PIN–UP Spotlights Detroit Design and Cranbrook, 10 Years After UNESCO City of Design Designation

Installation view of Everything Eventually Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the U.S. at Cranbrook Art Museum. Photo by P.D. Rearick.

Ten years after Detroit became the first U.S. UNESCO City of Design, the connection between the city and Cranbrook’s design legacy has never been clearer.

PIN–UP’s newest feature traces the creative forces shaping Detroit today — and many of them lead back to Cranbrook. From galleries championing Cranbrook-educated designers to institutions shaped by alumni thinking and entrepreneurship, Detroit’s design culture continues to be propelled by generations of Cranbrook makers.

At the center of that influence is Cranbrook Art Museum’s last exhibition, Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the U.S., organized by Museum Director Andrew Satake Blauvelt (MFA Design 1988) and MillerKnoll Curatorial Fellow Bridget Bartal. Featuring icons such as Ray and Charles Eames, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, Ruth Adler Schnee, and many others, the exhibition puts the influence of Cranbrook-trained designers in context of the mid-century movement, along with additional women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and designers of color.

Cranbrook’s influence continues as the Artists-in-Residence and faculty at the Academy prepare the next generation of Detroit’s artists, designers, and architects, continuing a tradition of experimentation, collaboration, and civic-minded design that has long defined the region.

As Detroit imagines its future, the city’s design story is still deeply rooted in Cranbrook — a place where ideas, objects, and people have always connected.

Experience Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the U.S. virtually: