Detroit Historical Museum testing out free ‘Late Nights’ program

Hey, readers! Welcome back to Culture Canvas. 

Summer is in full swing and you might be looking for fun things to do with friends, or if you’re a parent, things to do with your children. One place to find programming for the entire family is the Detroit Historical Museum.

The institution offers a mix of permanent and changing exhibits and is now looking to be more accommodating to visitors by having longer hours. DHM began hosting Late Nights at the Museum in May, where people can visit the museum for free from 5 -8 p.m. Catch the next Late Nights on July 11. 

Rebecca Salminen-Witt, chief strategy and marketing officer for the Detroit Historical Society, said the Late Nights “experiment” has gone over better than museum officials hoped, with  attendance up over 200% during the days when free extended hours are offered.

“Our hope is that we are able to use our attendance data to justify continuing the experiment – hopefully with a new grant that will allow us to keep the evening hours free,” she told BridgeDetroit. 

Museum admission is also free from 1-5 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month. The next Second Sunday is July 14.

I talked to Salminen-Witt about the museum’s extended hours and robust summer programming.

BridgeDetroit: What was the reasoning behind the expanded hours? 

Salminen-Witt: We’re really dedicated to making the museum as accessible as possible. We know that the majority of our open hours are when people may be working. We’re constantly looking for ways to expand the hours that people can visit us so that they have more chances to come. It can be a fun, Thursday evening. Maybe go out for a drink with your friends and stop by after or you can stop by right after work and then head out after that. We’re hoping that it will attract a whole other group of people who might not used to be coming to a museum regularly. 

BridgeDetroit: Are you doing anything special for those nights? 

Salminen-Witt: We’re trying to schedule programming on each of those days, so there might be a lecture in the auditorium, or maybe it’s a musical act. For August, we’re doing a book talk with a local art author. Even if you feel like you’ve been there recently, there would be something new that might make it worth coming.

BridgeDetroit: You have the “In the Neighborhood: Everyday Life on Hastings Street” exhibit going on right now. What can visitors expect to see? 

Salminen-Witt: It’s been a really successful, popular exhibit. It’s a partnership with the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, and it tells an interesting story. Hastings Street was part of Black Bottom, which is widely known as this famous African American neighborhood from the early part of the 20th Century. What people don’t really know is that that neighborhood started off as a broader neighborhood for all kinds of immigrants, but it had a really strong Jewish population. It’s interesting to see that story told and then see its links to the African American neighborhood that became so famous after the fact. There’s an opening video right when you walk into the gallery and it shows Hastings Street where it was layered over I-375, which is there now, and then it shows all the old businesses pop up as the video goes along. It’s up until the end of July. 

BridgeDetroit: What are some other things on tap for the summer at DHM? 

Salminen-Witt: July is also the last month for our Pistons exhibit. That one’s called “35/20” and it tells the story of the championships in 1989 and 2004. At the end of the month, we’re going to open a new exhibit that is focused on The Links, which is an African American women’s service group, and their long history of serving this area. In August, after the Pistons exhibit comes out, we’ll be opening a brand new permanent exhibit “City of Champions Gallery,” and they’ll tell revolving sports stories. We’ve never had a permanent space in the museum to show sports stories like that. 

And we’ve got two really cool photographic exhibits. One is “Travelin’ Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger,” and those are behind-the-stage action photos of Bob Seger and his long career here. And on the second floor is the artist showcase, where you’ve got a big photographic exhibit by Carlos Diaz, which are street photography from 1984 in the Detroit Tigers World Series championship. It kind of puts you in Detroit in 1984. 

Then, on the lower level, is an exhibit that’s called “Kresge 100,” and it’s the story of the Kresge stores and the Kresge Foundation, which turns 100 this year. We’re having a lot of people come specifically to see that exhibit. 

Hope you all have a great week and a nice holiday weekend! 

Cheers,

Micah 

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• The city of Detroit ordered an emergency demolition for a building on the site of the Dabls Mbad African Bead Museum. Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) Director David Bell said in a Thursday statement that the building, which is not currently part of the museum, is a safety hazard and must be taken down immediately.
• Also, I just wrote about the inspiration for Jacob Russell’s one-man show “Birth of a Ho’ Ass Nation.” The satirical show explores Black history moments after the Civil War, from President Abraham Lincoln’s approval of reparations for former slaves and its demise after his assassination to the enactment of Jim Crow laws in the south. Check it out and where you can catch Russell next. 
• Kresge Arts in Detroit announced its 18 Kresge Artist Fellows in film and music and seven fellows in live arts. Additionally, 10 people received $5,000 Gilda Awards in film, music and live arts. The Kresge fellowship awards artists with $40,000, no-strings-attached. 

What’s Going on in the D? 

• Community nonprofit Equity Alliance of Michigan is hosting Equifest Thursday at its center at 6602 Walton Street on Detroit’s west side. Beginning at 2 p.m., the festival will include food, games, music and fireworks in the evening. 
• For those who don’t celebrate the Fourth of July, Shrine of the Black Madonna is holding a “Not our Independence Day” ceremony from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday. Excerpts of Frederick Douglass’ speech, “What to the Negro is the 4th of July?” will be read by community leaders. The event will include an African Marketplace with food, art, jewelry and clothing vendors. Admission is $20 and free for children ages 12 and under. 
• Check out the final weekend of, “Between Riverside and Crazy” at the Detroit Repertory Theatre. The play follows ex-cop and widower Walter “Pops” Washington and his recently paroled son Junior and their struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent-controlled apartments on Riverside Drive. Shows take place at 8 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 online and $30 at the door. 
• The city’s Office of Mobility Innovation is hosting its annual Detroit Bike Summit 11 a.m. Saturday at the Joe Louis Greenway’s Warren Gateway, 8034 W. Warren Ave. Bikers can take a tour of the greenway, grab lunch at a food truck and enter in prize raffles. The event is free but attendees must register. 

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