Graham100 Programming

Days: Thursday - noon - 1:00pm, July 30
Instructor: Catie Newell - Architect and Professor at the University of Michigan A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Design
Skill Level: Beginner

Materials: Provided

This workshop guides participants in designing, creating, or selecting meaningful touchstones—including objects, photographs, writings, recordings, or other personal materials—they want in their lives during their most difficult times. Together, we’ll reflect on life's challenging moments with care and openness, making space for personal, cultural, and spiritual difference. Participants will also be invited to imagine and create personalized ceremonies for major life transitions, honoring diverse human needs and values while building respect for the art we make and the spaces we shape to support us. No prior design or art experience is needed.

This program is presented in partnership with the University of Michigan Arts Initiative through its Faculty Arts Ambassador Program.

Photography & Motion
John Fergus-Jean, Emeritus Professor of Photography Columbus College of Art and Design & CTAC Board Chair

Join us for a Coffee @ 10 lecture featuring Emeritus Professor of Photography and CTAC Board Chair, John Fergus-Jean.

This event is in-person and online via Zoom and Facebook. No registration required.

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Days: Friday, August 7, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructor: Patrick Wise
Skill Level: All

Materials: Some materials provided, see note below.

Join us for a free, drop-in figure drawing session set amid the striking photography of Barbara Morgan. Artists of all levels are welcome to draw from live models while surrounded by her dynamic, inspiring work. Bring your own materials and enjoy a relaxed, creative space to practice, experiment, and refine your skills.

CTAC will have drawing horses, newsprint, and charcoal available. Please feel free to bring other preferred materials.

This is a free, drop in event. Registration is appreciated but not required.

Small Sets, Big Stories: Stop-Motion and the Art of Personal Narrative
Tamara Finlay (GHAR artist)

In this artist talk, I’ll share my process as a stop-motion animator exploring memory, cultural identity, and neurodivergence through handcrafted puppets and miniature sets. I’ll show clips from my films and discuss how personal stories can be translated into animated performance using simple materials and expressive visual language. Followed by a short Q&A.

This event is in-person and online via Zoom and Facebook. No registration required.

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Days: Thursday - 1:00pm - 5:00pm, August 13
Instructor: Tamara Finlay, Good Hart Residency Artist
Skill Level: Beginner

Ages: Teen & Adult (14+)

Materials: Provided

This hands-on workshop introduces participants to the basics of stop-motion animation using simple materials and accessible tools. Participants will work in approximately three small groups to create short animated sequences together, exploring character, movement, and collaborative storytelling.

Participants will work in small groups using shared animation stations.

After the workshop, the instructor will edit the groups’ animations into a short compilation video that will be shared with participants at a later date, follow the completion of the artist's residency.

About the Instructor:

Tamara Finlay was born in Dearborn, MI, in 1979 and brought up by grandparents who emigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine after World War II. Growing up, she was scolded for “drawing ponies” when there were “more important” things to do. Her school career was spent taking academic classes, while sneaking in as much art as she could. The result: a bachelor’s degree in Slavic languages, a few credits shy of a fine arts minor from Brooklyn College. Since then, she has been a teacher, lead vocalist in three bands, studied stop motion, had a baby, been a refugee caseworker, and, in 2022, was diagnosed with ADHD. Learn more at https://www.tamarafinlay.com/.

The Elusive Practice of Framing Motion
Peter Sparling, Rudolf Arnheim Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Dance and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Dance at University of Michigan.

As a dancer/choreographer, video artist, painter and CTAC guest curator, I attempt to locate the intersection of my many roles as a still point of suspended animation, one that I can circle around and bring to a halt long enough to talk about. The vibrating juxtaposition of dance, music, and the visual arts featured in Dance Legends: Little Traverse Bay Celebrates Graham100 takes us on a wild ride while hovering between stillness and motion, the art gallery and the stage, the “pose” and the “move”. What does the gallery visitor or audience member bring to these acts of kinetic engagement in order to meet the artist halfway? Who’s zooming who? My informal talk proposes ways of looking at the legendary dance photography of Barabara Morgan, the contemporary visual art of In Motion in the adjoining gallery, and how they invariably awaken the same kinesthetic empathy that moves us while watching or performing dance.

This event is in-person and online via Zoom and Facebook. No registration required.

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Presented by the CTAC School of Ballet

This event is part of a global celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the country’s oldest dance company.

This performance features two of Graham's iconic works, Appalachian Spring Suite (1944), starring CTAC School of Ballet dancers and alums, and Lamentation (1930), starring Marie Millard as the dancer and Thomas Nickell on piano. This performance also includes Our Own American Document, an original work of Peter Sparling 's modeled after Graham's 1938 masterwork, American Document. Our Own American Document features the oral histories of local citizens.