Fielding the Arts: Studying for Art

Description
People who study the natural world often do field research. They go to learn about plants, animals, and the ecosystems we live in. But scientists aren't the only ones who can make use of time spent studying the outdoors. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Gerry Mull - Art Student, University of Michigan
Joe Trumpey - Professor of Art, University of Michigan
Don Krug - Professor of Art Education, Ohio State University.

Description
A new performance series is bringing literature to the concert hall. Ann Arbor's University Musical Society is launching a "literary chamber series." Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Mark Strand - Poet
Ben Johnson - Education Director, University Musical Society

Description
Astronomy historically has been dominated by men, but women have left their mark over the years as well. A new planetarium show is trying to shine a little light on advances in astronomy that were made by women. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Matt Linke - Planetarium Director, University of Michigan Exhibit Museum
Amy Harris - Interim Director, University of Michigan Exhibit Museum.

Underground Railroad: Uncovering A Secret History

Description
In the years before the civil war, people who were slaves in the south escaped north to freedom using a system of secret routes called the Underground Railroad. Many were traveling as far north as Canada. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports all throughout Michigan there's a
network of cellars and secret back rooms that were part of the Underground Railroad.

Interviews
Carol Mull - Member, Michigan Underground Railroad Council and the Freedom
Trail Commission
Kimberly Davis - Director, Sojourner Truth Technical Training Center &
Professor of Political Science, Adrian College.
Michelle Johnson - Coordinator, State of Michigan's Freedom Trail Project

An Island Within Artists: Isle Royale Book

Description
Each year the National Park Service gives out awards to projects that help people understand the country's parks. One of this year's winners is a book about Isle Royale -- a National Park in the middle of Lake Superior. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Jill Burkland - Executive Director, Isle Royale Natural History Association
Keith Taylor - Writer and Former Artist-in-Residence, Isle Royale National
Park

Envisioning Michigan: Arts and Culture

Description
Maybe you've seen fliers or even placemats at your local diner inviting you to a meeting about the culture scene in your community. Over the next couple months the state's arts council is hosting meetings to learn more about what kind of arts activities people in the state value. Michigan
Radio's Tamar Charney sat in on the first of these meetings in Kalamazoo and filed this report.

Interviews
Russ and Leslie Knopp - Facilitators, Traverse Management Resources
Eugene Gargaro - Chairman, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
Jerry Diamond - Artist

Artists Drive

Description
Artists are deeply involved in sectors of the economy that seemingly have nothing to do with the arts. As Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reports a new exhibit shines the spotlight on the artists who make our cars.

Interviews
Ed Golden - Executive Director for Design, Ford Motor Company

Keweenaw Krayons: Art for the Community

Description
Most organizations get their start because someone has a vision. They want to create a product or provide a service. But there's an arts organization in the U.P. that got its start by accident and is now making a big difference in the local community. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney
has a look at Keweenaw Krayons.

Interviews
Carol Rose - Founder, Keweenaw Krayons

Jim Roll: Inhabiting the Ball

Description
There's a new album out by a Michigan musician that's making a national splash on the literary circuit. Some of the songs are written by authors. And the album is a co-production with Dave Eggers' literary journal called MacSweeney's. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney introduces us to the musician behind the CD.

Interviews
Jim Roll - musician, songwriter - Inhabiting the Ball

Description
Many Detroit high school students now have the opportunity to learn jazz in the public schools system. But that wasn't always the case. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney, along with students from the University of Michigan, produced this look at how musicians in Detroit kept the music
going strong.

Interviews
Ernie Rogers - Detroit Jazz Musician
Marcus Belgrave - Trumpeter
Ben Pruitt - Arts Educator, Detroit Public Schools
Marion Hayden - Bass player

Strands Legacy of 9-11: A Theater of Work

Description
Youth theater companies mainly present fairy tales and classic stories. But the Flint Youth Theater has made a name for itself by creating theater to get people talking about social issues like racism, school shootings, and youth violence. Now the youth theater has created a work about
September 11th. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Bill Ward - Executive Artistic Director, Flint Youth Theater & Playwright, Strands
Walter Hill - Assistant Artistic Director, Flint Youth Theater

2 Sisters And the Sky: Honoring Life and Death

Description
This summer a gallery in the U.P. will exhibit a sculpture that's meant to help people come to terms with death. It's piece of sculpture that requires artistic contributions from people who've lost a loved one. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Yeshe Helander - Artist, "2 Sisters and the Sky"
Phyllis Fredendal - Gallery Director, Finnish American Heritage Center, Finlandia University

Gilmore Artist Award: And the Winner Is

Description
The Irving S Gilmore International Keyboard Festival is underway in West Michigan. It celebrates keyboard music with concerts, master classes, films, and public education programs. The festival features more than 90 events in Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, and Lansing. The festival takes place every other year, but every 4 years the festival hands out a substantial prize. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney tells us about the Gilmore Artist Award and this year's winner.

Interviews
Daniel Gusten - Director, Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival
Piotr Anderszewski - Pianist and 2002 Gilmore Artist

Office Tents: Design for the Future

Description
Thanks to Dilbert, office cubicles don't have a particularly good reputation these days. A design class at the University of Michigan has been trying to figure out a new office system that could replace the cubicle. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Shaun Jackson - Professor, University of Michigan School of Art and Design

Youth Owned Records: Music By Teenagers

Description
Lots of teenagers play in bands, but usually no one outside of their parent's garage ever hears them. Now a record company in Ann Arbor is changing that: it's youth owned, youth run, and records music by teenagers. Michigan Radio's Nora Flaherty reports.

Interviews

Chris Wiltsee - Director of Neutral Zone's Youth Owned Records
Kwame Sechi - 18 year old Engineer, Youth Owned Records
Neil Glover "sickness" - Musician who records on Youth Owned Records
Sailor J - 17 year old musician, Youth Owned Records
Tom Giltrow - 16 year old musician & participant, Youth Owned Records

Thunder Bay: Underwater Treasures

Description
The Great Lakes have long been important for trade. As the United States expanded westward goods and people often got there by water. Thunder Bay in Lake Huron was a place where ships found shelter from the lake's legendary storms. But the bay's filled with rocky shoals that caused more than 100 ships to crash. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports these shipwrecks
are the foundation of a recently created National Marine Sanctuary.

Interviews
Kate Kauffman - Project Coordinator and Educator, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve
Ellen Brody Acting Manager - Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and
Underwater Preserve, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Reflections on a Ruin: Michigan Central Depot

Description
When we think about the effect of time on buildings, we often conjure images of ancient buildings like the Parthenon, but there are also modern ruins. From miles around one of these modern day ruins is visible in Detroit. It's an 18 story train station designed in the nineteen teens by the architect who did New York's Grand Central Station. Unlike New York's station, the cavernous lobby of the Michigan Central isn't full of people anymore.its full of puddles. The lobby chandeliers have been stolen and every window on the buildings 18 floors is broken and pigeons and crows flutter in and out of them. However, it's a building people are passionate about .... some desperately want the once beautiful building saved. Others wish the eyesore would just go away. New York based photographer Robert Polidori and Detroit poet and urban planner Kristin Palm recently visited the building to take a look.

Interviews
Robert Polidori - Architectural Photographer
Kristin Palm - Detroit poet and urban planner

An Outdoor Museum: Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

Description
A new 30 acre sculpture park opened in Grand Rapids at the Frederick Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park. This new outdoor art museum exhibits 25 pieces by acclaimed modern sculptors. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney was at the opening yesterday.

Brett Dennis - Executive Director, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Joseph Becherer - Curator of Sculpture, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Magdalena Abakanowicz - Sculptor, Figure on a Trunk
Carolyn Ottmers - Sculptor, Full Circle
Arnaldo Pomodoro - Sculptor, Disk in the Form of a Desert Rose

Interviews
Kate Kauffman - Project Coordinator and Educator, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve
Ellen Brody Acting Manager - Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and
Underwater Preserve, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Photographer Goes to School: Bill Bamberger in Flint

Description
An exhibit called "Boys Will Be Men" opened this week at the Flint Institute of Arts. It features photographs of students at Central High School in Flint that explore what it means to become a man in American society. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Bill Bamberger - Photographer "Boys Will Be Men"
Duane Ward - Student, Central High School
JP Moore - Student, Central High School

Hear Here: Audio Art in Alleys

Description
If you wander into an alley in downtown Ann Arbor this month, you may encounter an art show. A group called Art ProTem stages contemporary art shows in public places. It's a way to get art out of galleries and museums and into the real world. This time it's an exhibit of audio art in downtown alleys.

Interviews
Margeret Parker - President, Art Pro Tem

Go to Art: Kalamazoo's Art Education

Description
For years art, dance, and music programs have been among the first to go when school districts trimmed budgets. But there are signs that's changing. President Bush's newly enacted education plan encourages the integration of the arts into the school curriculum. And many schools have come up with creative ways to offer opportunities to students with an aptitude for art. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney looks at what one Michigan county has done. Kalamazoo County School's bus students to art classes in community settings

Interviews
Pat Palasko - Dance Teacher, Education for the Arts, Excellence in the Arts Program
Jeffery Harkins - Director Education for the Arts Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency
Patricia Reeves - Superintendent for the Vicksburg Community Schools
Amber Lee Mouha - Senior Portage Central in Kalamazoo
Cody - Student, Comstock High School
Jennifer - Student, Comstock High School

One Less Room: Louck's Closes

Description
According to the Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association, there are twenty-two operating one-room schoolhouses in Michigan. After today, there will be twenty-one. In this report, Michigan Radio's Matt Shafer Powell visits the Louck's One-Room School near the town of Mulliken, Southwest of Lansing

Freezer Jesus: A Movie

Description
Cinematographer Jack Anderson has shot films for Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Altman. And he's worked on Mad About You, Broadcast News, and Pretty Woman. But for the next couple weeks he's working with a bunch of college students. Michigan Radio's Matt Shafer Powell has more.

Interviews
Tom O Rourke - Senior, Grand Valley State University and First Assistant
Director, Freezer Jesus
Jack Anderson - Hollywood Cinematographer

Ramptown: A Mystery Solved

Description
From about the 1830's to the 1870's there was a settlement in southwest Michigan called Ramptown. It's residents were people who escaped from slavery. They built cabins, cleared land, and farmed. Then Ramptown disappeared. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Sandra Mose Ursary - Former Mayor Vandalia & Rector CVC Underground Railroad Foundation
Amanda Campell - Graduate Student, Western Michigan University
Michael Nassaney - Professor of Anthropology, Western Michigan University
Michelle Johnson - Freedom Trail Coordinator, State of Michigan

Performances At Parks: Culture Tour

Description
People who track where we go on vacations, predict a lot of us will be staying close to home this summer. It's partially because of the economy and partially because of fears of terrorism. This means more people are expected to visit parks in the state. And people who visit a park in the
northern part of the state this summer, might stumble upon some free entertainment about the state's history and natural beauty. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports on the Michigan Great Outdoors Culture Tour.

Interviews
Lisa Johansson - Singer & Flute Player, Song of the Lakes
Nancy Mathews - Coordinator, The Michigan Great Outdoors Culture Tour

Seniors on the Internet: A Show Of Their Own

Description
Senior citizens are the fastest growing age group in the US according to the US Census Bureau. They are also one the fastest growing groups on the Internet. One Detroit area organization is trying to give seniors a way to use the internet to talk about things important to them. James Macsay has more.

Interviews
Ruthenia Henderson - Volunteer, Senior Voice
Gary Gresbenick - Audio Engineer, Senior Voice
Cliff Russell - Host, Town Hall Forum, Senior Voice
Catherine Wells - Volunteer, Senior Voice
Bob Larson - Project Coordinator, Senior Voice & President Emeritus, Detroit Public Television

Spoon & Bone Man: Johnny Perona

Description
Each year the Michigan State University Museum honors people who work to keep traditional art forms alive. This year's winners of the Michigan Heritage Awards have just been announced. The awards will be given to two people who do Finish Rag Rug weaving, a fiddle player, a quilter, and a bones and spoon player from the U.P. named Johnny Perona. Earlier this year Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney had an opportunity to visit Johnny Perona at his home in Calumet.

Interviews
Johnny Perona - Musician and Winner, 2002 Michigan Heritage Award

Tourist Tours: Promoting Culture

Interviews
Tamara Real - Cultural Tourism Project Director, Michigan Museum Association
Peggy Glahn - Ann Arbor Resident on the Words, Words Words: A Driving Tour of Literary Experiences
Bill Anderson - Director of the State Department of History Arts and Libraries

Keep It Clean: Mackinac Island's Smelly Problem

Tracy Samilton

Description
Mackinac Island, Michigan is the only developed island in the United States where there are no motorized vehicles of any kind on the streets. It's been that way since the automobile was banned by city ordinance in 1898. The island's thousands of tourists go from place to place in horse-drawn taxi cabs. But the island's commitment to a unique way of life was being threatened by its own success. From Mackinac Island, Tracy Samilton reports.

Interviews
Bill Chambers - Inventor of the Horse Drawn Sweeper
Tom Palmer - Manure Scraper

Growing Art: Starr Earthwork

Description
If you drive by the field at I-94 and 26 mile road near Albion, you may see something unusual. Tractors driving in circles, men with satellite recievers on their backs, and designs created from corn, soy, and rye plants. No, they are not filming the sequel to the movie "Signs." As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports they're carrying out an artist's vision.

Interviews
Mike Murphy Farmer, Albion
Lou Rizzola Professor of Art Western Michigan University
Dave Lemberg Professor of Geography Western Michigan University

Between 2 Worlds: Ghufran's Story

Interviews
Ghufran Alshemeery - 16 year old Dearborn resident originally from Iraq

Between 2 Worlds: Nirmeen's Story

Tamar Charney

Description
Some three hundred thousand Arab Americans live in southeast Michigan-the largest concentration of Arab people outside the middle East. And Dearborn, near Detroit, is considered the heart of this Arab community. It's home to Muslim and Christian Arabs, and there are Lebanese, Iraqi, and
Yemeni neighborhoods. You'll hear many different accents of Arabic on the streets and see many women wearing scarves around their hair and ears. Young Arab-Americans in Dearborn grow up between two worlds, typically speaking multiple languages and translating between different cultures. We wondered how the years events have changed life for teenagers who are still negotiating their place in American society. We asked several teenagers to take us through their lives, to describe what it felt like to be young and Arab-American in the wake of the September 11th attacks. Nirmeen Saleh is 16 years old

Interviews
Nirmeen Saleh - 16 year old Dearborn Resident originally from Syria

Description
One of teaching's greatest challenges is making age old subjects seem new. A professor at Northern Michigan University has found a way to interest students of all ages in history using a stage, spotlights and a 100 year old boathouse. Frida Waara reports.

Interviews
Rick Olson - Actor, Lake Superior Theater
Orion Couling - Actor, Lake Superior Theater
Shelley Russell - Playwright Lake Superior Theater & Drama Professor, Northern Michigan University

Painting The Keweenaw: Janet Manniko

Description
The great lakes are a big presence in the work of many artists who live in the UP. But the lakes aren't the only thing that gives art from the UP a regional flair. At any given time in the Keweenaw Pennisula you can find a store or gallery showing Janet Manniko's art. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports her work captures the look and rhythms of life in the west part of the UP.

Interviews
Janet Manniko - Artist, Kearsage
Phyllis Fredendal - Gallery Director, Finnish American Heritage Center

Promoting The Convent: The Nun's Ads

Description
A typical American is exposed to hundreds of advertising messages a day according to one estimate. Amidst the barrage, it can be hard for advertisers to make their ads stand out. But one advertising campaign in Southeast Michigan is generating a lot of buzz ... not so much because of
the ads themselves, but because of the nuns who are behind them. Wendy Nelson explains.

Interviews
Sister Corinne Sanders - Adrian Domincan Nun
Christopher Barecki - Communications Director, Adrian Dominicans
Christine Brown - Marketing Professor, University of Michigan Business School

Exploring Our Maritime Past: Bob Ballard In The Great Lakes

Description
Underwater explorer Dr. Robert Ballard became a celebrity for finding the Titanic in mid 1980's. But that ship is just one of his many underwater discoveries. He and his team of researchers travel from one far flung location to another, exploring and searching for lost shipwrecks, ancient coastlines, and unknown deep sea trenches. However, recently his team was at work here in the Great Lakes. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Dr. Bob Ballard - Oceanographer Explorer and Founder Institute for Exploration
Dwight Coleman - Chief Scientist, Thunder Bay Expedition
Patrick Labadie - Maritime Historian

The Clown Band: Scottville's Claim To Fame

Description
In most communities people who want to have that sense of civic pride join groups like the Rotary, the Lions Clubs, or Kiwanis. These groups raise money for charities, offer scholarship programs, and generally work to make the community a better place. But, in Scottville Michigan there's another option...the Clown Band.

Interviews
George Wilson - Leader Scottville Clown Band & Mayor, Scottville Michigan

The Clown Convention

Description
The art of clowning has existed for thousands of years. Throughout history most cultures have had clowns. In Mexico clowns are so popular that one even hosts a network morning talk show. As more and more Mexicans are moving to Michigan, Mexican clowning traditions are becoming a bigger part of life here ...for instance, the 24th annual Hispanic festival in Grand Rapids including erformances by Mexican clowns. Recently Michigan Radio's Nora Flaherty got an inside look at Mexican clown traditions.

Interviews
Ulisses Carrera - Clown called El Amigo Max
Antonio Fuentes - Clown Shoe and Supply Vendor

Shouldering The Load: Llama Trekking

Description
For over 4000 years llamas have been used to carry loads through rough mountain terrain. Out West it's not uncommon to see llamas carrying tents, sleeping bags, and food for hikers. Here in Michigan llamas are still an unusual sight on the trail, but an increasing number of people are starting to go trekking with them. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
"Streak" the Llama
Sheryl Topliff - Fiber Artist & Streak's Owner
Margaret Van Camp - Owner, Pitchfork Llamas
Dave Foy - Certifier, Pack Llama Association

Tulipanes: Latino Films

Nora Flaherty

Description
Holland Michigan has a rapidly growing Latino community. Today the second annual Tulipanes Latino Art and Film Festival gets underway in Holland. And this year, the festival will present some classic films that American audiences haven't been able to see in a theatre for decades. Michigan Radio's Nora Flaherty reports.

Interviews
Deborah de la Torre - Professor, Hope College & Founder, Tulipanes Festival
Charles Ramirez Berg - Professor, Film Studies, University of Texas

Description
This fall, lots of young adults are adjusting to their first semester in college. But for one Detroit teenager, the first semester isn't exactly a grind: Marion Felder is in New York, studying drums at the Julliard school on a full scholarship that he's the first undergraduate to ever receive. Michigan Radio's Nora Flaherty tells his story.

Interviews
Marion Felder - 18 Jazz Drummer from Detroit
Shannon Wade - Jazz Musician
Daisy Newman - Director of Education, Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Victor Goines - Director of Jazz Studies, The Julliard School

One Book One Community: East Lansing's Reading Assignment

Description
Like a lot of college towns, East Lansing struggles with conflicts between students and townies. Student riots, noisy parties, and dilapidated student rental properties anger local residents. However, a new
initiative is hoping to put the town and the gown on the same page for 6 weeks. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports people in East Lansing are being asked to read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

Interviews
Kristan Tetens - University Relations, Michigan State University
Judith Taran - Communications, City of East Lansing

Degas And The Dance

Description
This October, the curtain goes up on what is likely to be Michigan's latest blockbuster art exhibition. "Degas and the Dance" opens at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The exhibition was put together by the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the American Federation of Arts. It showcases more than 100 paintings, sculptures, and drawings by Edgar Degas. Every single piece on exhibition has as its subject the dancers, performances, and the backstage world of the Paris Opera Ballet. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Jill DeVonyar - Art Historian and Co-curator, Degas and The Dance
Richard Kendall - Art Historian and Co-curator of Degas and The Dance
George Keyes - Curator, European Paintings, Detroit Institute of Arts
Graham Beal - Director, Detroit Institute of Arts

RSC Does Rushdie?: Midnight's Children

Description
The Royal Shakespeare Company returns to Ann Arbor this spring. The University Musical Society announced details about their residency. The RSC will perform 2 works by Shakespeare. And will also perform a work by Salman Rushdie. It will be the US premier of the stage adaptation of Midnight's Children. Salman Rushdie discussed his novel and his work on adapting it for the stage at a press conference Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney attended.

Interviews
Salman Rushdie - Author, Midnight's Children

The Arts Tax Rides Again: Prop. K - Arts, Parks & Kids

Description
Voters in Wayne and Oakland Counties will decide on November 5th whether they want a half mil property tax to fund arts and culture. The tax would raise approximately $46 million dollars a year. Two-thirds would go to the areas 17 big cultural organizations such as the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute of Arts. The other third of the money would fund arts and recreation programs in local communities. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has a look at Proposal K.

Interviews
Steven Hamp - President, Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village & Chair,
Metropolitan Detroit Cultural Coalition
Tom McMillian - City Councilman & Former Mayor, Auburn Hills
Earl Ryan - President, Citizens Research Council of Michigan

Telebass: Long Distance Music Education

Description
Aside from talent and ambition, having a good teacher is one of the most important factors in whether someone will become a successful classical musician. But sometimes geography can get in the way. One young man in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has the ambition to make it on the concert
stage, he probably has the talent, and with a little ingenuity he's figured out how to get the lessons he needs. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
Evan Premo - 17-year-old Musician, Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, Marquette Symphony Orchestra, & Whitewater
Diana Gannett - Professor of Music, University of Michigan

Vocal Health: For Ministers And Fans

Tracy Samilton

Description
At a major sporting event, the players on the field or on the court aren't always the only ones exerting themselves. Experts on vocal health say loud cheering at a game can take a big toll on a fan's voice. As Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reports warm up exercieses used by singers can help everyone from sports fans to priests.

Interviews
Leslie Guinn - Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan School of Music & Vocal Health Specialist, University of Michigan Vocal Health Center
Tom Firestone - Father, St. Mary's Student Parish in Ann Arbor

Description
Most people don't think of art as being useful, or of useful things as art. But one art exhibit at the University of Michigan is trying to get them to do just that. The exhibit, called "What's the Use", is at the University's Slusser Gallery. It looks at how everyday objects can be art, and how art can be useful every day. Michigan Radio's Nora Flaherty reports.

Interviews
Ken Butler - Artist
Heather Nichol - Curator, What's the Use
Melinda Taro - Gallery Visistor

Governors Awards: Visual Art For The Rest Of Us

Description
ArtsServe Michigan is hosting at black tie gala celebration for the winners of the 17th Annual Governor's Awards for Arts and Culture. Motown super-star Smokey Robinson will receive the International Achievement Award. The Sphinx Organization will be honored for its work drawing attention to minority classical musicians. And civic leaders, businesses, and artists will be honored for their contributions to arts and culture in Michigan. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports three of this year's winners have been working to bring the visual arts to a new audience. A look at the work of Robert Barnum, The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, and Keweenaw Krayons.

Interviews
Robert Barnum - Artist & Professor Ferris State University
Joseph Becherer - Curator of Sculpture, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Carol Rose - Founder, Keweenaw Krayons

The War Artist: George Gittoes

Description
We often think of art as something beautiful that inspires us or pleases us. But art has other roles and purposes. Artist George Gittoes visits war zones and trouble spots and creates art about what he sees and witnesses. He's currently in the United States creating art about America's attempts to grapple with terrorism. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney caught up with Gittoes in Ann Arbor.

Interviews
George Gittoes - Artist

Lost And Found Opera: De Organizer

Description
The history of art and music is littered with lost works. Paintings, symphonies, and works of literature that no one will ever see or hear again. A 1940's opera by jazz and ragtime pianist James P. Johnson and poet Langston Hughes was one of these lost works. It was performed once at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1940 and then it disappeared. But the lost work has now been found, reconstructed, and on December 3rd and 11th it will be performed once again. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.

Interviews
James Dapogny - Professor of Music, University of Michigan

Art For Sale? An Educational Commercial Gallery

Description
So maybe you want to wow your relatives this holiday season by buying them a piece of one-of-a kind contemporary art, but after that trip to the gallery you have sticker shock. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports you could try shopping for fine art at a gallery that sells art by art students.

Interviews
Herm Stienman - Shopper
Gregory Steele - Gallery Directory, Work
Bryan Rogers - Dean, University of Michigan School of Art and Design
Christopher Bradley - Art Student

Tree Drums: A Sound Garden

Description
These days a lot of modern music depends heavily on technology. Guitars are electric and beats electronic. But since ancient times human beings have found a way to make music with the things they found in nature. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has the story of one man in Cadillac who is
helping his neighbors rediscover the roots of music.

Interviews
Frank Youngman - Creator, Sound Garden & Band Director, Lake City
Elementary School
Mike Filkins - Student, Cadillac High School
Ryan Newson - Student, Cadillac High School