Crooked Tree Arts Center Celebrates 100 Years of Martha Graham with Summer of Movement, Art, and Community Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 6, 2026

 

 

Petoskey, Mich. — This summer, Crooked Tree Arts Center - Petoskey (CTAC) invites the community to celebrate the art of movement through two major exhibitions, free educational programming, and a landmark live performance honoring one of America's most influential choreographers. As part of a global celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company (Graham100), CTAC is honoring the legacy of Martha Graham by bringing nationally significant photography, contemporary artwork, and dance experiences to audiences in Northern Michigan.

At the heart of the celebration are two exhibitions currently on view at CTAC - Petoskey: Modern Movement: Martha Graham and Barbara Morgan and In Motion: Making Art Dance.

"Martha Graham may not be a household name for many people in Northern Michigan, but that is where the opportunity lies," said Jennifer Cantley, Visual Arts Director at Crooked Tree Arts Center. "Part of our mission is to create ways for people to connect, learn, and grow through the arts, and that means introducing our community to new ideas, new perspectives, and meaningful experiences they may not encounter otherwise. Through exhibitions like Modern Movement, we have the opportunity to share significant works of art history, spark curiosity, and create connections that extend beyond a visitor's time at CTAC."

Modern Movement features one of the largest public collections of original photographs by Barbara Morgan, whose groundbreaking images documented Martha Graham and her dance company during the 1930s and 1940s. Morgan's photographs have been featured in solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Institution and are known for capturing the emotion, energy, and fleeting moments that define a performance. Morgan's work helped shape how audiences viewed modern dance and established her as one of Graham's most important artistic collaborators.

Alongside Morgan's photographs, In Motion: Making Art Dance explores how contemporary artists interpret movement through visual art. The juried exhibition features works that consider how paintings, sculpture, photography, and film can communicate motion, energy, and transformation. Together, the exhibitions offer Northern Michigan audiences a rare opportunity to experience museum-quality historical photography alongside contemporary works inspired by the universal language of movement, inviting visitors to consider a simple but powerful question: How can art make us feel movement, even when the subject is still?

Beyond the galleries, CTAC invites visitors to engage with the exhibitions through free workshops, conversations, and hands-on experiences that make the themes of movement, creativity, and storytelling accessible to audiences of all backgrounds.

Free Summer Programs Include:

Sketching the Modern Movement: Drop-In Figure Drawing
Friday, July 24 and Friday, August 7 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Artists of all levels are invited to draw from live models surrounded by Barbara Morgan's photographs.

Dialogue & Movement
Friday, July 24 | 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Founder and Artistic Director of The Croft Residency Benjamin Cheney leads participants through movement exploration focused on posture, connection, and body awareness.

Designing for Difficult Moments
Thursday, July 30 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Architect and University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning professor Catie Newell leads a reflective workshop examining how objects, spaces, and personal rituals can support people through life's transitions.

Hands-On Stop-Motion: Crafting Stories Frame by Frame
Thursday, August 13 | 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Led by Good Hart Residency Artist Tamara Finley, this workshop invites teens and adults to collaborate on storytelling through movement and animation.

CTAC's popular Coffee @ Ten lecture series continues throughout the summer, offering free weekly conversations exploring topics connected to the exhibitions. Presentations feature local artists, educators, and creative professionals and take place Thursdays at 10:00 am in the Gilbert Gallery.

Upcoming presentations include:

• July 16: Where Science Meets Art: Creative Exploration at the UM Biological Station

• July 23: Dialogue and Movement

• July 30: Momentary

• August 6: Photography & Motion

• August 13: Small Sets, Big Stories: Stop-Motion and the Art of Personal Narrative

• August 20: The Elusive Practice of Framing Motion

• August 27: Portraits of Change: Inspiring Activism through Art

As summer draws to a close, CTAC will present one of the signature events of its Graham100 celebration, Dance Legends: Little Traverse Bay Celebrates Graham100, on Saturday, August 22, at John M. Hall Auditorium in Bay View. The performance offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience the enduring legacy of Martha Graham through live performance, celebrating one of America's most influential choreographers right here in Northern Michigan.

Presented by the Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet, the performance celebrates Graham's enduring legacy through two iconic works: Appalachian Spring Suite (1944), performed by CTAC School of Ballet dancers and alumni, and Lamentation (1930), featuring dancer Marie Millard with Thomas Nickell on piano. Whether attendees are lifelong dance enthusiasts or experiencing Graham's work for the first time, the evening offers an accessible and inspiring introduction to one of the most important voices in American dance.

The evening also features Our Own American Document, an original work by Peter Sparling inspired by Graham's landmark 1938 work American Document. Incorporating oral histories from local residents, the piece explores movement, memory, identity, and community through a distinctly Northern Michigan lens, demonstrating how dance can preserve stories and bring people together across generations.

Together, the exhibitions, free community programs, lectures, and live performance invite audiences to discover the power of movement as a form of artistic expression, storytelling, and human connection. Tickets for Dance Legends: Little Traverse Bay Celebrates Graham100 are on sale now.

For a complete schedule of programs, exhibition details, and registration information, visit crookedtree.org/Graham100.

Image: In Motion: Making Art Dance is a contemporary art exhibition on view at Crooked Tree Arts Center through September 5 in the Gilbert Gallery.

Image: Crooked Tree Arts Center hosts free figure drawing sessions this summer in their Modern Movement exhibit on view in the Bonfield gallery.

Image: Leif VanHorn and Callie Carlson will perform the roles of Husbandman and Bride, respectively, in the performance of Dance Legends: Little Traverse Bay Celebrates Graham100 on August 22.

Image: Crooked Tree Arts Center's Coffee @ Ten lecture series runs seasonally and features different guest speakers every Thursday  in their Gilbert Gallery.