March

In energized Detroit, savoring an architectural legacy
“Kahn is striking for the fact that he’s so low-key and his immense talents were hidden behind a quite conventional persona. I think that’s true of the buildings as well,” said Claire Zimmerman, associate professor of history of art and architecture, on the architectural legacy of Albert Kahn, “the architect of Detroit” who also designed many iconic buildings on the U-M campus.
Read more: The New York Times

Border Trilogy Part 1: Hole in the Fence
Jason De León, associate professor of anthropology, discussed the genesis of U-M’s Undocumented Migration Project, a long-term anthropological study of undocumented migration between Mexico and the United States.
Read more: WNYC RadioLab

Sculpture of extinct human relative acquired for new U-M museum
When the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History reopens in its new home, it will feature a life-size, realistic reconstruction of an extinct human relative that roamed southern Africa 2 million years ago. “We had to open the crate to confirm that it wasn’t damaged during shipping, and everyone in the room was just floored by its lifelike appearance,” said UM paleontologist Michael Cherney.
Read more: MLive

‘Blade Runner 2049’ Oscar winner comes home to Michigan for Ann Arbor Film Festival
Weeks after receiving his second Academy Award, U-M alum John Nelson returned to Ann Arbor to give a free lecture at the Michigan Theatre as part of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. Nelson, who studied at U-M Screen Arts & Cultures, has worked on films including “Gladiator,” “I,Robot” and “Iron Man.”
Read more: Detroit Free Press

Chelsea Manning talks life after prison, trans awareness, free speech at U-M
Chelsea Manning spoke about life after prison, artificial intelligence and machine learning, free speech and her interpretations of art in a discussion on Thursday, March 15 at the Michigan Theatre as part of the Penny Stamps Speaker Series.
Read more: MLive

New UM architecture dean sees Detroit as case study
“The dream is for Detroit to become a 21st-century city of a type we haven’t seen before, one that could support life and community that don’t exist in other post-industrial cities,” said Jonathan Massey, dean and professor of architecture and urban planning.
Read more: The Detroit News

February

From Smell-O-Vision to Astrocolor, the film industry’s biggest innovation flops
U-M Screen Arts & Culture professor Thomas Delapa writes about the widescreen experimentations that occured in U.S. theaters in the 1920s.
Read more: The Conversation

Black hair’s blockbuster moment
Tiya Miles, author and U-M professor of American culture and history, writes about black hair’s blockbuster moment. “Despite and perhaps because of a surge in white supremacist language in the United States, a wave of black cultural resistance is flooding the arts as well as the streets. And with it, black hair in its natural state of sublime uprightness has returned as a symbol of political consciousness and visionary imagining,” she says.
Read more: The New York Times

A giant robot artwork built to bend over border walls
Artist Chico MacMurtrie created a 40-ft tall robot designed to cross borders, specifically the border between Mexico and the United States, during his residency at the U-M Institute for the Humanities. The robot was created under his direction by an interdisciplinary team of undergraduates.
Read more: Hyperallergic

Socialist art from China, remade in Michigan
Angie Baecker, freelance writer and doctoral candidate in modern Chinese cultural studies at U-M, writes about a re-staging of the a 1959 artwork by Wang Quingsong. The artwork, called “The Bloody Clothes,” has been re-staged in Highland Park, a small city within Detroit.
Read more: CityLab

Rediscovering Ancient Nubia in Sudan Before It’s Too Late
“As an archaeologist, you are always feeling impatient and urgent. There is limited time, limited money, you are always concerned,” said Geoff Emberling, associate research scientist at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, on the urgency to uncover artifacts and document what’s left of the ancient Nubian civilization in Africa.
Read more: The Wire

Restored ‘Porgy and Bess’ gets key test on road to Met Opera
A story about the recent test performance of “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” at U-M featured comments by Mark Clague, associate professor of music, and Naomi André, associate professor of women’s studies, Afroamerican and African studies, and at the Residential College.
Read more: The Associated Press

University of Michigan alum to perform on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Jazz artist and U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumnus Joey Dosik will make his late-night television debut on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Feb. 13. Dosik began to gain traction in his solo career in 2017 by signing with the record label Secretly Canadian. The label plans to re-release Dosik’s debut EP “Game Winner” on Feb. 23.
Read more: MLive

Study: $83M brings back City Airport passenger service
Eric Dueweke, lecturer in urban and regional planning, was quoted in a story about the feasibility of bringing back commercial passenger service to Detroit’s financially troubled City Airport.
Read more: The Detroit News

January

Lever Press Sets Gears in Motion
Charles Watkinson, director of the University of Michigan Press, said that a publishing platform under development by U-M Press and Michigan Publishing will allow works with digital content to be displayed as ebooks.
Read more: Inside Higher Ed

Hidden In Plain Sight: Kelsey Museum Of Archaeology
Terry Wilfong, director of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and professor of Egyptology, and Suzanne Davis, associate curator of conservation at the Kelsey Museum, were interviewed about the artifacts featured at the museum.
Read more: WEMU Radio

Exploring Japan’s ‘genderless’ subculture
A column by Jennifer Robertson, professor of anthropology and women’s studies, history of art, and art and design, explores Japan’s “genderless” subculture, in which, for some men, a male body need not conform to a stereotypical manly appearance.
Read more: CNN Style

Darren Criss Plays the Happy-Go-Lucky Killer in the Versace TV Drama
The New York Times spoke with U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumnus Darren Criss about his new role in FX Networks “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
Read more: The New York Times

Ann Arbor’s Omari Rush Named Chair Of Statewide Arts Council
U-M alumnus and executive director of CultureSource, Omari Rush, has been appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to chair the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Rush says “the arts and culture institutions and organizations in Michigan are businesses that employ lots and lots of people and have a really important impact on economies all over the state.”
Read more: WEMU 89.1

Performance series at UMMA celebrating black classical musicians coming Jan. 26
The STMD@UMMA Performance Series annual puts on 6-8 performances that connect with the collections, spaces and exhibition at the U-M Museum of Art. As part of the University of Michigan’s 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium, the performance “Out of Silence” celebrates the lives of African-American musicians at the turn of the 20th century.
Read more: All about Ann Arbor

Chelsea Manning is coming to Ann Arbor as part of U-M’s Penny Stamps speaker series
A queer and transgender rights activist and former intelligence analyst for the U.S Department of Defense, Chelsea Manning will be joined by bio-political artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg on Thursday, March 15 to deliver a lecture as part of the U-M Stamps School of Art & Design Winter 2018 Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series.
Read more: Detroit Metro Times

Golden Globes 2018: Best and worst moments of the #TimesUp, black-clad ceremony
U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance alums Benj Pasek and Justin Paul took home the Golden Globe for best song for the inclusive anthem “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman.”
Read more: Detroit Free Press

From Tetris to Destiny: The extreme evolution of video game music
U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance professor Matthew Thompson spoke with Stateside about the evolution of video game music, and the Fifth Annual North American Conference on Video Game Music, which came to Ann Arbor in January.
Read more: Michigan Radio

Two Frank Lloyd Wright homes available to rent in Mich.
“What makes them special is each house is different and each is a response to its unique setting. Each owner also thinks they have the best Wright house, but they all have something special, a piece of his organic touch,” said Robert Fishman, professor of architecture and urban and regional planning, referring to homes designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Read more: The Detroit News