H💙ART

The Institute for the Humanities is pleased to announce H💙ART, a new mobile instructional artwork created in collaboration with Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design (AAHD). 

Transformed but still functional as a minivan, H💙ART will connect U-M and MSU students, visiting artists, and guests with the Michigan community, enabling our students to experience exhibitions and community spaces while increasing the visibility and community resources of U-M and MSU programs, artists, and student projects. 

H💙ART will launch in April, 2025 as part of Banned, Bold, and Brave, a series of events featuring young adult author Leah Johnson. She is the 2025 Jill S. Harris Memorial Lecturer. 

You Should See Me in a Crown is Johnson’s debut novel emphasizing the importance of embracing and protecting individual expression. It encourages teen readers to foster their individuality. Her book is youth-empowering, but it has been classified as “obscene” by the Oklahoma Attorney General for being queer. In Michigan, three-quarters of residents oppose book censorship; however, in 2023, 47 complaints were filed against books, potentially violating the First Amendment. Informed by You Should See Me in a Crown, we have transformed a minivan into a mobile, free-banned-books “library” that makes learning and collaboration accessible and visible. 

A particular strength of this project is the opportunity for a robust roster of community partners, fostering collaboration and accessibility, and subsequently, making the university an extensive open learning community. The Institute and MSU’s AAHD are thankful to collaborate with the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership, U-M Fleet Services, Black Stone Bookstore and Cultural Center, U-M Woodshop Technician Carly Lowe, Designer Christopher Mapp, and students across the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

This program was made possible with support from the University of Michigan’s Arts Initiative.

Friday, April 4, 2025
“Banned, Bold, and Brave in Detroit,” a talk by author Leah Johnson, Warren Gateway:  Joe Louis Greenway, 8034 W. Warren Avenue, Detroit, 11 AM - 12:30 PM

Saturday, April 5, 2025
Family Day - CREATE, MSU Broad Art Museum, 547 E. Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI, 11 AM - 3 PM 

Monday, April 7, 2025
Jill S. Harris Memorial Lecture: “Banned, Bold, and Brave,” author Leah Johnson in conversation with Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Institute for the Humanities atrium, 202 S. Thayer St., Ann Arbor, MI, 4 PM - 6 PM.