Other suggested artistic happenings to put on your radar

Fri., Sept. 18

ArtWorks Detroit

@ The Alchemy

For 20 years, ArtWorks Detroit has been helping the AIDS community in Michigan. This benefit for the Michigan AIDS Coalition includes silent and live auctions of artwork donated by artists Mel Rosas, Sergio De Giusti, James Stephens, Albert Young, and more. The evening will also include hors d'oeuvres, music, a fashion show, and cocktails.

Starts at 6 p.m. at 2051 Rosa Parks Blvd., Warehouse C, Detroit; 248-545-1435 ext. 105; michiganaidscoalition.org; tickets are $75.

Sun., Sept. 20

Detroit Portrait Series

@ Eastern Market Shed 3

Artist Nicole Macdonald will continue her Detroit Portrait Series with a new patch of paintings, this time dedicated to Detroit's literary heroes. Depicted figures include Naomi Long Madgett, Bill Harris, Lolita Hernandez, Terry Blackhawk, Melba Joyce Boyd, Philip Levine, Mick Vranich, Dudley Randall, Robert Hayden, and Sixto Rodriguez. The event will include poetry readings by Madgett, Harris, Hernandez, Blackhawk, and Joyce Boyd. After the exhibition ends in a month, the paintings will be installed in the boarded ­up windows of the liquor store on the corner of Trumbull Ave. and the I­-94 service drive in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood.

Starts at 1 p.m. at 2934 Russell St, Detroit; 313-833-9300; easternmarket.com.

Fri., Oct. 2

The new Ancient Middle East Gallery

@ DIA

For scores of centuries, the peoples of the Middle East forged great empires and pushed the boundaries of science and technology. Don't believe it? The evidence of the greatness of the kingdoms of Babylon, Egypt, and Persia survives as art and literature, and those achievements will be given a spectacular showcase in the DIA's newly reinstalled Ancient Middle East Gallery. The installation will include vessels, metalwork, jewelry, and silver and gold coins, as well as a depiction of the gates of Babylon. There will also be clay tablets of cuneiform, the world's first information storage system. (It may look chunky today, but it's lasted dozens of centuries. How long will your hard drive hold together?)

5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7900; dia.org.

Thu., Oct. 8

Anna Sui

@ Michigan Theater

This Detroit-born designer has achieved icon status among NYC's fashion industry, known for fanciful, bohemian-inspired collections. Sui returns to Michigan as part of the Penny W. Stamps Speaker Series to talk about her influences, challenges, and other insights from the fashion world. Also be sure to check out the rest of the Speaker Series schedule for the months ahead, which includes lectures by artist Julian Schnabel, photographer Zanele Muholi, animator Signe Baumane, and many more.

Starts at 5:10 p.m. at 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; 734-668-8463; stamps.umich.edu/stamps.

Fri.-Sun., Oct. 9-11

New York Philharmonic

@ Hill Auditorium

The University Musical Society of the University of Michigan in conjunction with the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance brings the New York Philharmonic for its first residency in Ann Arbor. (In addition, catch the New York Philharmonic brass section at the halftime show at the Michigan Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 10.)

825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-764-2538; see music.umich.edu for full schedule and information.

Sat., Oct. 10

Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival

@ Hamtramck

The "inburb" of Hamtramck has plenty going for it. It's the most diverse city in the state, the densest and most walkable city in Michigan, it has a strong community of musicians and braggers, and it has a growing and increasingly interconnected art scene. With the rise of galleries like Public Pool, Popps Packing, Atomic Cafe, and 9338 Campau, as well as the "art houses" just north of town, there's plenty to see and do. But when they're all up and running for the Hamtramck Neighborhood Arts Festival, you get to hit all of them at once, with exhibitions, parties, and spoken word performances, sometimes right on the porches of the artists' homes. It's a quirky day that's almost guaranteed to leave you laughing at one of the local watering holes.

See the facebook.com/HamtramckArts for more details.

Sat., Oct. 10

Type-Oh!-Rama-Two!

@ Signal-Return

This Eastern Market letterpress house's annual fundraising event features a silent auction featuring a wide variety of packages from local businesses. Other entertainment includes DJ Mike Medow, Stockyard Food Truck, a cash bar, and carnival games. Money raised will support expanding educational programming offered by Signal-Return.

From 8 p.m. to midnight; 1345 Division, Suite. 102; 313-567-8970;signalreturnpress.org.

Sat., Oct. 24

Hense

@ Library Street Collective

Detroiters may already be familiar with the work of Atlanta-based Hense, aka Alex Brewer, who painted a large-scale mural on downtown's Madison Building last year.

1260 Library St., Detroit; 313-600-7443; lscgallery.com.

Sunday, Nov. 15

Shen Wei

@ Music Hall

Multidisciplinary artist Shen Wei is many things — a painter, a choreographer, a multimedia artist, a designer — but he's best known for heading up one of the top international dance companies. In that capacity, he creates unusual performances that incorporate not just "natural body movement" but striking wardrobes and even audiovisual elements. He's staged spectacles for everything from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to fashion shows. He comes to town this fall to present Shen Wei Dance Art, a company whose performances defy description, mixing Eastern and Western styles that turn the stage into his personal moving canvas.

Starts at 3 p.m. at 350 Madison St., Detroit; 313-887-8500; musichall.org.

Sat., Nov. 21

Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio: The Creation of the Universe

@ Cranbrook Art Museum

Lou Reed's 1975 album Metal Machine Music was once critically reviled, but has come to be understood as an important if idiosyncratic link between 1960s minimalism in New York and later developments in industrial and noise music. Cranbrook Art Museum will present an audio installation called "Metal Machine Trio," which will use 12 loudspeakers in an ambisonic arrangement to create a fully immersive 3-D sound lab. The complete Metal Machine Music in four parts will run continuously with each composition lasting around sixteen minutes in length. The show at Cranbrook is presented in collaboration with Sister Ray Enterprises, Inc., and was curated by Christopher Scoates, who last year was tapped to direct the Cranbrook museum itself.

39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills; 248-645-3323; cranbrookart.edu; runs until March 26.