JUST FOR FUN - New York artists featured at Ypsi gallery

Whether it be music, film or any other kind of art, New York is certainly a central point of artistic progression within the United States. Some of the people that have emerged from the scene eventually influence their particular medium all over the globe.

Well start spreading the news, because some of the Big Apple’s best are coming to town for “Approaches,” an exhibition of work by five notable New York based artists.

The display will be held at Ypsilanti’s Gallery 555, and features works of Sang-ah Choi, Clay Hensley, Anthony Smith, Jr., Loretta Staples and Natasha Sweeten, each with distinctive, very eclectic styles.

Defying any conventional rules imposed on other artists, this group’s work is unique with several inspirations. This particular showing has each one contributing a series of paired drawings or paintings from their own collections, and scattered about the walls of Gallery 555.

For more information, call (734) 482-5310, or visit www.555arts.org

Hey, old school movie buffs: Tired of special effects, hobbits, gross-out humor and ridiculous plots? Well, your time has come to see the classics on the big screen once again. The Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser in Detroit, has launched the Academy Award Series. And, from now until mid-April, will show some of the greatest works of film of all time. This week’s showing is a Bing Crosby double feature of “Road to Singapore” and “Road to Zanzibar” on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21. For complete times and ticket information, visit www.redfordtheatre.com.

Laugh all the way into spring Downriver at Riverside’s Winter Comedy Series, going on now through March 27 at Crystal Gardens Banquet Center, 3530 Biddle Ave. in Wyandotte. Comedians such as Al Caz and David Beck on Feb. 19-21 will be on stage to cure your winter boredom. For a complete schedule, call the Winter Comedy Series hotline at (734) 324-0068 or visit www.crytalgardensonline.com.

The brand new Patrick Olsen Gallery in nestled in the cool little downtown of Plymouth, and has opened its first show titled “Four New York Artists.” The inaugural display features the work of Joanne Mattera, Rainer Gross, John L. Moore and Jackie Battenfield, and will go through March 6. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more, check out www.patrickolsengallery.com.

Michigan Avenue Project: A Photographic Journey, a series of 21 photographs by Matthew Moore from downtown Detroit to downtown Chicago along Highway 12. The exhibit runs Tuesdays through Fridays until Feb. 27 at Downriver Council for the Arts, 20904 North Line Road in Taylor. For more, call (734) 287-6103 or visit www.downriverarts.org.

Microbes: Invisible Invaders … Amazing Allies, a 3,000-square-foot educational exhibit that explores the mysterious universe of microscopic organisms will display daily at The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, 220 E. Ann St., in Ann Arbor. For more information, call (734) 995-5439.

The Masterworks of African Art: The Congo Basin at the University of Michigan Museum of Art contains rich imagery found in the Congo River Basin in Central Africa. It can be found at 525 South State St. on the U o M campus between now and May 2. For more information, call (734) 764-0395.

From now until Spring 2004, Yoko Ono’s “Freight Train” will be located on the Detroit Institute of Arts’ South Lawn. The outdoor sculpture is one of Ono’s most ambitious works, a German boxcar riddled with bullet holes and set on a short segment of railroad track. Prior to its arrival in Detroit, “Freight Train” was exhibited in Berlin, Yokohama, and New York. For more, visit www.dia.org.

Opening today and lasting until March 21, Dael Orlandersmith’s “Yellowman” runs at Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson in Detroit. The production follows the tale of Alma, a dark-skinned African-American woman, and her childhood friend Eugene, a light-skinned African-American man, growing up together, yearning to escape the South. It tackles the harsh reality of internal racism. For more, check out www.detroitreptheatre.com.

See one of the grooviest plays in town when “8-Track: The Sounds of the 70s” continues its run at Detroit’s Century Theatre. The production features more than 50 memorable pop gems from the decade, and bills itself as a high-energy, flashback musical. The Century Theatre is located at 333 Madison Ave., and for more information on tickets call (313) 963-9800.

There’s nothing better than good old-fashioned audience participation, right? Well at the Gem Theatre’s “Shear Madness,” join the hilarity as the audience is involved in catching the killer in this comedy. For more on tickets and the theatre, visit www.gemtheatre.com or call (313) 963-9800.

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