The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College presents its schedule of public programs happening from February through May 2015. These programs are presented for a variety of audiences, in conjunction with the current schedule of exhibitions. For more information on exhibitions, visit http://www.dennosmuseum.org/exhibitions/index.html.
“This spring the Museum is exploring new collaborations with Habitat for Humanity, NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute, and Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation,” says Jason Dake, Curator of Education. “Each organization has welcomed the opportunity to reach new audiences in unique ways, and we’re excited to build on these relationships to better serve the community.”
Habitat for Humanity-Grand Traverse Region
As part of Embrace the Dream and in partnership with ReTooled: Highlights from the Hechinger Collection, an exhibition featuring tools as art, Habitat for Humanity-Grand Traverse Region will present a series of three programs. Learn about HabitatGTR’s advances in home energy efficiency, meet Habitat families and volunteers, or purchase “re-vibed” furniture for your home. Tool donations for the ReStore will be accepted at each event.
Saturday, February 28th, 2015 – 10:00am – 4:00pm
Homes Filled with Hearts
Free admission to the event
Habitat for Humanity, GTR presents an exhibit featuring artwork from Habitat families, and a tool craft project, 1-3 pm.
Saturday, March 28th, 2015 – 10:00am – 4:00pm
Upscale Art
Free Admission to the Museum Sponsored by Dan Brady Painting & Wood Restoration
Habitat for Humanity, GTR presents a salvage art exhibit and silent auction featuring ReStore wooden chairs that have been re-imagined and restored. Take a chair and bring it to life!
Saturday, April 18th, 2015 – 10:00am – Noon
Net Zero Housing Presentation
Free Admission to the event
Habitat for Humanity, GTR presents a program on energy conservation, reusable energy, net zero housing, and the benefits of recycling. Guest presenters will include Ryan McCoon, Principal at Endura Performance Home and Project Manager, Habitat-Grand Traverse Region; Max Strickland, HERS Energy Analyst, Strickland-Ewing & Associates; and Geoff Burmeister, Master Student at University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.
Wholly Daylight Donuts
Wholly Daylight Donuts and The Dennos
January 25 – May 17, 2015
In conjunction with Jae Yong Kim’s exhibition of ceramic donuts, Can’t Stop Thinking About…, each visitor to the Museum will receive a coupon for one free donut with the purchase of a beverage at Wholly Daylight Donuts of Traverse City. Additionally, a purchase of a dozen donuts at Wholly Daylight Donuts will award you with a half-off admission coupon for the Museum during the run of the exhibition. Just don’t eat the art!
NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute
Sunday, March 8, 2015 – 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Design-a-Donut Day
Visit the Dennos Museum Center for a chance to think about good donut design. Visitors of all ages will be inspired by the exhibition, Can’t Stop Thinking About…, by Jae Yong Kim. Put on your culinary artist hat and design a donut too beautiful to eat, but eat it anyway! Donuts and decorations will be provided by NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute. Groups of 5 or more, please call (231)995-1029 by Wednesday, March 6, to ensure there are enough donuts to go around.
Workshops and Performance
Saturday, March 14, 2015 – 12:30pm-1:30pm, and 2:00pm-3:00pm
Musical Saw Workshop with Thom Eno
$25 per person, ages 16+
Registration includes 2 tickets to the 4:00pm performance in Milliken Auditorium
By phone: (231) 995-1553 or 1-800-836-0717
In this hour-long workshop with Michigan-based musician Thom Eno, participants will learn the history of the musical saw while receiving hands-on instruction. Learn to play some of the classic songs that feature musical saw, and get a feel for this unique instrument. Saws are provided. Registration is limited to 10 individuals per workshop, ages 16 and up; includes 2 tickets to the afternoon performance of Thom Eno with the Sorensons.
Thom Eno has been playing the musical saw for twenty years, performing regularly at the Coopersville Farm Museum and teaching saw workshops at traditional music venues including the Wheatland Music Festival and the New York Musical Saw Festival.
Saturday, March 14, 2015 – 4:00pm
Thom Eno with the Sorensons:
A Performance Featuring the Musical Saw
Milliken Auditorium
Tickets: $10; $8 for Members
By phone: (231) 995-1553 or 1-800-836-0717
Thom Eno and the Sorensons will perform a mix of folk, country, and gospel tunes, many of which feature the musical saw. Enjoy this family-friendly concert in conjunction with ReTooled: Highlights from the Hechinger Collection, on exhibit through May 17, 2015.
Thom Eno has been playing the musical saw for twenty years, performing regularly at the Coopersville Farm Museum and teaching saw workshops at traditional music venues including the Wheatland Music Festival and the New York Musical Saw Festival. For the last ten years he has been performing extensively with the Sorensens, playing bass and the saw in an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary music.
The Sorensens are regulars at the Coopersville Farm Museum and play a variety of venues around Michigan, hosting jams and performing. Chris Sorensen plays the guitar and sings most of the lead vocals. Ruth Sorensen plays mandolin, shares lead vocal duties and provides backing harmonies.
Lecture
Thursday, March 26, 2015 – 6:30-8:00pm
Who Needs Museums? – At the Intersection of Art and Popular Culture
Join Richard Rischar for an insightful program exploring the Museum’s current exhibition schedule. While the four spring exhibitions seem unrelated, a broader look at the art and museum world sheds light on surprising connections between artists, geographic regions, and cultures. The program will provide an opportunity for learning, looking, and reflecting on influential ideas and art, while discussing the purpose of museums in today’s fast-paced, instant-gratification culture.
Rischar has a Ph.D. in music history from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and has taught humanities, history, and film for over a decade, including at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Dickinson College, Pennsylvania.
Exhibitions discussed will include: ReTooled: Highlights from the Hechinger Collection, featuring over 40 works that present tools as subject matter; Michigan Ceramics 2014, a biennial exhibition from the Michigan Ceramic Art Association; Jinwon Chang – “Hweh-Geeh”, a site specific installation of bamboo and paper sculpture; and Can’t Stop Thinking About…, an installation of ceramic donuts from artist Jae Yong Kim. More information at dennosmuseum.org.
Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation
Saturday, May 2, 2015 – 1:00pm
Trouble on the Water
Free with Museum Admission
Learn more about local efforts to promote water safety and how to help with that effort, while exploring the art of Jin-Won Chang, a Korean-born artist whose work is inspired by his own near-death experiences in water. Presentations will be made by Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation, with the Northwest Michigan Water Safety Network, just in time for the warmer months. Participants will also be able to work with various materials to create their own one-of-a-kind sculpture inspired by Chang’s installation.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursdays until 8 PM, and Sundays 1-5 PM. For information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.