The fifth season of MetroArts Detroit will air on Detroit Public Television, WTVS-TV Channel 56, Fridays at 5:30 p.m., beginning June 3.   

The new season includes 14 shows produced with Wayne State student crew members at the 5057 Midtown Studio. The Midtown Studio is a cooperative venture between Wayne State University’s College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts’ Department of Communication and Detroit Public TV.

MetroArts features artists from the metropolitan Detroit area who represent the disciplines of visual, performing and communication arts. The musical guest on the first show is award-winning soul singer Stewart Francke. The show will also explore the work of author, producer, director Dennis Reed II and learn about an entrepreneurial initiative at Wayne State called “The Business of Art.”  Musical guests in later shows include folk singer Zander Michigan, hip hop group Crown Royal, the Dr. V. Shawn Jazz Ensemble, blues rock band The Muggs, R & B vocalist Athena Johnson, rocker Kevin B. Klein and bluegrass-Americana band, The Whistle Stop Revue. This season will also feature several contemporary dance performances, along with tap, comedy and circus performers, and a dozen fine artists who create with everything from beads and jewelry to paint — even junk. 

Visit metroartsdetroit.com for additional guest information.

The goal of the show is to bring awareness to up-and-coming artists, as well as support those Detroit-area artists who’ve served as arts advocates and taken active roles in their communities. Each show is comprised of three artist segments in which guests talk about their current work and their future endeavors. Depending on the discipline, the artists either perform or showcase their creative works during their segments. This season’s host is Wayne State student Rachel Simone. The producers are Kim Piper-Aiken, Gary Cendrowski and Kelly Gottesman.

Episode descriptions:

• Episode 501 -  Guests include author, producer, and director Dennis Reed the second; the organizer of “The Business of Art” at Wayne State, Rhonda Welsh; and soul singer-songwriter Stewart Francke
• Episode 502 – Guests include independent band Gray-Bliss, jewelry artist and business owner Rachael Adadevoh-Woods, and Veronica Callan from the Detroit Circus and Flyhouse Circus School
• Episode 503 – Guests include artist Daniel Cicchelli; actor, dancer, and choreographer Carollette Phillips; and folk singer-songwriter Zander Michigan
• Episode 504 – Guests include fashion designer Char Glover; cinematographer Walter V. Marshall, and the Dr. V. Shawn Jazz Ensemble
• Episode 505 – Guests include Debra White-Hunt and Bruce Hunt of the Detroit Windsor Dance Academy, artist and architect Robert Piatek, and performance artist and musician Duane the Brand New Dog
• Episode 506 – Guests include eclectic acoustic trio San, Emily, and Jacob; fine artist Julia Dufault McGrath; and blues rock band The Muggs
• Episode 507 – Guests include the executive director of Performance Network Theatre, John Manfredi; Wayne State University Art Collection Coordinator Sandra Schemske; and national recording artist Elijah Connor
• Episode 508 – Guests include the owner of the House of Bastet Tene’ Dismuke and her Wild Spirit Dance Company, fine artist and bead collector Olayami Dabls, and R & B vocalist Athena Johnson
• Episode 509 – Guests include the founder and artistic director of the Actors Loft Hugh Gall, found-object artist Michael “M-80” Dion, and rock singer-songwriter Kevin B. Klein
• Episode 510 – Guests include fashion designer Matthew F. Richmond, painter and sculptor Jon Parlangeli, and hip-hop group Crown Royal
• Episode 511 – Guests include bluegrass and Americana band The Whistle Stop Revue, sculptor and furniture designer Richard Bennett, and choreographer Tracy Halloran Pearson and Contexture Dance
• Episode 512 – Guests include painter Bowen Kline; writer, director, and filmmaker Dwight Patillo; and female pop/R & B trio Bring the Heat
• Episode 513 – Guests include teen singer-songwriter Carly Bins, performers from Go Comedy,  and fashion designer FlyTy of 24-Hour Creations
• Episode 514 – Guests include dancers from the Detroit Tap Repertory, artists and organizers from the Noah Project and the Art and Soul Initiative, and rock band Cosmic Light Shapes

Established in 1986, Wayne State’s College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts serves more than 2,500 students majoring in 16 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs through the Department of Communication, Department of Music, James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History, and the Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance. The college's size, diversity and creative energy make it a major force in the life of Wayne State and metropolitan Detroit.