Hey Detroiters, welcome back to Culture Canvas.
For many, September signals the arrival of fall, cider mills and football season. But for creatives in the D, September is the Month of Design.
Organized by nonprofit Design Core Detroit, the Detroit Month of Design is a citywide collaboration that gathers artists, designers and the community each September for exhibits, installations, talks and workshops. The Motor City is the first and only U.S. city to be designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) City of Design. As a UNESCO City of Design, Detroit is part of a network of 40-plus cities around the world using design to improve the lives of everyday people. The network shares experience, knowledge and resources to promote sustainable urban development. The network also covers six other fields: literature, crafts and folk art, film, music, media arts and gastronomy.
You’ve probably heard of the Design festival’s signature event, Eastern Market After Dark, or attended events throughout the month so far at places like Robert C. Valade Park, Belle Isle and Scarab Club.
I talked to Design Core Detroit Co-Executive Director Kiana Wenzell about this year’s festival and how the organization is raising awareness about the city’s UNESCO designation.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BridgeDetroit: What are some of the events that you recommend people check out for the rest of the month?
Wenzell: New on the calendar this year is (Detroit architect and designer) Michael Ford, who’s known as the “Hip-Hop Architect.” He’s doing a workshop Thursday called, “Remix the Palette” (registration has now closed) and then he’s doing a lecture on Saturday (at the College for Creative Studies). I love Michael because he’s a Cass Tech graduate, he’s a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy architecture program. He started the Hip-Hop Architecture Camp to get young people all over the nation interested in architecture as a career. He’s been the main designer for the first-ever Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx, New York. This speaks to another sustainability goal; quality education is a sustainable development. Michael is a great example of somebody who is helping to preserve a form of culture that’s important to a lot of Americans with hip-hop.
There will be a festival closing event Saturday at the Boyer Campbell Building and there’s the Detroit Fiber Festival at the Fisher Building. Lawrence Tech is doing an event Thursday at the DIA’s Detroit Film Theatre and it’s related to AI and Black Tech Saturdays is having a Digital Empowerment Summit Friday and Saturday.
BridgeDetroit: This year’s theme is short and simple: “City of Design.” What was behind it?
Wenzell: It’s like a triple header this year for Design Core, as far as anniversaries. Design Core was founded in 2010, so it’s been 15 years of Design Core as an organization. Then 14 years of the Detroit Month of Design because the first festival was in 2011, and 10 years of Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation. It was like, ‘Wow, we don’t even need a theme.’ This is bringing everything together, using it as a moment to continue communicating how individuals, designers and innovators in our city can activate the designation in their own lives and in their profession and in their practice.
BridgeDetroit: After getting the UNESCO designation, what did you and the team at Design Core do next?
Wenzell: We received the designation in 2015 and we’ve (since) been on a public awareness campaign. When we first received the designation, we spent two years doing community engagement, saying, ‘OK, for this designation, what is the call to action for Detroit?’ There’s 49 cities of design in the world. For some cities, the call to action is gerontology because they have an aging city. Some cities focus on climate action because they’re coastal cities. We came to inclusive design as the call to action for Detroit’s designation. We spent another two to three years just raising public awareness for people that Detroit is the first and only U.S. UNESCO City of Design because that wasn’t common knowledge. People don’t really know what that means or how they can get involved in it.
Now we’re in phase three of the public awareness campaign. The designation is about putting creativity at the forefront of economic and urban planning goals. But in addition, it’s about how our creative sectors are addressing one or more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. There are 17 and some include responsible consumption and production, housing affordability, health and well-being, and innovation. When you look at these goals, it’s about, ‘How are people living in cities improving the quality of life for people living in these cities?’ That’s where we are now.
For each event on the calendar, you’ll see Sustainable Development Goals. We asked each event organizer when we had the open call, ‘How does your work or your event speak to one or more of these?’ This designation is showing how Detroit is a model city for inclusion and it’s not just surface level. We’re addressing hunger, housing, responsible consumption and all the other (Sustainable Development Goals), depending on which one relates to someone’s practice. It’s that Month of Design and City of Design work really coming together … to educate and show models of how people can adapt these practices into their own lives. We hope that Detroit can continue to be an accessible, inclusive and healthy city to live in for years to come.
BridgeDetroit: How does Design Core get people involved in the UNESCO process?
Wenzell: One example that I would use is, it’s a great way to encourage collaboration on the local, national and international level. Through the festival, a lot of organizers have multiple designers participating in their event. We had an exhibition at Gallery Ideation Orange in Hazel Park, “Design Journey Home.” It was in collaboration with two other UNESCO cities, Wuhan and Chongqing, China.
Amanda Brezzell from Fennigan’s Farms participated in a Design Core program in 2022, but then she hosted an interactive workshop last year. She and her sister own the farm and they grow flowers and do natural dying there. We used them as a case study in our UNESCO network and Amanda got invited to showcase her work in Kortrijk, Belgium. Kortrijk is another UNESCO City of Design and, this October, they’re having a festival and Amanda will showcase her work. She’ll talk about social design in Detroit.
That’s how opportunities open up. Sometimes it’s really organically where we’re able to answer calls and be a catalyst between local talent and opportunities in the city, in the nation, or somewhere international.
As always, have a great week!
Cheers,
Micah
313 Scene
- A new documentary, “All Too Clear: Beneath the Surface of the Great Lakes,” will make its Detroit debut Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Following the free screening is a post-film conversation moderated by Bridge Michigan environmental reporter Kelly House.
- Detroit Story Fest is coming up and our Engagement Editor Bryce Huffman will serve as emcee. The storytelling event is Oct. 9 at the Detroit Opera House. This year’s theme is “No Small Wind is Blowing,” will feature stories of transition, migration, and the sometimes invisible forces that inspire movement. It will feature journalists from Bridge Michigan, Michigan Public, Detroit Free Press, Outlier Media, WDET, Mother Jones, and more.
- A Detroiter has turned her vegan lifestyle into a new business. Brandy Jackson has opened 313 Cinnamon Rolls in Midtown at 119 Garfield St., Suite 200. The space offers up to 30 rotating flavors of what Jackson calls “Cinnys,” or her name for her cinnamon rolls. (Detroit Metro Times)
- A team of veteran arts organizers known as Salonnière is spearheading a multi-million dollar initiative called Detroit Salon to bring exposure to Detroit’s art scene. Danielle Waddell, Erica Jackson, Julie Egan, Juana Williams, and Andi Harris are partnering with Art Basel and the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair to present a series of exhibitions and events highlighting Detroit artists over the next three years. (Detroit Metro Times)
- The co-owners of celebrated Detroit restaurant Lady of the House are disputing the restaurant’s ownership and future, amid conflict between its lauded chef and her financial backer. (Detroit Free Press)
- My Chemical Romance is bringing its “The Black Parade 2026” to Comerica Park on Aug. 21, the band announced Monday, and when they do, they’ll be joined by Michigan rock legend Iggy Pop. Tickets go on sale at noon Friday via Ticketmaster. (The Detroit News)
What’s Going on in the D?
- The Detroit Black Film Festival returns for its sixth year beginning on Thursday. Hosted by Trinity Films Entertainment Group, the four-day festival will showcase an impressive lineup of 72 feature films and documentaries from 30 countries. Screenings will take place at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Marlene Boll YMCA Theater and the LOVE Building. Day passes are $35 and cover tickets for Sunday’s awards ceremony. Tickets for the opening night ceremony on Friday are $50.
- The Detroit Repertory Theatre is hosting its season 69 launch and homecoming celebration from 4-10 p.m. Saturday. The evening will include sneak previews of the theater’s four upcoming shows, as well as live music, food and drinks. The event is free, but a $20 donation is suggested.
- The Michigan Shakespeare Festival is hosting its “Live from the Classical Actors’ Couch” event at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hilberry Gateway Theatre on the campus of Wayne State University. The event will feature performers from the organization’s productions over the years answering questions in an unscripted format. Tickets are $25.
- The Peacock Room is hosting the Detroit Fiber Festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Fisher Building. The celebration of the fabric and fiber community will feature a vendors’ market with a range of supplies and finished textile goods, live maker demonstrations, and lectures on aspects of the fiber community. The festival is part of Detroit Month of Design. General admission is free, but the keynote talk on textile designer Ruth Adler Schnee is $10.
- The Detroit Institute of Arts is kicking off the opening of its newest exhibit, “Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation” from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday. The show celebrates the creative achievements of more than 60 Anishinaabe artists from across the Great Lakes region. The exhibit will be one of the largest presentations of contemporary indigenous art in the Midwest and the first major Native American exhibition at the DIA in 30 years. Admission is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
- R&B legends Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan and Stephanie Mills are bringing “The Queens: 4 Legends, 1 Stage” tour to Little Caesars Arena at 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are still available on Ticketmaster, starting at $172.
