Design Core Detroit Announces 16th Annual Detroit Month of Design
Taking place throughout September, this year's theme, "Design Moves the Future", highlights how Detroit's creative community is putting design to action
(DETROIT, MI—August 6, 2026) Detroit will once again transform a citywide celebration of design as Design Core Detroit hosts the 16th edition of the Detroit Month of Design, running September 1 - 30, 2026. This year's theme, "Design Moves the Future", marks a shift from theory to application, examining how design can function as an active tool for navigating our rapidly changing world.
Recognized as the only UNESCO City of Design in the United States, the city will welcome community members and visitors alike into its neighborhoods, studios, and public spaces, through an expansive series of exhibitions, installations, open studio tours, new product debuts, panel discussions, creative workshops, and more throughout the month.
"This year's theme, 'Design Moves the Future', acknowledges that progress is not passive. It takes action and design is what sets tomorrow in motion. The festival spotlights the people and contemporary projects actively moving Detroit and the region forward," said Kiana Wenzell, co-executive director of Design Core Detroit.
The full program, curated by Design Core Detroit with additional events to be announced, brings together both established institutions and grassroots initiatives alike to honor Detroit's design heritage while ushering in its next chapter. Highlights include:
- Design exhibitions and initiatives from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Design Core Detroit, Michigan Central, Detroit Institute of Arts, and I.M. Weiss Gallery
- Community driven activations from Hope for Flowers, Solar Party Detroit, Cadillac Arts Centre, Ideate Cultural Arts Festival, Pophouse, and Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts
- Talk initiatives from influential voices such as Daniel Liden (Designer and Author), Tracy Reese (Designer), and Elise DeChard (Architect and Founder of END Studio), as well as panel discussions presented by Gensler Detroit, Stamps MDes, FOR THE LOVE OF, and more
Programming Highlights
- Stefan Novakovic and Library Street Collective: Between Your Love and Mine - A series of architectural installations that re-interpret the United States and Canadian border as a rich cultural seam rather than a source of tension.
- Date & Time: September 1, 2026 - September 30, 2026
- Location: Little Village, 1265 Parkview Street, Detroit, 48214
- I.M. Weiss Gallery: Making a Troublesome and Beautiful Home: Artifacts and Evidence - An exhibition presenting a diverse range of work from artist, designer, and 2023 Kresge Artist Fellow Tony Whitfield.
- Date & Time: September 11, 2026, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Location: I.M Weiss Gallery, 1501 Parkview St, Detroit MI 48214
- Cranbrook Academy of Art: LIVE / WORK - Presented as part of Detroit Month of Design, this open-studio initiative highlights how graduates of Cranbrook Academy of Art generate economic opportunity, foster resilience, and engage community through their work.
- Date & Time: September 19, 2026, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
- Starting Location: Cranbrook Academy of Art, 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, USA
- Cranbrook Academy of Art: Design Moves the Future Symposium - Design Core Detroit and Cranbrook Academy of Art will co-host the closing symposium of Detroit Month of Design's 16th edition, bringing together three presenters and a moderated panel of funders, industry leaders, and local practitioners to explore how design moves cities forward.
- Date & Time: September 26, 2026, 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM
- Location: Cranbrook Academy of Art, 39221 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304, USA
- Solar Party: On Air Off Grid Music Tour - A party bus tour that will guide guests through Detroit’s music landmarks while hosting live, solar-powered DJ sets on the bus itself.
- Date & Time: September 26, 2026, 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Location: Underground Music Academy, 2990 E Grand BlvdDetroit, MI 48202
- Open House: Cadillac Arts Centre - Cadillac Arts Centre will open its building and courtyard for an afternoon and evening of work and making, where attendees can move freely between exhibitions, studio visits, a reading, hands-on weaving, the courtyard, and the AMEAD community garden next door.
- Date & Time: September 12, 2026, 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM
- Location: Cadillac Arts Centre, 1533 Cadillac Blvd, Detroit, MI 48214
- BUILD Workshop #2: Build the Table/Stool with Designer Tony Printz - A hands-on, furniture-making workshop with craftsman Tony Printz where participants will build and customize a limited-edition table/stool inspired by his exploration of house, home, craft, and community.
- Date & Time: September 12, 2026 - September 13, 2026, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
- Location: Chroma Building Lobby, 2937 E Grand BlvdDetroit, MI 48202
- Wild.Form: Domestic Survival (Opening) - An exhibition rethinking how we furnish our homes through a series of adaptable objects made for real life, existing as a direct response to "fast furniture" and the disposable culture it creates, especially at a time when housing is increasingly precarious.
- Date & Time: September 12, 2026, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Location: FLOYD, 1500 Trumbull, Detroit, MI 48216
- Hope for Flowers: Sustainable Fashion Workshop & Fall Sample Sale - Hope for Flowers founder Tracy Reese will host an interactive discussion around the challenges and innovations of sustainable fashion, kicking off a two-day sample sale in their Midtown design studio.
- Date & Time: September 19, 2026, 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM and September 20, 2026, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
- Location: Hope for Flowers by Tracy Reese Design Studio, 119 Garfield St Ste 500Detroit, MI 48201
- Detroit Institute of Arts: Georgia O’Keeffe: Architecture - A groundbreaking exhibition that showcases approximately 35 architectural paintings created by pioneering artist Georgia O’Keeffe from the 1920s –1960s.
- Date & Time: September 11, 2026 - January 3, 2027
- Location: Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202
- Rootoftwo: Anyspace? Whatever. - An exhibition examining the technological systems that quietly structure contemporary civic life, functioning as a forum for dialogue by positioning participation, speculation, and co-creation as tools for imagining more equitable technological systems.
- Date & Time: September 11, 2026 - September 30, 2026, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Location: Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, 4454 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201
ABOUT DETROIT MONTH OF DESIGN
Detroit Month of Design is a citywide collaboration of creativity that gathers designers and the greater community to celebrate Detroit’s role as a national and global design capital.
Every September, partners across Detroit—from emerging studios to established companies and educational institutions—come together to show off their latest works and ideas. These cross-disciplinary events take place in all corners of the city, highlighting the talent and innovation that makes Detroit a UNESCO City of Design.
ABOUT DESIGN CORE DETROIT
Design Core Detroit champions design-driven businesses and their role in strengthening Detroit’s economy. It offers services to strengthen, grow and attract design businesses, increase market demand for design services and tells Detroit’s design story locally and globally. Design Core is the steward of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation and is part of the College for Creative Studies.
Website: designcore.org
Social: @designcoredet
Hashtag: #DetroitMonthOfDesign #DetroitCityOfDesign
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Design Core Detroit would like to thank the Gilbert Family Foundation for their continued support.
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Camron Global detroit@camronglobal.com