A lecture series celebrating the past and present of Detroit
The Grosse Pointe Artists Association
cordially invites you to the Alger House
on the campus of The War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Dr., Grosse Pointe Farms
Join artists, architects, historians and community activists for a
lecture series to celebrate the old and new in our neighborhoods.
The presenters volunteer their services, so all proceeds go to support GPAA's free programming for senior citizens, veterans and students in art programs at area high schools.
For the first lecture on Sunday, Dec. 3, photographer and awarding-winning author Jeff Morrison will show us his photographs of interesting sculptures in Michigan's buildings and share the back stories of the architects and sculptors including Corrado Parducci, noted for his work with Albert Kahn. Click here to register and for more details.
For the second lecture on Sunday, Jan. 14, Jonathan Quint, a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, will talk about defining moments and influential figures in Colonial Detroit. His story starts with the first people, the Huron (or Wendat), Ottawa and Potawatomi. Together they established a network of trade and alliances, making the Detroit River an important crossroads, strengthened when they were joined by the French, British and Germans. To illustrate his discussion, Quint will use a range of materials, sourced from the William L. Clements Library, a renowned research library in Ann Arbor. Click here for more details and to register.
For the third lecture on Sunday, Feb. 11, the team from Planet Detroit will bring us up to speed on environmental issues impacting Metro Detroit with a focus on the eastside. The impact of climate change on the eastside neighborhood of Jefferson Chalmers has been the subject of recent reports in publications like The New York Times and The Guardian. In the fall, The Guardian ran a story headlined Venice of Detroit, written by the Planet Detroit staff. Planet Detroit is a nonprofit news outlet launched in 2019. Click here to register and for more details.
For the fourth lecture on Sunday, March 10, journalists Ken Colman of Michigan Advance and Free Press contributor John Gallagher will take a close look at how the City of Detroit and MDOT plan to use funds from a federal grant designed to restore neighborhoods that were torn apart by highways. Colman will remember Black Bottom, the vibrant neighborhood that was destroyed when I-375 tunneled through. Gallagher will look at the current plans to bring the road up to grade and explain why he thinks that MDOT spending $400M is not going to restore the neighborhood. Click here to register and for more details.
For the fifth lecture on Sunday, April 7, art historian and expert on all things mid-century modern, Deborah Kawsky, will interview Peter Forguson on his book, Detroit Modern: 1935 - 1985. Forguson, who owns a landscape business, has worked around many of the 73 homes in his book and he knows them well. Click here for more details and to register.
Register below for series tickets. As series ticket holder, you will get all five lectures for the price of four.
To purchase individual tickets, please link through the lecture description to to make your purchase.
There are five lectures in the series. For those who buy tickets for the series, the fifth lecture is free.
