Today the DIA experienced a Random Act of Culture! Teddy Abrams, Harrison Hollingsworth, and Johnny Teyssier of the @SixthFloorTrio performed spontaneously throughout the museum to unsuspecting visitors. Random Acts of Culture, funded by the @knightfdn, enable people going along in their everyday lives to be part of a shared, communal experience that makes their community a more vibrant place to live. The trio will be performing in two more locations in metro Detroit this weekend. (Hint: You can see them tomorrow at this local marketplace, which is the largest open-air flowerbed market in the U.S.) And we welcome Mr. Abrams, who is the new Assistant Conductor at the @DetroitSymphony Orchestra!

Like summer, all good things must come to an end. This is the last week to see Johannes Vermeer’s “Woman Holding a Balance” and “Patti Smith: Camera Solo” at the DIA. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience one of Vermeer’s 35 known works or an original Polaroid by Patti Smith.

For more information:
http://bit.ly/PDhVsb
http://bit.ly/HmanFe

Woman Holding a Balance, Johannes Vermeer, about 1664, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection 1942

Did you know? Muppet mastermind Jim Henson visited the DIA in 1960 to attend his first Puppeteers of America festival. There he met many influential puppeteers, including Burr Tillstrom, creator of Kukla, Fran and Ollie, and Don Sahlin, who
Henson would later recruit for The Muppets (he built Rowlf the Dog!). Henson visited the DIA again in 1971 to perform as part of an exhibition at the museum. The DIA, which houses one of the original Kermit the Frog puppets, is proud to host Jim’s daughter Heather Henson and her internationally-renown performance troupe @IbexPuppetry for “Celebration of Flight.” See them perform this spectacular show on the north lawn of the DIA today at 4 and tomorrow at 2 and 4. http://www.dia.org/calendar/family-sunday.aspx?id=3333&iid.

Don’t miss @IbexPuppetry’s “Celebration of Flight” on the north lawn of the DIA this weekend! Famed puppeteer Heather Henson, daughter of Jim Henson, and her performance troupe will use large-scale puppets and kites to illustrate the story of a young crane as it learns to fly. Performances are free and take place at 2 and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Visitors can stop by beginning at noon to make their own kites to fly during the performances. Note: Seating will be picnic-style; audience members are invited to bring blankets and chairs.

This photo was taken today during the group’s rehearsal at the DIA.

Heather Henson, daughter of Jim Henson, and her performance troupe, Ibex Puppetry, will be presenting “Celebration of Flight” on the north lawn of the DIA this weekend. The performance follows the story of a young crane as it learns to fly and features large-scale puppets and kites. Visitors can build their own kites from noon to 4 p.m. each day to fly with Henson during the show.

For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/SsjNl4

Due to the weather, Fash Bash has been moved inside the DIA. Fashionably Late tickets ($75) will be available at the door. Here’s a sneak peek of the runway being prepared for tonight’s show!
http://www.dia.org/calendar/special-event.aspx?id=3219&iid

This photo was taken by a member of Detroit Mural Factory Gardens, a community-based arts and urban gardening project that empowers youth and adults to improve the city of Detroit. The subject of the photo is the daughter of the photographer. Catch this shot and more during the last days of Reveal Your Detroit, on display at the Detroit Public Library through Sunday, August 19.
http://www.dia.org/calendar/special-event.aspx?id=3309&iid

Olympic Coin of Philip II of Macedon | Greek | 359/336 BC | Gold

Stop by the DIA to see Olympic highlights from our collection, like this Olympic coin dating back to 359/336 BC, to celebrate the culmination of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games! This coin is on view in our Ancient Greek and Roman gallery.

How do you see Detroit? This photo, which features one of Detroit’s many canals, was taken by a resident affiliated with the city’s Lower Eastside Action Plan (LEAP), a neighborhood planning group. You can see more photos like this in the DIA’s Reveal Your Detroit exhibition, which was inspired by Detroit Revealed: Photographs 2000-2010 and features photos from more than 50 Detroit-based community organizations and groups. The show is on view at the Detroit Public Library’s main branch through Sunday, August 19. See it before it closes! For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/LAZRIq.

Well, we did it! The millage passed in all three counties. A big thank you to all of you for your support. We could not have done it without you! Beginning today, museum admission is free for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb County residents. Be sure to see Vermeer’s “Woman Holding a Balance,” which is now on view. Our doors are open—come on in!

Salvador Dalí would be proud! The DIA is celebrating “Mustache Day” today through Sunday, August 5. Visitors who wear a mustache (real or fake) receive free general admission in honor of Dalí’s eccentric appearance. Museum-goers are encouraged to see Dalí’s “Soft Construction with Boiled Beans” as part of the DIA’s Five Spanish Masterpieces, and check out one of three performances of The Dalí Project—a puppet performance that explores Dalí’s embrace of the subconscious through various forms of puppetry—presented by Puppet Junction. Note: Performances on Friday and Saturday are appropriate for adults only; Sunday’s performance is appropriate for ages eight and up. Tonight’s performance begins at 8. See you there!

Artists and art enthusiasts alike gathered outside of the DIA today as part of the Free Art Friday Detroit (FAFDET) Artists Rally and Scavenger Hunt. Participants met up at the Woodward entrance to show their support for the museum and brought along custom pieces of artwork that they made to hide around metro Detroit for the scavenger hunt. Once the artists hide their artwork, they’ll post clues on the FAFDET Facebook page and Twitter using the #FAFDET hashtag. Anyone who finds the art is free to keep it, as long as that person posts a photo letting others know that the piece found a good home. Visit the FAFDET Facebook page for more information on how to participate. Good luck!

Did you know? A work by Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age, has not been on view in Detroit since 1947. Don’t miss the opportunity to see one of his 35 known works, “Woman Holding a Balance,” August 8 through September 2 at the DIA. This piece is an intimate depiction of domesticity that reveals Vermeer’s masterful use of light, proportion, and symbolism. For more information, visit our website: http://bit.ly/MZifhU.

Woman Holding a Balance, Johannes Vermeer, about 1664, oil on canvas. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Widener Collection 1942

The DIA recently “re-discovered” a portrait in storage on loan from the federal government that was completed in 1934 under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project. After some digging, it was determined that the sitter in the portrait was noble citizen and native Detroiter William H. Maybury, the bulwark behind Maybury Sanatorium, the renowned tuberculosis sanatorium that is now Maybury State Park in Northville, MI. Find out how this portrait, which was conserved by Alfred Ackerman, head of conservation and painting conservator at the DIA (and a 22-year Northville resident himself), ended up at the Northville District Library, where it is now on view in the Local History Room.
http://northville.patch.com/articles/dia-helps-bring-portrait-home-to-northville#c

Happy birthday, Detroit! Today is Detroit’s 311th birthday. Take a look at this work by Alexander Macomb that depicts the Detroit cityscape from the Canadian shore in 1821. Fun fact: Alexander Macomb was the Commanding General of the United States Army from May 29, 1828 to June 25, 1841, and a highly decorated veteran of the War of 1812. He is also the namesake for Macomb County!

"Pill Spill" by Beverly Fishman is a new installation in the DIA’s contemporary art galleries. The piece consists of 86 hand-blown glass capsules in three sizes and various colors and patterns representing pharmaceutical pills. The capsules are reconfigured to underscore the viewer’s personal relationship to pharmaceuticals. They remind us that medicine can be both a cure and a poison. "Pill Spill" first took form as an installation of 120 capsules as part of the Toledo Museum of Art’s Guest Artist Pavilion Project. Fishman was selected as the 2010 artist in residence and worked with the Glass Pavilion’s staff to execute her vision. You can see another work by Fishman—C.E.L. 109—as part of the DIA's permanent collection in a nearby gallery.

Pictured here are DIA Director Graham W. J. Beal and Linda D. Forte of Comerica Bank at the entrance of the DIA’s new exhibition “Picasso and Matisse: The DIA’s Prints and Drawings.” Forte visited the museum on Tuesday to see the exhibition and speak about Comerica’s longtime support of the DIA. The exhibition, which is sponsored by Comerica, opened yesterday and features almost all of the works by Picasso and Matisse in the museum’s prints and drawings collections. This is the third and final exhibition to open as part of the DIA’s summer lineup, which also includes “Patti Smith: Camera Solo” and “Five Spanish Masterpieces.” All three exhibitions are free with museum admission. Come see them while they last! http://www.dia.org/calendar/exhibition.aspx?id=3241&iid=

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”—Pablo Picasso

“Creativity takes courage.”—Henri Matisse

Picasso and Matisse were ground-breaking visionaries who constantly experimented with techniques and materials. You can see almost all of their works from the DIA’s prints and drawings collections, showcasing their revolutionary achievements that defined much of 20th-century art, in “Picasso and Matisse: The DIA’s Prints and Drawings.” The exhibition opens tomorrow and is free with museum admission! http://www.dia.org/calendar/exhibition.aspx?id=3187&iid

Circus, Henri Matisse, 1943. Pochoir. Detroit Institute of Arts. © 2012 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Do you want one of these limited, first-edition, reversible InsideOut tees? They can be worn—you got it—inside-out! You can purchase one at Leon and Lulu in Clawson tomorrow for $15, as part of the Clawson, Troy, Royal Oak, and Ferndale InsideOut kickoff: http://www.facebook.com/events/331815446902248/

Today is Frida Kahlo’s 105th birthday anniversary. This photo was taken circa 1931 when Kahlo was in Detroit with Diego Rivera, who was painting the DIA’s iconic “Detroit Industry” murals. Here, Kahlo is looking down over the east wall, probably watching Rivera work.