Detroit’s Month of Design is in full swing, offering a citywide series of exhibitions, installations, talks and workshops that put local artists and designers at the forefront of community life. The festival, organized by the nonprofit Design Core Detroit, underscores the Motor City’s unique distinction as the United States’ first UNESCO City of Design.
Featured exhibition: “Casting the Net”
Artist Zahra Almajidi’s show, Casting the Net, is on view at the east‑side gallery Playground Detroit through Oct. 3. Her mixed‑media piece “Baggage” uses a brass chain that resembles a fishing net, a reusable‑bag‑styled paper, and everyday objects such as a motion‑sickness packet, lip balm tube, a vial of cat hair and a pink locket with photos of her sisters. Almajidi explains that the net symbolizes the way the Marsh Arab people of southern Iraq gathered their lives, while the attached items reflect the personal “baggage” she carries.
Almajidi, a fine artist and metalsmith, first became fascinated with traditional Iraqi crafts while studying at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2020. Her family fled the Mesopotamian Marshes in the early 1990s after Saddam Hussein’s campaign to drain the wetlands, and she was born in a refugee camp in 1994. Through her art, Almajidi seeks to reconnect with a culture that feels both central to her identity and, at times, distant.
Other design events across the city
Among the month’s highlights is the signature Eastern Market After Dark event on Thursday, which transforms the historic market into an evening showcase of design‑focused installations and vendor stalls.
In the Little Village corridor, Canadian artist Stefan Novakovic’s installation Between Your Love and Mine runs until Sept. 30. The work explores the fluid border between the United States and Canada, celebrating a shared cultural space rather than a point of tension. Co‑executive director of Design Core Detroit, Kiana Wenzell, describes it as “a love letter to Detroit.”
At the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), the interactive exhibit Anyspace? Whatever invites visitors to voice opinions on modern civic technology—from surveillance networks to data infrastructure—through tabletop games, films and archival displays. Produced by rootoftwo, the studio of Detroit artists Cézanne Charles and John Marshall, the exhibit runs through the weekend and includes a panel discussion on Friday evening.
Community‑focused festival at The Vision
The nonprofit The Vision is preparing its second InVision Arts and Culture Festival for Saturday, 4‑9 p.m., at its headquarters on Lahser Road. The event features a local artist and vendor market, hands‑on art activities, community resources and food trucks. A community open‑mic, a poetry hour with Griot Detroit, and a closing concert spotlight emerging Detroit talent, including poet One Single Rose, R&B/pop singer Bowdre and folk‑rock singer Luke Watson.
London Harris, host and event coordinator for The Vision, notes that this is the first time a poet is headlining a non‑poetry‑focused show, highlighting the festival’s commitment to diverse artistic expression. Co‑founder Layla McMurtrie, who also releases music, emphasized that the festival’s goal is to platform other artists rather than promote herself.
Design’s impact on Detroit’s future
The overarching theme for this year’s Month of Design, “Design moves the future,” calls on creators to turn ideas into tangible improvements for the city’s health and well‑being. Wenzell stresses that designers are actively addressing community quality of life, from public spaces to civic technology.
With dozens of events scheduled throughout September, Detroit’s design community is demonstrating how creativity can strengthen neighborhoods, honor cultural heritage and inspire a brighter, more connected future for the city.
Original reporting: BridgeDetroit — read the source article.
