The University of Michigan welcomes art lovers from all over the region to the 57th annual Ann Arbor Art Fair (July 21–24) by offering many special events, tours and performances at many locations on campus. All of the following activities and exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Museums

Museum of Art

The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), which will be open late for Fridays After 5 for Art Fair Visitors on July 22, is one of the oldest and largest and university art museums in the country. Their collection comprises more than 21,000 works of art that span cultures, eras, and media, with works on view by world renowned artists like James McNeill Whistler, Helen Frankenthaler, Pablo Picasso, Joshua Reynolds, Kara Walker, Claude Monet, Frank Lloyd Wright and Andy Warhol, among many others. In addition to their permanent collection, UMMA hosts nearly 20 special exhibitions and over 100 events each year. Current exhibitions include:

• Mira Henry: The View Inside presents experimental conceptual drawings by architect Mira Henry.
• The Connoisseurs’ Legacy: The Collection of Nesta and Walter Spink celebrates two connoisseurs and accomplished U-M scholars, and includes exquisite Whistler prints rarely on display and a rich representation of South Asian folk art.
• Catherine Opie: 700 Nimes Road includes photographs at the Bel Air, California, residence of Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) taken just before her death by artist Catherine Opie, one of the essential figures in contemporary photography.
• Catie Newell: Overnight explores a dark Detroit via photographs and an installation by Catie Newell, U-M Taubman School of Architecture assistant professor.
• Siebren Versteeg: LIKE II is a media exhibition taking the form of a computer painting program that creates a composition using a continuously changing algorithm, and then runs a periodic Google search to find a matching image online.
• Manuel Alvarez Bravo: Mexico’s Poet of Light presents photography from UMMA’s collection highlighting Álvarez Bravo’s ability to “imbue scenes of everyday life with an otherworldly, metaphysical power.”

Location: UMMA is free and open to the public at 525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Tues.–Sat., 11a.m.–5pm; Sun. 12–5 p.m.; Closed Mondays & University holidays

Kelsey Museum of Archaeology

The Kelsey Museum houses a collection of more than 100,000 ancient and medieval objects from the civilizations of the Mediterranean and the Near East. Among the objects on view is a colorfully painted Egyptian mummy coffin, magical amulets from the ancient Near East, an array of glass vessels, Greek pottery, a unique large-scale watercolor representation of the famous Villa of the Mysteries murals from ancient Pompeii, and more. Their Saturday sampler tour starts at 2pm on July 23.

Location: The Kelsey Museum is free and open to the public at 434 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Tues.–Fri., 9 am–4 p.m.; Sat.–Sun., 1–4 p.m., Closed Mondays & University holidays.

Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History includes displays on prehistoric life (with the most extensive dinosaur exhibits in the state), Michigan wildlife, anthropology, geology and a digital planetarium. Stop in to check out their Extreme Time exhibition or participate in one of their DIY DNA Hands-on Demos for adults and children ages 5+.

Location: The Museum of Natural History is free and open to the public at 1109 Geddes Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109. Hours: Mon.–Sat., 9am–5 p.m.; Sun.,12–5 p.m.; Closed on University holidays.

 

Matthaei Botanical Gardens

The Matthaei Botanical Gardens is a 350-acre site that offers an indoor plant conservatory and greenhouse, and outdoor sites for research, display gardens, native plant gardens, natural areas and ongoing ecological restoration.

Location: Matthaei is free and open to the public at 1800 N.Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Summer Hours: Conservatory is open daily, 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Trails open sunrise to sunset.

 

Galleries

With over 20 galleries on campus, various U-M departments and libraries are committed to exploring artistic expression through many different subjects outside of traditional museum spaces. From Women’s Studies to the School of Natural Resources or the Stamps School of Art & Design—stop into one of the many exhibitions just beyond the streets of the art fair.

Lane Hall Gallery

Above Ground—40 Moments of Transformation is a photography exhibition by the U-M Women’s Studies program that highlights the powerful, ground-breaking performance art and actions of China’s Young Feminist Activists (YFA).

Location: The Lane Hall Gallery is free and open to the public at 204 State St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109. Hours: Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Closed Sat.–Sun. & University holidays.

 

Argus II Gallery

2016 Stamps School of Art & Design Alumni Show: Each year, our Alumni exhibition offers an opportunity for Stamps graduates from across the country and internationally to share their current creative work. The theme for the 2016 Stamps Alumni Juried Exhibition is “Horror Vacui”, commonly known as “fear of empty space”.

Location: The exhibition is free and open to the public at the Argus II Building, 400 4th St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Hours: July 19–August 6, 2016, 12–7 p.m.

 

Matthaei Botanical Gardens Gallery

Picture This! Is a photography exhibition of photographs taken of and by young patients—many of whom were born with facial differences or cleft palates—in U-M Mott Hospital’s Craniofacial Anomalies Program. The children were paired with professional photographers from the community to learn new ways to look at and through the camera while exploring Nichols Arboretum.

Location: Matthaei is free and open to the public at 1800 N.Dixboro Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.

 

U-M Health System ‘Gifts of Art’ Galleries

Gifts of Art curates nine galleries of changing art exhibitions throughout the U-M hospital, and organizes a weekly, public concert series in music, theatre and dance. During art fair week, check out a courtyard performance by Magdalen Fossum and a demo by U-M alum and renowned chalk artist David Zinn on Thursday, July 21 at 12 p.m.

Location: Gifts of Art galleries and performances are free and open to the public at 1500 E. Medical Center Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Events and performance time varies, galleries are open during hospital visiting hours.

 

Art & Environment Gallery

Trending Toward Wild features the watercolor landscapes of U-M Stamps School of Art & Design alum Andrew Sell. He minored in environmental sciences within the School of Natural Resources, and his artwork is inspired a cross-section of his two interests.

Location: The Art & Environment Gallery is free and open to the public in the Dana building’s Ford Commons at 440 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Mon.–Fri., 7 a.m.–7 p.m.

Clark Library Exhibition Space

Intersections/Connections is an International Studies exhibition displaying materials from across the world—rather than displaying each area separately, the exhibition concentrates on connections and interactions among disparate regions.

Location: The Clark Library is located on the 2nd floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library at 913 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Daily, 8 a.m.–11:45 p.m.

William L. Clements Library Avenir Reading Room

Supporting Scholarship: Eight Topics Documented in the Clements Library highlights eight research topics that the holdings of the Clements support. They include: Exploration and Discovery; Colonial America; Conflict; Age of Revolution; Education; Business and Trade; Religion & Reform; and The Under-Represented. Visit to explore the broad range of early maps, manuscripts, books, prints, and photography.

A Century of Collecting, 1903 – 2016 explores the collecting philosophy and practices of Mr. Clements and the Library’s four Directors.

Location: Access to the Avenir Reading Room is through the south entrance of the Clements Library, located at 909 S University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and by special arrangement. Clements Library is offering tours of the newly renovated Library at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. on Friday, July 22. Interested parties can contact abhelber@umich.edu.

Hatcher Graduate Library 7th Floor Exhibition Space

A New Treasure Trove at Special Collections showcases recent acquisitions that strengthen our extraordinary holdings in the areas of radical literature, transportation history, film, rare books, culinary history, Islamic manuscripts, children’s literature and Judaica.

Location: Hatcher Graduate Library 7th Floor Exhibition Space is free and open to the public at 913 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

 

The Bioartography Project Art Fair Booth

Faculty, staff and student volunteers from the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology will be at Booth 112 on East University Avenue selling artistic images of microscopic tissue. The images come from research laboratories throughout U-M, and include several examples of Regenerative Medicine in action (regeneration of optic nerves, programming of human embryonic stem cells). Visitors to the booth will also be able to make their own “Brain Art,” a snapshot of their own brain activity over time. Proceeds support travel to national and international scientific meetings for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the biological sciences.

Address: Art Fair booth 112 on East University Avenue. Hours:  Thurs.–Sat., 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun., 12–6 p.m.