Culture Calendar: Cranbrook Exhibits, ‘Becoming Undone,’ & More

Ryan Patrick Hooper, host of ’CultureShift’ on 101.9 WDET, curates your guide to the month in arts and entertainment
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Olga de Amaral cranbrook
Catch Olga de Amaral’s woven sculptures at the Cranbrook Art Museum before her exhibit wraps up toward the end of this month. // Courtesy of Olga de Amaral/The Patinoire Royale- Galerie Valerie Bach

Curtain Call for a Handful of Shows at Cranbrook

Last chance to see Olga de Amaral’s gorgeous To Weave a Rock at the Cranbrook Art Museum, which will also see an exhibit from Allie McGhee close on March 20. This is the popular Latin American artist’s first major museum retrospective, and her woven sculptures are some of the most mesmerizing and tactile art you’ll see this year in metro Detroit. While Amaral hails from Bogotá, Colombia, McGhee has been a pillar of Detroit’s art community for decades. His retrospective Banana Moon Horn is a journey through shape, form, and abstraction — a vivid journey that will bring some color to the gray landscape of the season. You can find out more about both exhibits via cranbrookartmuseum.org/current-exhibitions.

Big (Oscar) Shorts at the Detroit Film Theatre

Movie season can tear us apart — you want what for best picture? — but if there’s something that can heal the divide, it’s the beloved Oscar-nominated shorts at the Detroit Film Theatre. The full government name of the yearly installation of buzzworthy flicks is the Academy Award Nominated Animation Short Films and Live Action Short Films — catchy! These animated and live action short films are hard to find on the big screen, unless you swing by the DFT for one of its many showings. This is by far its most popular event of the year and for good reason. It’s usually an incredible introduction to talented filmmakers who haven’t yet had their shot at a feature-length. Animation short films are screened separately from live action short films, but we recommend indulging in both. There’s also an entire program of documentary shorts that runs close to three hours if you haven’t gotten your fill yet. A full list of showtimes through the end of the month can be found at dia.org/events.

Adult - Becoming Undone
Adult’s ninth album, Becoming Undone, released last month.

Adult Returns, Ready to Run Through a Brick Wall

There’s nothing like the husband-and-wife duo of Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus, who make up the electronic-punk duo Adult. Their ninth album, Becoming Undone, released last month on Dais Records, features more abrasive drums courtesy of Miller on the Roland percussion pads and Kuperus’ signature sing-growl that’s become iconic in the city’s diverse music scene. “We weren’t interested in melody or harmony since we didn’t see the world having that,” Miller said in a release. If you’re feeling the same way, Adult has made a record that will fit your mood. Available to stream or buy wherever you get your music.

Spring Touring Season Arrives in Detroit

There’s such a bevy of excellent live bands making a stop in Detroit this month and into the spring that I had to round them up in one place. We’ll start with Charlotte Day Wilson at The Shelter (March 2) — a tiny venue in downtown Detroit for the strong, sultry voice of this moody Canadian singer-songwriter. If you’re looking for something louder, weirder, and more homegrown, punk-metal-electro hybrid The Armed (from Detroit!) is returning
for a homecoming show at El Club (March 5). The Toronto jazz-meets-hip-hop trio BadBadNotGood is touring behind their latest album with a stop at the Majestic Theatre (March 11). Billie Eilish lands her massive arena tour at Little Caesars Arena (March 12), while Alt-J and Portugal. The Man bring the indie rock show of the spring to the Detroit Masonic Temple (March 16). This is just the beginning of a busy tour season in Detroit as artists from all over the globe continue to get back on the road and play a show for us.

Ryan Patrick Hooper is the host of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET Detroit’s NPR station (weekdays from noon to 2 p.m.).