Cranbrook Alumni at Detroit Month of Design 2024

Each year, Design Core Detroit presents the September Detroit Month of Design, a citywide celebration of creativity that gathers designers and the greater community to celebrate Detroit’s role as a national and global design capital.

Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni representing all eleven of our departments can be found in special events, exhibitions, installations, and open studios during the 2024 Detroit Month of Design.

Open Studios

• September 14-15: Live/Work Cranbrook Academy of Art Alumni Studio Crawl
  Visit Cranbrook Academy Alumni in their studios across Detroit and Pontiac. 45 alumni are participating including Kelly Agius (MFA Sculpture 2022), Brock Oakley Ailes (MFA Photography 2019), Zahra Almajidi (MFA Metalsmithing 2021), Simon Anton (MFA 3D Design 2020), Ayako Aratani (MFA 3D Design 2016), Corrie Baldauf (MFA Fiber 2009), Jen Barker (MFA Sculpture 2024), Aaron Blendowski (MFA 3D Design 2006), Amelia Burns (MFA Photography 2023), Andrea Cardinal (MFA 2D Design 2009), Tom Caycedo (MFA Ceramics 2023), Jack Craig (MFA 3D Design 2012), Annica Cuppeteli (MFA Fiber 2008), Caroline Del Giudice (MFA Sculpture 2020), Sam Dienst (MFA Fiber 2021), Evan Fay (MFA 3D Design 2016), Tatiana Flis (MFA Sculpture 2008), Zhiheng Gong (MFA 4D Design 2022), Kaysi Grimes (MFA Print Media 2020), Richard Grinstein (MFA Metalsmithing 1979), Olivia Guterson (MFA Painting 2024), Brooke Herzing (MFA Ceramics 2023), Shaina Kasztelan (MFA Painting 2024), Kira Keck (MFA Fiber 2022), Linda Kentoffio (MFA Print Media 2022), Jarvi Kononen (MFA Photography 2018),  Kate LaPier (MFA Photography 2014), Amy Feigley-Lee (MFA Sculpture 2007), Jennifer Lindemer (MFA Fiber 2019), Holliday Martindale (MFA Fiber 2016), Evan Mazellan (MFA Painting 2024), Ardele Monk (MFA Fiber 2023), Sinisia Nedelkoski (MFA Print Media 2004), Sara Nickelson (MFA Painting 2024), Chris Pinter (MFA 2D Design 2019), Kilee Price (MFA Print Media 2018), Tryst Red (MFA Photography 2023), Hayden Richér (MFA Ceramics 2018), Christopher Schneider (MFA Photography 2003), Lindy Marshew Shewbridge (MFA Painting 2021), Wes Taylor (MFA 2D Design 2011), Claire Thibodeau (MFA Ceramics 2022), Brach Tiller (MFA Painting 2021), Nicholas Tilma (MFA 3D Design), Rachel Elise Thomas (MFA Photography 2024), Gregory Tom (MFA Ceramics 2005), Kevin Weeder (MFA Ceramics 2021), Lulu Zheng (MFA Metalsmithing 2019).
•  September 14: Cave Collective Open Studio at Russell Industrial Center
  Visit Cave Collective artists in their studios including Ardele Monk (MFA Fiber 2023).
• September 21: Grand on River Open Studios
  Grand On River opens its doors for an open studio event featuring the work of Temple of Print, a community printmaking studio including Nicholas Tilma (MFA 3D Design 2023).

Exhibitions

• September 1- 30: Cody Norman at Ford House
  Cody Norman (MFA 3D Design 2020) is Ford House’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence. Working collaboratively with Curator Isabelle Weiss and Ford House’s exhibitions team, Norman has created an outdoor exhibition of works made from collected plastic curated in dialogue with the estate gardens and architecture of this National Historic Landmark. A reception takes place on September 19 from 6:30 to 8:30pm.
• September 1-30: The Prelude: Constructing Truth Photo + Film Festival at The Congregation Detroit
  This exhibition features contemporary, lens-based work that transcends typical expectations of photographic fact. Whether in camera, digitally compiled, or physically composed, The Prelude: Constructing Truth challenges the traditional notions of reality and places our photographic identifications firmly in the future.  Alumni participants include Tryst Red (MFA Photography 2023) and Ian J. Solomon (MFA Photography 2024).
  • • September 12, 6-8pm: Opening Reception
    • September 17, 6-8pm: Artist Talk
    • September 29, 2-5pm: Closing and Film Screening
• September 1-30: Shop & See – Claire Thibodeau at Eatóri Market
  Claire Thibodeau (MFA Ceramics 2022) is one of five artists who received the Shop and See Bedrock Award for 2024. Her work will be available at Eatóri in downtown Detroit for the full month of September.
• September 7 – October 26: Jack Craig Ante Room at David Klein Gallery
  New works by Jack Craig (MFA 3D Design 2012) will be on view. An artist’s reception takes place on September 7 from 5 to 8pm.
• September 13 through October 19: Benjamin Teague Adaptive Objects / or / Terms for Living at IM Weiss Gallery
  A three-part exhibition of ceramic works from different periods in Benjamin Teague’s (MFA Ceramics 2006) practice expressing shifts in his emotional, observational, and philosophical relationship with the objects over time.
• September 14-29: INSIDE/OUTSIDE at Matéria Gallery’s EDITION space in Core City
  Each artist/design studio will present a new collection of editions for the inside and a larger piece connected to the language of the objects displayed on the outside. Alumni Participants include END Studio aka Elise DeChard (MArch Architecture 2017) and Simon Anton (MFA 3D Design 2020). An opening reception takes place on September 14 from 5 to 7pm.
• September 16-20: Waawiyaataanong [The Curved Shores] Transect at the School of Architecture and Community Development at the University of Detroit Mercy
  Waawiyaataanong [The Curved Shores] Transect is the initial step of a research project by William S. Wittig (MArch Architecture 1996), Professor of Architecture and Community Development at the University of Detroit Mercy, that tells a story of ecology, urban design, and patterns of human settlement from the end of the most recent Ice Age to present day. Traveling along a path used by indigenous peoples from Detroit to the Northwest called the Saginaw Trail, a cross-section is documented with photographs and maps along with historic representations from various eras. A public lecture takes place on September 20 at 5pm.

Events/Discussions

• September 5, 6-9pm: APEX Opening at the LOVE Building
  An art installation focused on Taylor Child’s (MFA Fiber 2024) family bar the APEX and the culture of the nightlife in Detroit during Paradise Valley in the 1940s. Childs will showcase fashion inspired by her connection with the bar through the lens of her grandmother’s stories about black land ownership.
• September 6, 6-9pm: Environment + Microclimates at The Boyer Campbell Building
  Environment + Microclimates is an immersive art experience showcasing environmental- and fiber-based art including that of Jen Barker (MFA Sculpture 2024), Lynn Bennett-Carpenter (MFA Fiber 2023), Jillian Blackwell (MFA Painting 2024), Margaret Hull (MFA Fiber 2016), Dot Jackson (MFA Fiber 2023), Kira Keck (MFA Fiber 2022), Linda Kentoffio (MFA Print Media 2022), Ardele Monk (MFA Fiber 2023), Irene Perez (Fiber 2026), Kayla Powers (MFA Fiber 2023), A Ranic (Print Media 2025), Andrew “AndyT” Thompson (MFA Sculpture 2006).
• September 15, 7-11pm: The Silence is an Offering at Moondog Cafe
  Zekkereya El-Magharbel (MFA 2D Design 2024) performs with Na Bonsai. The Silence Is An Offering is a performance and exhibition of visual graphic scores created by Na Bonsai to reflect migratory memories and ancestral displacement by echoing the patterns of nature that reflect our relationships to land.
• September 14, 9am-1pm: Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser with Buffalo Prescott Artists-in-Residence
  Enjoy music and pancakes in Buffalo Prescott’s backyard. Meet their first artist residents, all Cranbrook Academy of Art alumni: Olivia Guterson (MFA Painting 2024), Shaina Kasztelan (MFA Painting 2024), Evan Mazellan (MFA Painting 2024), Sara Nickleson (MFA Painting 2024), and Rachel Elise Thomas (MFA Photography 2024).
• September 20, 7-10pm: Sauna House Party at Citizen Robotics
  Citizen Robotics will showcase 3D construction printing and the design freedom it allows. They will live-print a structure for everyone to see, highlighting its unique parametrically designed spiral shape. Fernando Bales (MArch Architecture 2013) is the Chief Product Officer for Citizen Robotics assisting in the research and development of 3D-printed construction methods for the built environment.
• September 21, 11am-4pm: Design Day at Cranbrook Art Museum
  Free with museum admission. Activities include hands-on artmaking for all ages, curator-led tours of the exhibition A Modernist Regime: Cuban Mid-Century Design, and a discussion on graphic design; Cuban Poster Art, and the Spirit of Revolution.
• September 21-22, 11am-4pm: STOOL SCHOOL Workshop
  During this 2-day beginner woodworking workshop, participants will learn basic woodworking techniques through the assembly and finishing of a small stool/side table. Workshop led by Sophie Yan (MFA 3D Design 2017) and Chad Fillmore.
• September 26, 6-8pm: A Conversation with Tiff Massey and dream hampton at the Detroit Film Theater/Detroit Institute of Arts
  This talk will explore the themes behind Massey’s (MFA Metalsmithing 2011) celebrated exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Tiff Massey: 7 Mile + Livernois, on view through May 11, 2025.
• September 27, 8-10pm: APEX Closing Fashion Show at the LOVE Building
  A closing fashion show for Taylor Child’s installation APEX.
• September 27-29, 12-7pm: Art Clvb Art Fair at NewLab
  A three-day event showcasing contemporary, affordable works ranging from over 170 emerging to mid-career artists, making it accessible to the general public. Participating alumni include Katherine Adkins (MFA Painting 2018), Elliot Avis (MFA Painting 2022), Meli Bandera (MFA Fiber 2024), Taylor Childs (MFA Fiber 2024), Sam Dienst (MFA Fiber 2021), Julian Jamaal Jones (MFA Photography 2022), Shaina Kasztelan (MFA Painting 2024), Katie Mongoven (MFA Fiber 2024), Claudia Rivera Plaza (MFA Painting 2024), among others

♦ As part of Art Clvb’s Art Fair, Critical Stuff Collective founders Sarah C. Blanchette (MFA Photography 2017) and Sonia Litynskyj (MFA Photography 2018) curated a mini-exhibition, Self Preservation: Re-Forming Image, of their members including Tryst Red (MFA Photography 2023).

Learn more:

A selection of can’t-miss Detroit-area art events and exhibitions this fall and beyond – Detroit Metro Times

Time to Celebrate – Detroit Design

Detroit Month of Design Calendar – Design Core Detroit

Explore all of the MFA/MArch departments at Cranbrook Academy of Art.