The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, or MSU Broad, presents its second season of free public programming sourced from the Community Open Call initiative at the MSU Broad Art Lab. Selected by a diverse committee of community representatives, these proposals rose to the top of a large pool of applicants and will be presented to the public throughout the summer.
The Community Open Call is an experimental platform that invites the community to initiate the unique arts and cultural programming inside the Art Lab. Creative thinkers from all backgrounds and disciplines are invited to propose their vision for the Art Lab as a studio, gallery, performance space or something completely new.
The following events are free and open to the public through this summer’s Community Open Call at the Art Lab:
Studio (in)Process (Sponsored by Open Call): 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, June 27. This special free edition of our weekly Studio (in)Process is sponsored by the Community Open Call with guest artist and librarian Jane Reiter. Create DIY simple books with recycled materials, paper, postcards and leather.
Puppet Making Workshop: 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, July 9 and 16. Take your storytelling to the next level with a character you imagine and bring to life. Work with puppeteer John Hay to construct your own hand puppet out of paper mache and fabric.
Using the Art of Improv to Save the World: 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 13. Engage in an evening of laughter, positive synergy and careful reflection through trust-building exercises, cultural enhancement games and creative problem-solving activities with Applied Improv coach and co-creator of the Michigan Creativity Group Jeff Croley.
Habibi Dancers: 2 to 3 p.m., Sunday, July 21. You’re invited to join this local dance troupe for a performance of Egyptian Sai’di /Ghawazee and Saudi Arabian Khaleegy style dance. The performance will also include a brief history of the regional dances performed, as well as examples of historical (reproduction) costuming and traditional music.
Create a Butterfly Garden with AgeAlive: July 23-28. Drop in to the Art Lab studio to paint, write messages on and fold butterflies that can become part of a unique exhibit; a butterfly “garden,” inspired by local Artist Zahrah Resh and in partnership with AgeAlive.
Lottery of Life: Cultural Bingo: 7 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 31. Join artist David Brent Hale as we examine graduation rates and statistics of underserved communities in contrast with the idea of random chance through a commonly known board game—bingo!
Games for Circus: 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, August 9 and 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, August 17. Join Violet Defiant, a contemporary circus artist who specializes in acrobatic and lyric storytelling performances, for a circus games teaser on Friday, August 9. Then join the caravan of acrobats, jugglers, puppeteers and clowns with play-based circus workshops on Saturday, August 17. We’ll show off our new skills with a final performance at the MSU Broad Art Museum at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 17.
Art of Infertility: 2 to 4 p.m., August 20-25. Join us for a pop-up exhibition showcasing artwork from The ART of Infertility, a local non-profit that aims to break the silence around infertility, offering art and storytelling as therapeutic heuristics to capture and express the emotional complexity of these experiences. Then on Saturday, engage with art-making around infertility with a blackout poetry workshop using found text, papercut screen printing and visual art for reproductive advocacy as well as healing.
Do you have a great idea for an event you’d like to share with our community? Fill out an application online at broadmuseum.msu.edu/artlab or attend Open Call Idea Night. The deadline for the fall cycle of programming is July 31. The next Open Call Idea Night is from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, June 14 at the MSU Broad Art Lab.
Visit broadmuseum.msu.edu/artlab for more information about Community Open Call.
Community Open Call is made possible by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.