BBC at Arab American National Museum

Michigan Radio and the Arab American National Museum present a panel discussion entitled Covering the Middle East: A Conversation with the BBC. This event will explore how this massive, influential broadcast organization covers the Arab World and other issues related to news coverage of the Middle East.

Panelists are Lukman Ahmed (BBC Arabic Washington Correspondent), Liliane Landor (Head of the Middle East Region, BBC World Service), and Anne Koch (Deputy Director, BBC World Service English Networks). The moderator is Vincent Duffy, Michigan Radio news director.

This event is free and open to the public, and will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, June 7 in the Lower Level Auditorium at the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn. No RSVP necessary.

–From the press release at http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/BBC.at.the.AANM

Detroit Institute of Arts is 125!

2010 marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Detroit Institute of Arts.  On May 26, 2010, DIA and WDIV-Local 4 will team up for an all-day telethon to benefit the museum.  Be sure to tune into Channel 4 on Wednesday May 26!

Some history of the DIA: http://www.dia.org/about/history.aspx

DIA Exhibition Catalogues from 1886 – 1923: http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/dia/catalogues.php

DIA Bulletins and Annual Reports from 1891 – 1960: http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/dia/digi.html

FastTrac to the Future Conference Returns

TechTown, The Kauffman Foundation and the New Economy Initiative are once again hosting the FastTrac to the Future conference on two days – May 25 and 26, 2010 – at Wayne State University’s McGregor Memorial Conference Center. This popular day-long entrepreneurial event will feature Pulitzer Prize nominee, vocal community advocate and successful entrepreneur, Clifton Taulbert, who will give a unique message of empowerment and hope for Detroit entrepreneurs. Taulbert is author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, The Last Train North, and the best-selling book Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored, which was made into a critically acclaimed movie. The conference will include breakout sessions on entrepreneurial topics, information tables and opportunities to talk one-on-one with a business advisor about your entrepreneurial goals. Attendees will receive recommendations for FastTrac and other entrepreneurial training courses.

The event is free, but registration is required. To learn more and to register, visit http://wayne.edu/fasttrac/.  The agenda is available here: http://wayne.edu/fasttrac/agenda.php.

AANM’s 5th Anniversary

You are cordially invited to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the opening of the Arab American National Museum (AANM), as well as the opening of the new exhibition Noble Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, at the AANM, 13624 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn.

Enjoy complimentary jewel-themed refreshments in the AANM’s dramatic Community Courtyard; then, be among the first to enjoy Noble Jewels in the Main Floor Gallery. This exhibition, created by the Museum for African Art in New York, presents never-before-exhibited pieces of stunning jewelry from Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia plus late 19th- and early 20th-century images by the period’s leading photographers.

Please join us as we mark the 5th birthday of the ONLY institution among America’s 17,500 museums that celebrates Arab American life, culture and contributions. As a community-based museum, we wouldn’t be here without YOU!

No RSVP necessary; please bring a guest