Silent disco, art after dark: A look at upcoming Detroit Month of Design events
Design Core Detroit’s 13th annual Detroit Month of Design is well underway in the Motor City, with art and events splashed all around town throughout September. This year’s theme, “United by Design,” encourages innovators from different professional backgrounds and disciplines to work together to strengthen community resources and expand upon what has already been accomplished in Detroit.
“It showcases the latest works and ideas coming out of our city and highlighting the reason why Detroit was designated by the United Nations as the first and only UNESCO City of Design in the United States,” said Kiana Wenzell, co-director of Design Core Detroit.
The month kicked off with an opening party presented by the Consulate of Italy with assistance from the Downtown Detroit Partnership, and has included such spectacles as “The House That Robot Built,” Michigan’s first 3D-printed home.
Some highlights still to come include:
Custer Studios open house: Custer Studios, a collective of artists and designers in Detroit's North End neighborhood, will host an open house with work from more than a dozen artists. Sept. 15, 4:30-10 p.m. 560 Custer St.
Celebrating Pewabic: 120 Years of Detroit's Pottery: Visitors can tour Pewabic's iconic studios, shop latest designs and unwind with refreshments in the courtyard, as well as exploring the museum on the second floor chronicling 120 years of creative history. Designers will be present to answer questions, and an optional, prepaid workshop experience allows visitors to experience tile glazing with a Pewabic artisan.Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave.
"Hear! Taste! Dance!" - A Sensory Silent Disco Activation: Developed by the people behind CTYHOP Silent Disco and City Glow Yoga along with dietician and dance instructor Niina Lobbestael, this event experiments with the relationships between taste, movement, and hearing in a quest to learn whether dancing can change the way people experience flavors. Sept. 21, 6-8:30 p.m. Foundation Hotel, 250 W. Larned St.
Eastern Market After Dark: The popular, districtwide night market and open studio will feature activations, food, music, art, design and more, and is expected to draw more than 30,000 attendees.Sept. 21, 6-11 p.m. Eastern Market Detroit, Shed 2, 2518 Market St.
Interwoven: A fashion show focused on environmental stability will bring together local floral designers, fashion designers, models, farmers and musicians in an event that showcases a wearable collection created with sustainably sourced materials.Sept. 23, 4-6 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. 611 W. Philadelphia St.
These are just a fraction of the options available throughout Detroit Month of Design's September schedule, which also includes shopping excursions, multiple gallery exhibitions and more. For a full schedule, visit designcore.org/month-of-design.
“Visitors can expect to connect with creative people,” Wenzell said. “If you’re a designer, you should attend because it’s good for networking. It’s good for business development, it’s good for learning about new resources that could support your business efforts. If you’re a resident, you should come because you can learn about the cool, new places and spaces that are opening in our city, and you can learn about creative businesses that typically don’t open their doors to the public.
“It’s a celebration of design, so there’s a lot of joy — but it’s also about education. We want business owners and residents to come so they can learn how to embrace creative tools to positively impact their neighborhoods. You can embrace design in your own life, because design is for everyone, and you don’t need a four-year degree to use creative tools to solve problems in your surrounding community.”
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Silent disco, art after dark: A look at Detroit Month of Design events
