The Force Is Strong With The DIA

Traveling art exhibit takes a deep dive into the artistic process behind the Star Wars franchise.

Star Wars 2

2018 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

For the next four months the Detroit Institute of Arts will be featuring the “Star Wars and the Power of Costume” exhibition.

The traveling exhibit has more than 60 costumes and props from the films and takes a deep dive into the artistic process behind the Star Wars franchise.

WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper speaks with the Detroit Film Theatre’s Curator, Elliot Wilhelm. Wilhelm was a part of bringing the Star Wars exhibit to the DIA.

Wilhelm says the display is unique for the arts museums because “we rarely mount exhibitions on films.”

“One of the other things the DIA has rarely done are costume exhibitions,” he says.

According to Wilhelm, the DIA’s Executive Director, Salvador Salort-Pons, was interested in programming that would bring the museum and the film theatre closer together.

“Trying to bridge that gap is one of the things that we’re hoping that this exhibition is going to do.”

Click on the audio player above for the full conversation. 

Author

  • Ryan Patrick Hooper inside the WDET studio.
    Ryan Patrick Hooper is the award-winning host of "In the Groove" on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. Hooper has covered stories for the New York Times, NPR, Detroit Free Press, Hour Detroit, SPIN and Paste magazine.