Potentially stormy Memorial Day weekend delivers diverse arts options in metro Detroit

Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read

Metro Detroit is looking at a potentially stormy Memorial Day weekend, but there's still plenty going on around the region. Not attending Movement? Skipping the cookout this year? Here are some options in the arts to consider.

Installation views of Library Street Collective's SKALAR, on display at 1001 Woodward Ave. from May 24 - July 28, 2024.
Installation views of Library Street Collective's SKALAR, on display at 1001 Woodward Ave. from May 24 - July 28, 2024.

Art with a techno twist

Starting Friday, Library Street Collective and Bedrock Detroit present “SKALAR: Reflections on Light and Sound,” a kinetic art installation by light artist Christopher Bauder and musician Kangding Ray, located at 1001 Woodward Ave. The visual and sound experience will open parallel to the Movement Electronic Dance Music Festival and further celebrate Detroit’s rich history of techno music. This marks the first presentation of “SKALAR” in the United States, following successful showcases in Berlin, Zurich, Mexico City, Amsterdam, and Riyadh.

1001 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-600-7443. www.lscgallery.com. Free admission.

Celebrating women in jazz

All-female jazz quartet Straight Ahead will hold down a residency at downtown Detroit’s Cliff Bell’s this weekend, with shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows on Sunday. Co-founder and bassist Marion Hayden, a native Detroiter, is a 2016 Kresge Artist Fellow who was mentored by Marcus Belgrave and has performed with such luminaries as Bobby McFerrin, Nancy Wilson, Geri Allen, Regina Carter, Joe Williams, Lionel Hampton, Jon Hendricks, Mulgrew Miller and many more.

Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543. www.cliffbells.com. Tickets $25.

An important artist retrospective

Detroit artist Henry Heading, a 2023 Alain Locke Award recipient, will give an artist talk at 5 p.m. on Friday at the closing of his “Beyond the Frame” retrospective at Galerie Camille. The exhibition includes new works, such as paintings with unique custom framing, treasure boxes, furniture, portraits, and special pieces.

Galerie Camille, 4130 Cass Ave., Detroit. 313-974-6737. www.galeriecamille.com. Free admission.

A classical concerto

German conductor David Afkham makes his Detroit Symphony Orchestra debut with works that show virtuosity on different scales. Violinist Veronika Eberle, "a star performer" (LA Times), will play Brahms's monumental Violin Concerto (and on a Stradivarius made in 1693!). Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra will highlight the entire DSO, right through to one of the most exciting last movements in orchestral music.

Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111. www.dso.org. Tickets start at $19.

(L to R): Odysseus Bailer (Orlando) and Asia Mark (Rosalind) in Shakespeare in Detroit's “As You Like It."
(L to R): Odysseus Bailer (Orlando) and Asia Mark (Rosalind) in Shakespeare in Detroit's “As You Like It."

Shakespeare through the Black lens

Shakespeare in Detroit, celebrating more than a decade in action, presents an updated twist on “As You Like It” in the Detroit Institute of Arts’ lecture hall Friday at 7 p.m. The comedic romp, edited down to 90 minutes, takes inspiration from the DIA’s special exhibition “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898 – 1971,” and is set among the silent movie studios and chitlin circuits of the late 1800s.

Detroit Institute of the Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. www.shakespeareindetroit.com. Admission free with registration.

World beats in Ann Arbor

The Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet, with special guest Elden Kelly, will celebrate the release of their live LP “Invisible” on Sunday at Ann Arbor’s Ravens Club. Two sets will be played between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. and albums will be sold. However, the LP release is a limited pressing—once the copies are sold out, that’s it!

Ravens Club, 207 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-214-0400. www.theravensclub.com. Free admission.

A waterfront art fair

The Kensington Metropark Art Fair returns to Milford Township for Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27, featuring some 120 artists from across the country. Running along the river at Maple Beach, the juried art fair features all types of mediums including paintings, sculpture, functional art, jewelry, mixed media, metal, fiber, clay, wood, photography, and more. Food options and live music will be available, and the Detroit Institute of Arts will be on-site offering hands-on art projects for kids.

Kensington Metropark, 4570 Huron River Pkwy., Milford Charter Twp. www.kensingtonartfair.com. Admission is free but a Metropark pass is required to enter the park. Daily admission to the park is $10.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Memorial Day weekend delivers diverse arts options in metro Detroit