Gallery Talks

Join us on select Saturdays in 2025 for a series of lectures and gallery talks. In this series, guests engage directly with works of art and listen to art-related topics led by curators, educators, and invited specialists. Talks often highlight our current exhibition or education programs.

Book Club | Preschool Playdate | Family Days | Community Art | Cemetery Tours | Youth Art Fair | Painting with Paws | Demo Days

Saturday, May, 1 pm | Members Only: Famous Artist Collectives

Director Shannon Karol leads the gallery talk titled Members Only: Famous Artist Collectives focusing groups of artists in history and working today that push the boundaries of creativity in contemporary art to a whole new level.  The talk will be followed by an art demonstration at 2 pm by Jane Ryan on Sumi-e, the Japanese Art of Painting. MORE INFO TO COME

Saturday, May, 2  pm | Artist Demo Days:  Jane Ryan –  Sumi-e, The Art of Japanese Painting

The Japanese art of Sumi-e has had a special place in my heart ever since my first class several years ago.  I am forever grateful to my wonderful teachers: Edythe Newbourne, Lillian Seto, and the Rev. Ichiyo Fukuda of the No.  California Koyasan Temple. My primary media are ink and watercolor, but I continue to explore other media such as acrylics, collage, and batik. Each special subject suggests its ideal medium and approach. The natural world of plants, birds, trees, and insects, directly inspires my choice of subject matter.  I seek to convey a mood of peace and harmony — a moment to pause and give thanks for such beauty.

Past Gallery Talks

Saturday, March 8, 1 pm | Community Conversation: Finding Your Authentic Voice

Finding Your Authentic Voice
A journey to uncover the unique essence that makes you, YOU. We’ll explore the ways in which societal expectations, fear, and self-doubt can silence our authentic expression, and provide practical tools to help you identify and overcome these obstacles. Through interactive exercises, storytelling, and real-life examples, you’ll gain the courage and confidence to live, work, and play from a place of genuine authenticity. Leave feeling empowered to express your individuality, and inspired to create a life that truly reflects your unique voice and vision.”

Saturday, February 22, 1 pm | Love Stories in Art

Join Shannon Karol, Executive Director of the Northville Art House, for a closer look at a variety of love stories told through famous works of art. Whether it’s a love affair between two artists, or a passionate story illustrated directly through a painting, this engaging lecture will reveal the romantic side of art history. $10 to attend.

 

Saturday, December 7, 1 pm | Community Conversation: Rediscover Your Creative Genius
A thought-provoking conversation as we explored the barriers that keep us from fully embracing our creativity. This event featured an interactive talk and breakout sessions led by local author and educator Mo Thomas. Through discussions and activities, attendees explored the factors influencing our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us, and why it’s so important to never lose touch with the wild and untamed imagination we brought into this life. Bring your questions, stories, and experiences as we inspire each other to unleash our Inner Genius.
Saturday, November 23, 1 pm | The Benefits of Slow Looking in the Gallery

At this gallery talk with Director Shannon Karol, guests view the Small Works all-media exhibition in the gallery featuring 140 works. With so many works on view, the experience may be overwhelming. Slow looking is an approach based on the idea that, if we really want to get to know a work of art, we need to spend time with it. It’s about you and the artwork, allowing yourself time to make your own discoveries and form a more personal connection with it.

 

Saturday, October 19, 1 pm | The Mysterious & The Macabre in Art History

For this gallery talk, Executive Director Shannon Karol discussed the supernatural and mysterious in art history highlighting artworks such as Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya, Self by Marc Quinn, The Skeleton Dance animated by Ub Iwerks and produced by Walt Disney, as well as  artworks in the Rest in Pieces: The Mysterious & The Macabre exhibition.

 

Saturday, September 28, 2 pm | Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries

Guests joined Rehema C. Barber, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and exhibition juror as she discussed the contemporary art highlighting the artworks presented in Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries. This exhibition encouraged artists to push the boundaries of art imagery, presenting works that inspire thought, provoke emotion, and induce awe. From the bizarre and emotive to the fantastic and inspirational, this exhibition strived to surprise and thrill visitors with contemporary artworks in a variety of media created by artists around the country.

 

May 18:  En Plein Air: Impressionism’s Outdoor Revolution

Guests joined Executive Director, Shannon Karol for a celebration of en plein air (outdoor) painters. Presented alongside plein-air and other nature-inspired artwork in the As We See It exhibition, this gallery talk provided an overview of artists from the Barbizon School to the Hudson River School to the Impressionists. Guest also enjoyed a demonstration by plein-air and exhibiting artist Janet Kohler.

 

January 27: Breaking the Canvas Ceiling: Celebrating Women in Art

Guests joined Executive Director, Shannon Karol for a celebration of women artists throughout art history. Presented alongside artwork by the Birmingham Society of Women Painters, this gallery talk provided an overview of ten women artists who broke boundaries in the art world. Guests heard the stories of Mary Cassatt, Helen Frankenthaler, Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner, and others.