Events

Public programs facilitate dialogue between academics and professionals, informing scholarship and strengthening practice.

Multiple day conferences, year-long colloquia, individual lectures, “conversations” between individuals, hands-on workshops, and Museums at Noon talks featuring our graduate students all contribute to the remarkable richness of MSP offerings.

Video recordings of some MSP lectures are archived for viewing in our Media Gallery.

Narrative and Nationalism: Islamic Science in American Museum Practice

Presentation by Amanda Respess, PhD candidate, Anthropology and History Friday,  November 17 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, UM Museum of Art auditorium   Narrative and Nationalism: Islamic Science in American Museum Practice Artifacts important to the history of science in Islamicate societies occupy...

Learning by Leading: A New Model for Expanding Museum Impact

U-M Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI, United States

A conversation between: Kathleen Socolofsky - Director, Arboretum and Public Garden, University of California, Davis Bob Grese - Director, Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, U-M   During this time of immense and sometimes disorienting change, museums are perfectly positioned to step into new...

Curatorial Dilemmas: Representing Africa at UMMA with Christa Clarke

A series of talks by leading curators and thinkers in African art will launch a reimagining process for the forthcoming reinstallation of the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s Robert and Lillian Montalto Bohlen Gallery of African Art. Christa Clarke, Senior Curator Arts of Global Africa, Newark Museum, will...

Time to Evolve:  The Histories and Futures of Two University Natural History Museums 

U-M Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI, United States

A conversation between: Julie Stein - Executive Director, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington Amy Harris - Director, Museum of Natural History, U-M   University natural history collections were central to the scientific enterprise in the 19th century. Today, these collections...

Museums of the Past into the Future: The Oriental Institute and the Kelsey Museum

U-M Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI, United States

A conversation between: Chris Woods, Director, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago Terry G. Wilfong, Director, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, U-M   The Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan share similar backgrounds...

Museums at Noon – Postponed!

University of Michigan Museum of Art, First Floor, Multi-Purpose Room 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Presented by Mark Auslander, Director of Michigan State University Museum co-sponsored by the UM Department of Afroamerican and African Studies   Previously schedued for Friday, February 9 at 12:00 pm in the UM Museum of Art Multi-Purpose Room (125) - new date to be...

“Archives and Futures: A View from ‘the most distant place’”

Rackham Graduate School 915 E. Washington Street, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Shamil Jeppie, University of Capetown, South Africa Monday, Feb 12, 4-6pm Rackham Amphitheatre, 915 E. Washington Please join us for a reception with Shamil Jeppie immediately following the lecture. The Oxford English Dictionary describes Timbuktu as “the most distant place,” a view that comes out...

Historic House Museums workshop

Michigan League Ann Arbor, MI

The morning session of this workshop is free and open to the public.  The afternoon visit to Fair Lane Estate, however, is limited to 40 people and is fully registered. House museums have been a mainstay of the American museum landscape for generations.  The...

The Challenges and Opportunities of Exhibiting Asian Art in the 21st Century: A View from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Michigan Union 530 S. State Streeet, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

The Challenges and Opportunities of Exhibiting Asian Art in the 21st Century: A View from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Presented by Anna Slaczka, Curator of Asian Art, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. March 22 at 2:30, Michigan Union, Wolverine Room. Presented by the UM History of Art, and co-sponsored by the...