DETROIT, April 12, 2020 – Motown Museum is staying connected with Motown fans around the world by releasing a stream of entertaining and educational content on Instagram, FaceBook, YouTube and Instagram TV.  Its part of Motown Museum’s mission to celebrate the legacy and pioneers of Motown Records and to ‘pass on the seeds of inspiration, community and creativity to the next generation of artists and entrepreneurs’.

(L-R) Elesha-Bridgers, Robin Terry, and Edna Kane Williams at the Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown event. Orchestra Hall, Detroit. Photo: Motown Museum.

The Temptations performing at the Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown event. Orchestra Hall, Detroit. Photo: Motown Museum.

Robin R. Terry, CEO and Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Motown Museum says the virtual experiences will allow fans to engage and interact with the museum during its temporary closure due to shelter in place measures.
“Even in the most challenging moments, there is room for creativity and connectivity,” said Terry. “We hope these programs bring joy, inspiration and fill our fans with a little bit of Motown magic as we navigate this time together.”

Curtis Terry, Honorary Co-Chair and Robin Terry, CEO & Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of Motown Museum. Photo: DVIDEO 79 Productions for The Production Crew: On-Camera documentary series.

[VIDEO] NE-YO Perform at Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown.

[VIDEO] Robin Terry interviewed by Daina Howze for The Production Crew: On-Camera documentary series.

Motown Museum is the pride and joy of Detroit and becoming one of the nations’ biggest tourist attractions.   The museum is the home of the iconic Hitsville U.S.A. building where artifacts and the original Motown recording studio is on display to the public.  It’s also the birthplace of the world’s best soulful music from renown artists like Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, The Supremes and Marvin Gaye.  “With nostalgia from the past and optimism for a brighter future,” expresses Terry, “we are hopeful these virtual engagements will help us remain connected as we eagerly await the day we can welcome our guests back.”

Big Sean performs at the Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown event. Orchestra Hall, Detroit. Photo: Motown Museum.

The virtual campaign will showcase content during the month of April and include a Motown inspired DJ dance party, educational programs, entertainment from Motown’s Spoken Word open mic performances and a sneak peek of last year’s Motown Museum 60th anniversary weekend event, Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown.

Motown Museum is bringing the party to your home. With traditional nightlife currently on pause,  Motown DJ Dance Party will feature music spinsters like Carl “DJ iNViSiBLE” Hollier and DJ RUE as they mix your favorite Motown songs from the expertly curated Motown Museum Spotify playlist.  Motown DJ Dance Party will stream live for an hour on Motown Museum’s Instagram Channel (@motownmuseum) every Friday in April.  Guest deejays will shout out to fans and invite Motown alumni to join in, promising a good time for all.

During the month of April, Motown Museum will unveil a diverse virtual lineup of educational programming that includes a series of easy-to-follow activities designed to enrich the artistic lives of children in grades K-12. These engaging lesson plans are structured to peek students’ interest  by offering home schoolers, educators and curious parents an exciting  new way for children to learn about Motown’s legacy and pioneering spirit.   Hitsville Next: Educational Content will inspire the spirit of Motown for the next generation with lesson plans made available online via the Museum’s Facebook Page.

April is National Poetry Month and while Motown Mic: The Spoken Word 2020 is postponed due to shelter in place ordinances, Motown Museum will give spoken word artists and performers a voice.  Motown Mic: At Home will feature previous winners and finalists in new and prerecorded performances premiered live for Motown Museum Facebook fans. The Spoken Word Competition was created in 2012 to pay homage to the Black Forum, a Motown spoken word label created in the ’70’s by Berry Gordy and the Motown Record Corporation.

In celebration of last year’s Motown Museum 60th anniversary, Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown, the Motown Museum will debut never-before-seen clips  from the event.  Hitsville Honors was a star studded ceremony, hosted by television and film actor Hill Harper, that celebrated Motown’s legacy and paid homage to Motown founder Berry Gordy and other Motown pioneers. Exclusive performances from The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, along with award-winning contemporary artists Ne-Yo, Kem, and Big Sean will be showcased on Motown Museum’s YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and Instagram (IGTV Channel).

Motown Museum was founded in 1985 by Berry Gordy’s sister Esther Gordy Edwards. A major fundraising announcement was made in 2016 to expand the museum to a 50,000-square-foot world-class entertainment and education tourist destination.  To date, over 25 million dollars have been  raised and when completed, the museum will have a transformative impact on the surrounding Detroit communities.  For more information on Motown Museum, visit http://www.motownmuseum.org.

About the Author:  Don Howze is an Emmy Award Winning Film/Tape Editor and Associate Professor of Journalism and Television Production.  Don is the producer and director of the upcoming film documentary The Production Crew, funded in part by The Field Foundation of Illinois.  imdb.me/dondvideo