DETROIT, MI.- The second annual Art Detroit Now will take place on Friday and Saturday, October 2–3. Over this two day period, 25,000 people are expected to attend contemporary art openings, exhibitions and demonstrations at 75 galleries, museums and non-profit organizations that will showcase metro Detroit ’s great contemporary art and artists.

Art Detroit Now, which held its first event in May 2008, is organized by prominent metro Detroit arts organizations and galleries, including College for Creative Studies (CCS), Cranbrook, Detroit Artists Market, Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), Oakland University Art Gallery, Russell Industrial Center, and Wayne State University (WSU) Art Galleries, as well as G.R. N’Namdi Gallery.

“Art Detroit Now is an ongoing effort to establish metro Detroit as a major arts center,” said Marc Schwartz, event chairperson. “Virtually every contemporary arts organization in metro Detroit has come together to be part of this event. Our hope is that everyone will enjoy Art Detroit Now by visiting a gallery or museum on October 2–3."

Friday, Oct. 2
Art Detroit Now kicks off Friday, October 2 with a gallery crawl from 5–10 p.m. in the Cultural Corridor that features a traveling performance by Satori Circus. Fourteen venues will participate, including the galleries at CCS and WSU, the DIA, MOCAD and Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

MOCAD will present the first U.S. solo exhibition of artist Alexander Gutke’s work and the exhibition Ann Lislegaard: 2062, organized by the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle , WA . Both exhibitions feature groups of projected works that incisively explore the medium from the artists’ individual perspectives and also map their recent trajectories. "Art Detroit Now is an excellent opportunity for Detroit audiences to discover the vast and sophisticated network of art institutions available in our area. We are very proud to be a part of this two day celebration of the arts," said Luis Croquer, director at MOCAD.

The DIA will showcase a new gallery installation called Fluxus: It’s an attitude, which comprises 132 objects donated by the Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman Fluxus Foundation. “Gil and Lila’s generous gift is a welcome addition to our collection,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. “It represents a little known but crucial movement, without which much art of the 1960s and later cannot be fully appreciated. We’re happy to have it on view during Art Detroit Now.” The exhibitions Action Reaction: Video Installations and Photography-The First 100 Years: A Survey from the DIA's Collection, as well as the video “Stare Contest” by Chido Johnson, will also be on view.

Saturday, Oct. 3
Saturday from 1–6 p.m., 50 galleries in and around Detroit —from Dearborn to Grosse Pointe, and Wyandotte to Rochester —will hold events, openings and special exhibitions. At 6 p.m. Cranbrook Art Museum , in its temporary location at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, will host an opening for Animal Logic: The Work of Richard Barnes. Part of its Artology: The Fusion of Art and Science at Cranbrook series, the exhibition features works from Barnes’ “Diorama,” which includes photographs of traditional natural history museum displays that expose the artifice of these crafted environments. Admission to the opening is free and there will be a cash bar.

The finale of the weekend is the open house at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit , a special evening of performances, exhibitions and tours of the studios and galleries of hundreds of artists whose work is created and shown in the Russell.