them on this night will be local post-punk rockers F'ke Blood, featuring current and ex-members of the Go, the Von Bondies, Godzuki, the Snitches.

Question Mark and the Mysterians official website

Question Mark and the Mysterians on Myspace

F'ke Blood on Myspace

? and the Mysterians
 

Thursday, June 5 at 6pm
AIA, ULI and USGBC OPENING RECEPTION

A presentation with discussion to follow
Celebrate with the AIA, the ULI and USGBC at a special reception. Presentations on the projects will follow refreshments.

Visitor's Center for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Gateway, 2006 by Hamilton Anderson Associates
 

Saturday, May 31 at 7pm
LECTURE: DETROIT: BEFORE MOTOWN
Free admission

Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallart (writers of the acclaimed Detroit jazz history retrospective "Before Motown") delve into the full extent of Detroit's significance on the national and regional music scenes. From the turn of the 20th century until the Rhythm and Blues domination of radio in the 1960s, Bjorn and Gallart explore Detroit's musical effect through the use of extensive historical documents including advertisements, photographs, music recordings and collected ephemera.

after the lecture:

TIME STEREO UFO FACTORY EVENT:
MUSIC: BEFORE MOTOWN AFTER DEVIL'S NITE

 

Thursday, May 29 at 7pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: CONSIDERING DETROIT PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

A panel discussion moderated by writer WSU Honors head Jerry Herron, featuring considering Detroit participants: Davin Brainard of the TIME STEREO Collective, Warren Defever of the Time Stereo collective, Maurice Greenia Jr., Allie McGhee, and considering Detroit curatorial committee member John Corbin.

Jerry Herron, WSU Honors Head
 
Saturday, May 24 at 6pm
TIME STEREO UFO FACTORY EVENT:
ART OPENING: BLACK & BLACK

All black artwork by TIME STEREO artists Jamie Easter, Jenny Price, Sarah Burger, Warn Defever, Hitoko Sakai, Dion Fischer, Taormina Brothers, Sarah Lapinski and Davin Brainard. No color will be used in this exhibition. The show opens in the cardboard UFO FACTORY inside MOCAD.
 
 

Sunday, May 18 from 1-3pm
CHILDREN & FAMILY DAY WORKSHOPS: YOUTH WORKSHOP DROP-IN
Free admission, materials provided, open to the public, all ages welcome

Bicycle Parts Re-Construction Workshop
Teacher: Sarah Sidelko
Using discarded, re-furbished, leftover, or abandoned bicycle parts, Sarah Sidelko leads a drop-in workshop in constructing Found-Object Sculptures.

Large groups please call ahead.

 
 
 
Saturday, May 17 at 8pm
PERFORMANCE: JODY OBERFELDER DANCE PROJECTS
Admission $10

Recognized as "one of the funniest modern-dance choreographers in New York", (Jennifer Dunning, NY Times, June 15, 2007), Jody Oberfelder combines strength and virtuosic movement with levity and whimsical physical imagination. A former Detroiter, she is known for her inventive choreography and daring, acrobatic movements. In previous work, Oberfelder has implemented surprisingly nontraditional elements, from props, one piece featured dancers bowling with potatoes, to unusual sets and unexpected arrays of musical accompaniment. However, she has earned most critical accolades for the risks she takes in the dancing itself. Backstage writes, "The awesome athleticism and acrobatic partner work of Oberfelder's choreography proves perpetually compelling." Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects will be performing "The Title Comes Last" and excerpts from "LineAge".
Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, photo: Steven Scheiberl
 
Sunday, May 11 at 2pm
ARTIST TALK: ELLEN CANTOR

A former Detroiter now living in London, Ellen Cantor has been creating videos for years, always fascinating viewers with their unpredictable mixes of found footage and personal melodrama, romanticism, and irony. Integrating elements of humor and sadness in her video work, Ellen Cantor's work points in part to how the myths we imbibe from popular culture generate structures of feeling that allow for no resolution. She will speak on her piece "Whitby Weekender", a video on a soul-dance convention in the United Kingdom and the influence of Detroit in her work.
 
 
Saturday, May 10
7PM: OPENING RECEPTION FOR CONSIDERING DETROIT and CONSIDERING ARCHITECTURE: SUSTAINABLE DESIGNS FROM DETROIT

considering Detroit is the first in a projected series that will explore contemporary art somehow linked to the Detroit area, and document this recent artistic activity. considering Detroit will include five visual artists, one poet, and a collective. They are: Ellen Cantor, Maurice Greenia Jr. (Maugre), Jim Gustafson, Allie McGhee, Heather McGill, Gordon Newton, and the artist collective TIME STEREO.

In conjunction with MOCAD's considering Detroit show, considering Architecture: Sustainable Designs from Detroit will also be on view. This show will include the designs, architecture and products of several local area architecture firms and highlight their projects that include "green" or sustainable design practices.

9PM: MUSIC BY NOMO, AND
MONSTER ISLAND PERFORMING THE SHADOW PLAY "REHERSAL FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF MU"
$5 general admission
Free for members
Cash Bar


NOMO
Ubiquity recording artists' perform a unique blend of indie-afrofunk-jazz in a large horns and rhythm based ensemble. Capturing the pioneering spirit of Impulse era futuristic jazz exploration and the heavy funk rhythm's of Fela, simultaneously.

Visit Nomo's website and see Nomo on the Ubuiquity recordings website. Visit Nomo at Myspace.

Monster Island perform the shadow play "Rehearsal for the Destruction of Mu"
Former Destroy All Monsters member, Cary Loren's otherworldly psychedelic collective create a multi-media experience. Dubbed "The living theater" -- this experience presents "a changing social/political landscape of folk, religious & street rituals derived from themes and topics that enhance psychedelic experience, resistance and subversive behavior."

See MonsterIsland on Myspace and Destroy All Monsters and Monster Island information.


MOCAD is a proud participant of:

Top to bottom: Gordon Newton, Untitled (Swordfish), courtesy Wayne State University; Visitor's Center for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Gateway, 2006 by Hamilton Anderson Associates; Nomo; and Monster Island
 

Saturday, May 3
BE IN ART:
THE THIRD ANNUAL BENEFIT PARTY FOR THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT

6 PM: DINNER
8 PM: PARTY

"BE IN ART," is the theme for MOCAD's 3rd annual benefit, held for the first time in the Museum on Woodward Avenue in Detroit on May 3rd. The event begins at 6 pm and concludes after midnight. In between, guests will have all sorts of encounters with terrific art. This is a MOCAD party, after all -- fantastic, elegant and provocative.

The festivities begin at the front door. Artists have designed a special entrance to the Museum, that will get everyone in the mood to look, eat, visit and just have fun. The party space will be overloaded with good, affordable art and other stuff, in a silent auction. This is an opportunity to purchase something you shouldn't live without, at the right price and benefit MOCAD as well the artist who made it. For more information, visit the Be In Art Benefit page here.

Tickets available online or by calling (313) 832-6622.

 
Thursday, April 17 at 6 pm
LECTURE: SARAH LEWIS

Sarah Lewis, is a visiting faculty member in the Department of Art History at Yale University. She is also a Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art and has most recently worked with Robert Storr on MoMA’s retrospective of painter Elizabeth Murray. Prior to her work at the Museum of Modern Art, Ms. Lewis has worked in a number of museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Tate Modern. Her talk will focus on Holy Hip-Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid.
 
 
 
Sunday, April 20 from 1-3pm
BLACK HISTORY 101 MOBILE MUSEUM
Featuring the Bell Collection


A full size trailer full of over 1,500 hip-hop artifacts and memorabilia will be at MOCAD! Special workshops on Graffiti, Break-dance, MC demo/instruction and a DJ performance will be featured, in addition to workshops on Portraiture, Self-Fashioning + Recycling Fashion.

Watch this video for more information.

Hip-hop materials from the Black History 101 Mobile Museum.
 
Saturday, April 19 at 3 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: THE RELEVANCE OF FASHION

Rei Kawakubo’s approach to fashion design has touched off dialogue in multiple fields of intellectual investigation, from contemporary feminism, postwar politics, anthropological and sociological inquiries, to the relevance of fashion’s relationship to art. Join in on a panel discussion of perspectives of experts outside the field of fashion design, and their thoughts on Kawakubo’s influence more broadly than merely how we dress ourselves.
Panelists: Jennifer Robertson, Professor, Anthropology, University of Michigan; Michael Stone-Richards, Associate Professor, College for Creative Studies; Linda Dresner, Linda Dresner Inc..
Photo by Corine Smith
 

Friday, April 4 at 7 pm
Admission: FREE

Detroit Summer, Fusicology and MOCAD present
an exclusive screening of:

HIP-HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES (61 min. 2006)
Acclaimed documentary exploring the history of Hip Hop. Sparking dialogue on hip-hop and its declarations on gender, HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides thoughtful insight from intelligent, divergent voices including rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation. The film includes interviews with famous rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D and Jadakiss and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school and one of the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions.

The film also explores such pressing issues as women and violence in rap music, representations of manhood in hip-hop culture, what today’s rap lyrics reveal to their listeners and homoeroticism in hip-hop. A
“loving critique” from a self-proclaimed “hip-hop head,” HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes discloses the complex intersection of culture, commerce and gender through on-the-street interviews with aspiring
rappers and fans at hip-hop events throughout the country.

This film screening is free and will be promptly followed by:

Followed promptly by performances by:
MC Invincible (Detroit)
MC Truth Universal (of New Orleans)
& MC Versiz (Detroit)
w/ special guests Pheonix, Dj InCreDUBle & Dj Defiant.

Versiz on Myspace
Visit Versiz website

MC Versiz and MC Invincible
 

Saturday, March 29
GOLD: A FUNDRAISER FOR THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART DETROIT PRESENTED BY MOCAD'S NEW WAVE

Click here for more details and to purchase tickets online. Tickets will also be sold at the door.

7:30pm
MARTHA COLBURN, IAN CLARK
LIVE AUDIO AND VISUAL COLLABORATION


9:30pm
POP COVERS PROVIDED BY:
T3 (Slum Village) w/ special guest
The Go
Lee Marvin Computer Arm
Tyvek
Bad Party
Dark Red
EsQuire
Deastro
The Sisters Lucas
The Silent Years
Dee Jay Frankie Banks

 
 

Thursday, March 27 at 7 pm
LECTURE: BUILDING FASHION

Join in on a discussion of Rei Kawakubo’s influence on the design and visual arts spheres from the viewpoint of several fashion professionals in the Detroit area that have built their own careers out of their passion for fashion.
Panelists: Carris Carry, Imagine Not Knowing (INK); Annica Cuppetelli, Cranbrook MFA Fiber Candidate, 2008; Niki Johnson, Detroit Fashion Pages; Sarah Lapinski, WOUNDS; Eugenia Patterson, Fashion Designer, Eugenia Paul

 
 
Thursday, March 20 at 7 pm
LECTURE: CATHY HORYN
Fashion Critic, The New York Times


New York Times fashion critic and former Detroit News fashion journalist (1986-1990) Cathy Horyn returns to Detroit to talk on Rei Kawakubo's history in the field of fashion, her work process based in Tokyo, why she has such a singular vision of clothes and women, and what this means in an era when much of fashion is designed by groups of people. Horyn, whose writing has been called 'socially astute' and 'critical', is well-known to those who have followed her work at The New York Times since 1999, and before that, at Vanity Fair, as the fashion and Hollywood correspondent, and from 1990-1994 as the fashion writer at The Washington Post. Please join us for a rare lecture by Horyn as she addresses Detroit in a public lecture forum with Q&A on Thursday, March 20 at 7pm.

Horyn is the author of the book Bare Blass (Harper Collins 2002) with American designer Bill Blass and maintains a blogsite at runway.blogs.nytimes.com, a treasure trove of commentary and interactions straight from the runway. "Fashion," says Horyn, "like politics, is an insider's game. It's meant to be played at its liveliest." In Cathy Horyn, MOCAD is pleased to present one of fashion's most celebrated critics on one of the most elusive designers in the world: Rei Kawakubo.

This event is free and open to the public.
Photo of Cathy Horyn from Style.com.
 

Wednesday, March 19 from 5-7 pm
LECTURE + PANEL DISCUSSION: WILL ALSOP

Will Alsop is an architect whose noteworthy buildings including the Peckham Library and Media Centre in London, was born in Northampton in 1947. Because of his avant-garde and strikingly different buildings, Will Alsop has always been considered something of a maverick in the British architectural scene. This event is co-sponsored with University of Detroit Mercy and Lawrence Technological University. It will include a brief reception, lecture by Mr. Alsop, and a panel discussion with the following participants:
Moderator: Amy Green Deines, Associate professor, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Architecture;
Panelists: Stephen Vogel, Dean, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Architecture; Glen S. LeRoy, Dean, Lawrence Technological University, College of Architecture and Design; Steven Fong, University of Toronto; Reed Kroloff, Director, Cranbrook Academy; Julie Kim, Associate Professor, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Architecture.

Photo by Sarah Lee
 
Sunday, March 16 from 1-3 pm
CHILDREN & FAMILY WORKSHOPS:
Portraiture, Graffiti Art, Self-Fashioning & Recycling


Kids of all ages are invited to join in hands-on creative workshops related to the Holy Hip Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid and ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo.
A family day workshop participant at MOCAD. Photo by Alyssa Mullen.
 
Friday, March 14 & Saturday March 15
FILM: MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER (2005)
Directed by Kaspar Collin
79 min.

An award winning Swedish documentary about the life and mysterious demise of avant garde jazz legend Albert Ayler. In his brief (8 yr.) career Albert Ayler revolutionized music with his dissonant saxophone explorations, introducing the world to unheard sounds that would be the initial rumblings of free jazz. Culled from interviews with friends, family and close colleagues, as well as rare and unseen footage of Ayler and his band.


Friday, March 14 at 7 pm
DETROIT PREMIERE of MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER
7 pm: Live Jazz
8 pm: Screening, Introduction and Q & A w/ Director Kaspar Collin

$8 admission


Saturday, March 15 at 8pm
SCREENING: MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER
$6 admission
Albert Ayler
 
Friday, March 7
MUSIC: ULTRADYNE w/ the 12 Tek Mob
$7 admission
8 pm doors
All ages

A rare live performance by Detroit’s Ultradyne. Hiding behind various guises (wrapped in gauze, or wearing black expressionless masks) creating eccentric electronic dance music for well over a decade, bringing their moody urban electro from the streets of the city to the world. On this eventing they will be joined by Detroit’s legendary 12 Tek Mob. A truly rare reunion gig by this live turntablist crew featuring DJ Daddy Riff and DJ Len Swan, cranking out high energy electro and booty.

Ultradyne on Mysapce

Ultradyne and Pi Gao Movement
Ultradyne
 
Thursday, March 6 at 7 pm
LECTURE: HAROLD KODA

The Metropolitan Museum in New York's Curator-in-Charge of the Costume Institute presents on the influence of Rei Kawakubo. Tom Ford of Gucci calls The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York "one of the most influential cultural institutions in the fashion world." As the Curator-in-Chief, Harold Koda has overseen fifteen exhibitions since accepting the position in 2000, including "Extreme Beauty: The Body Transformed" and "Nan Kempner: American Chic." Join MOCAD for a rare lecture on Rei Kawakubo's influence on fashion, art, and history by one of the world's leading experts.

For more information about The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: www.metmuseum.org/

For more information on Harold Koda: www.metmuseum.org/press_room/
Photo of Harold Koda from Cincinnati.com.
 

Wednesday - Friday, March 5-7 from 8-2 pm
KID'S DAY PERFORMANCE AND IMPROV

Mike-E Ellison, whose recent single "Everything Is going To Be Alright" was picked up as Barack Obama's campaign theme song, will be coming to MOCAD with the AfroFlow Tour to sing and perform. Three all-day symposiums will include a tour of the MOCAD exhibitions Holy Hip-Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid and ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo, performances and introductions to Mike-E Ellison and the AfroFlow Tour, including recorded musical improvisational sessions with the children to take home.

Educators: Please contact julie@mocadetroit.org or call (313) 832 6622 to book your student-group.

Mike-E Ellison
 
Saturday, March 1st at 7 pm
FILM: JOHNNY 316
Directed by Erick Ifergan
Featuring: Vincent Gallo, Seymour Cassel & Nina Brosh
77 min.
$5 Admission

'A modernized version of Oscar Wilde's "Salome", JOHNNY 316, plays out on the sidewalks of Hollywood, California. Vincent Gallo is a half crazed street preacher who spends his days passing out religious tracts. One day, he meets Sarah, a beautiful bereft former hairdresser. For Sarah, it is love at first sight. She follows the preacher home and tries to seduce him.

Despite his deep attraction to her, he pushes her away. Oblivious to his rejection, Sarah continues to pursue the preacher, convinced that she can win him over. Poetic and violent, this impossible love story explores the themes of spirituality, intimacy and loss, set against the backdrop of the harsh unforgiving reality of the streets.'
Still from Johnny 316
 
Thursday, February 28
RED TIE AFFAIR GALA
by Mpowerment


A yearlong, statewide Youth Health Campaign entitled The Red Tie Affair to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and other preventable Sexually Transmitted Infections. Proceeds from the campaign will be used to educate youth about their high risk, raise awareness about the need for abstinence, prevention and support cutting-edge prevention education methods into HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections.

Mpowerment Detroit is the leading local constituents of the Michigan AIDS Fund and the Mpowerment Project. As a 501c3, Mpowerment Detroit has help to save many lives reaching hundreds of youth monthly through innovative outreach and prevention programs.

For more information, please contact redtie4youth@hotmail.com.
Charles Pugh
 
Friday - Sunday, February 22 - 24
3R's PROGRESSIVE FILM FESTIVAL
PLEASE NOTE VENUE IS AT
Paul Robeson Theatre
Northwest Activity Center
18100 Meyers, Detroit, MI 48226

Each day $15.00
Two-day pass $25.00
Sunday FREE

Screenings & Panel Discussions
Friday, February 22, 6 pm - 10 pm
Saturday, February 23, 12 pm - 9 pm
Sunday, February 24, 12 pm - 5 pm

3Rs Benefit Concert
Saturday, February 23, 8 pm - 2 am
At The Artist Village
17340 Lahser Road, Detroit, MI 48219

The 3Rs (Restoration, Revolution, and Resurrection) Progressive Film Festival presents a dynamic cultural and political program of inter-generational local and global cinema that entertains, informs, and asks deep questions to encourage the viewers to become active participants in making this a better world.

3Rs Progressive Film Festival features films and videos that celebrate the power of activism. The diverse range of international films go beyond the boundaries of mainstream media and challenge the viewer to become agents of change within their community and the world. There will be discussions with local filmmakers and activists. Sam Greenlee, author of the Spook Who Sat by the Door; Professor Griff of Public Enemy, Grace Lee Boggs, Abayomi Azikiwe, and many others will participate in panels that will facilitate dialogue and solutions. Organizations that are actively involved in the peace movement, environmental rights, challenging the inequities within the educational, justice, and prison industrial systems, water rights, and electoral politics will also be present.

For more information and a complete listing of films, please visit http://3rsfilmfest.com.

Oya Amakisi
Amakisi Unlimited LLC
313.544.8493

Khalid el-Hakim
Khalid el-Hakim Enterprises
313.645.4197

3rschange@3rsfilmfest.com
 
 
Thursday, February 21 at 7 pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: HIP-HOP IN CONTEXT

Moderated by Professor Griff (Public Enemy), this panel discussion will feature the viewpoints of Jessica Care Moore, Invincible, Prince Whipper Whip, Khary Kimani Turner and Big Herk. Held in conjunction with 3RS Progressive film festival.
Clockwise from top left: Professor Griff (of Public Enemy), Khary Kimani Turner (writer and MC; Detroit), Jessica Care Moore, Prince Whipper Whip (of Grand Master Theodore's Fantastic Five), MC Big Herk, and MC Invincible.
 
Sunday, February 17 from 3-4:30 pm
READING: TERRY BLACKHAWK, DANIEL PADILLA, TYREE GUYTON

As part of MOCADís continuing collaboration between WSU and Marick Presses, please join us for author readings, book signings and refreshments!
 
 
Sunday, February 17 from 1-3 pm
CHILDREN & FAMILY WORKSHOPS:
Portraiture, Graffiti Art, Self-Fashioning & Recycling


Kids of all ages are invited to join in hands-on creative workshops related to the Holy Hip Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid and ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo.
A family day workshop participant at MOCAD. Photo by Alyssa Mullen.
 
Saturday, February 16 at 8 pm
PERFORMANCE ART:
HOLLY HUGHES, "A SAPPHIC SAMPLER PLATTER - NEW AND COLLECTED SLICES OF (MY) LIFE"


Holly Hughes is a performer and writer, the author of three books: Clit Notes: A Sapphic Sampler, O Solo Homo and the forthcoming Memories of the Revolution. Launching her thespian adventures in the dawn of the Reagan era in New York City's lower east side, Hughes has won recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts and Rockefeller Foundation, while earning the ire of right wingers such as Jesse Helms, Phyllis Schafly and others of their ilk.
Holly Hughes, Preaching to the Perverted. Photo by Kelly Campbell.
 
Sunday, February 10 from 1-3 pm
CHILDREN & FAMILY WORKSHOPS:
Portraiture, Graffiti Art, Self-Fashioning & Recycling


Kids of all ages are invited to join in hands-on creative workshops related to the Holy Hip Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid and ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo. Special workshops will be led by Chazz Miller (Graffiti Art) and Patrick Kelly (Portraiture).
A family day workshop participant at MOCAD. Photo by Alyssa Mullen.
 
Saturday, February 9 at 3 pm
GALLERY TALK BY ALEX MELAMID

Alex Melamid (b.1945) is long-known in the art world for his partnership with fellow Russian artist Vitaly Komar, with whom he founded the Soviet Realist Pop art movement, Sots Art, which satirized Soviet Socialist Realism. During their almost 40 years of collaboration which ended in 2003, Komar and Melamid were noted as revolutionaries and, at times, rebels. Their work was often compared to that of Pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

In 2003, the duo decided to explore individual careers. Around this time, Melamid's first-born son, Dan, introduced him to the world of hip-hop, which included his clients and close friends Whoo Kid and 50 Cent. Melamid was intrigued by hip-hop society because of its rich history and world appeal, and began to paint the hip-hop portraits that have become his first solo exhibition. According to the artist, these paintings will be followed by two additional series ‚ twelve religious figures and twelve Russian oligarchs.
Alex Melamid, Kanye West, 2005, oil on canvas. Photo by D. James Dee.
 
Friday, February 8
7 PM: OPENING RECEPTION
HOLY HIP-HOP! NEW PAINTINGS BY ALEX MELAMID & ReFUSING FASHION: REI KAWAKUBO
9 PM: MUSIC BY MIKE-E ELLISON & JAMES "SUBURBAN KNIGHT" PENNINGTON OF UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE

$5 general admission
Free for members
Cash Bar

Icons from the world of hip-hop music will be the subject of an extraordinary exhibition of portraits by Russian-born American painter Alexander Melamid in Holy Hip-Hop! New Paintings by Alex Melamid.

Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo's innovative fashion, unique methods of fabrication and collaborations with artists working in many different fields including the great modern choreographer Merce Cunningham, will be explored in ReFusing Fashion: Rei Kawakubo, a unique installation of her work at MOCAD.

Join us in celebrating the opening of these two exhibitions at MOCAD. Opening the evening will be, Ethiopian born, Detroit-based emcee and outspoken "Afroflow" creator, Mike-E Ellison. Mike-E has rocked the stage for Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam and blown audiences away with his unique blend of live Hip Hop and socially conscious poetry slam. Closing out the evening will be a live set by James Pennington, (a.k.a. the Suburban Knight). He cowrote the quintessential techno hit "Big Fun' with Kevin Saunderson, then as the Suburban Knight pioneered the moodier side of the Motor City with classics like "The Art of Stalking" and "The Groove" on Derrick May's Transmat label, before joining forces with Mike Banks and Underground Resistance as Dj, producer and mentor.

View performances by Mike-E Ellison on YouTube or visit Mike-E's Afroflow website.

Visit the Suburban Knight on Myspaceor on the Underground Resistance website.
Top left: Alex Melamid, Snoop Dogg, 2005, oil on canvas; Top right: Work by Rei Kawakubo; Middle: Mike-E Ellison; Bottom: Suburban Knight
 
Sunday, January 20 from 1-3 pm
"FUN WITH WORDS"
KIDS CRAFT & ACTIVITY DAY


LAST ACTIVITY DAY FOR WORDS FAIL ME EXHIBITION!

Parents can enjoy a cup of coffee from MOCAD's brand new cafÈ while kids craft away and explore art with words. Kids can create their own buttons, magnets and work booklets that include word games, collage space and questions to connect kids with the current exhibition WORDS FAIL ME and help them explore the relationship between language and art. This event is free and open to the public. All materials are provided. Please call ahead for large groups.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) invites kids of all ages (that includes parents too) to pick up a glue stick, some coloring markers, and indulge your creative impulses.
 
 
 
Thursday, January 17 at 7pm
GALLERY TALK: JONATHAN FLATLEY
"ART AND MELANCHOLIA or, WHY DWELLING ON LOSS IS NOT NECESSARILY DEPRESSING"


Jonathan Flatley is Assistant Professor of English at Wayne State University in Detroit. He was previously a faculty member at the University of Virginia, where he was director of the Modern Studies Program. He is author of Affective Mapping: Melancholia and the Politics of Modernism, co-editor of Pop Out: Queer Warhol and editor of the forthcoming Warhol in Moscow: Essays on Art and Mass Culture.
 
 
 
Saturday, January 5 at 8 pm
VIDEOS: NOTHING SPECIAL
CURATED BY PAPERRAD
$5 admission
All ages


1 hour of videos curated by Paper Rad just for this MOCAD event, followed by 30 minutes of new Paper Rad videos.

NOTHING SPECIAL: "One hour of videos from the sad lands of post-internet contemporary USA. Some of these artists I have met, others are YouTube apparitions, and others are complete mysteries, discovered, re-discovered, and lost again inside the internet's caverns. Original or stolen footage, homemade or mass-produced, monumental or completely boring, there is no difference. A magical moment becomes meaningless, then rediscovered as a powerful ghost, then buried again-- all in the blink of an eye. Banal vs. Extraordinary, Derivative vs Original, Insane vs Normal, Real vs Fake, these distinctions don't exist because we walk with all these spirits simultaneously."
Paperrad
 
Friday, January 4 at 8 pm
LIVE: PAPERRAD w/ VIKI and MOUNTAINS AND RAINBOWS
$8 admission
All ages


A video screening with some live music accompaniment. Paperrad will be premiering "Problem Solvers," their new 20-minute cartoon for kids, to which they will be performing a live soundtrack.

Pittsburgh, Pa. art collective Paperrad have been creating neo-psychedlic punk art in the form of wildly animated videos, bizarre comics, MIDI files and multi-media installations (at the New Museum (NY), Deitch projects, Pace Wildenstein, and across the world. They also perform live, making semi-electronic rock and noise (as Extreme Animals, ROTFLOL, DJ Jazzy Jex, etc.) accompanied by their highly kinetic, idiosynctartic video art. MOCAD has invited this innovative collaborative to come to Detroit and create an installation, perform live, show some videos. They will screen some videos and make some music live. Joined by Detroit queen of fractured, analog, dance music VIKI and Detroit's own Mountains and Rainbows, featuring some Tyvek members in an unpredictable, art-pop, rock group.

Mountains and Rainbows on Myspace
Mountains and Rainbows live on Youtube

Listen to "2" by Viki (off of her self-titled Animale Disguise CD)
Visit www.animaldisguise.com/viki/
Watch a video of Viki live on MOCAD's video page

Watch Paperrad videos on their Youtube channelor visit their website at http://www.paperrad.org
Top: Paperrad, bottom: Viki