DETROIT - The Michigan State University Museum has opened the first in a new series of exhibitions in the MSU Detroit Center, 3408 Woodward Ave. An exhibit of masks from the MSU Museum collections links with the "MASK: Secrets and Revelations" program running at the MSU Museum in East Lansing through 2011.
"This is an opportunity for the MSU Museum to have a permanent presence in Detroit," said Gary Morgan, MSU Museum director. "We welcome the chance to have our products in this important center, and we hope that the exhibits will engage with the students and visitors at the center, and remind them that they are part of the greater MSU story."
The new exhibit features light and durable cabinets and the bases depict scenes from MSU, past and present, in a montage of images. Clear plexi-bonnets are UV filtering, to reduce the impact of natural light on objects on display in airy, street-side settings like the Detroit Center. The MSU Museum will change the Detroit Center exhibits periodically to profile other education, research and collections.
Funding support for the exhibits is provided by the Office of the Provost.
"We're pleased to connect the MSU Museum and the MSU Detroit Center in this vibrant way," said MSU Senior Associate Provost June Youatt. "The exhibit series will provide the Detroit community with a window to our East Lansing campus and help us more deeply connect with our colleagues and friends through these shared experiences."
Located in the heart of downtown Detroit, the 22,000-square-foot Detroit Center facility is a hub for an array of MSU programs, activities and opportunities for the neighborhood, community and region. The MSU Detroit Center is home to programs and headquarters for College of Education Detroit schools teaching interns and the College of Music's Community Music School - Detroit.
In addition to changing exhibits in its main campus facility, the MSU Museum is increasingly creating a number of short-term displays across campus in academic buildings and visitor destinations on campus, in places like the MSU Union, Cowles House, Spartan Stadium Tower, Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, Brody Hall, Natural Science Building, MSU Main Library and other locations. The MSU Museum also operates a Traveling Exhibition Program, sharing its research, collections and multimedia resources in museums, libraries, cultural centers and schools across the country.