Detroit Month of Design 2025: A Citywide Celebration and Visitor’s Guide to the Month of Design

Decades ago, Detroit design meant the roar of engines, chrome wheels, and the steady pulse of assembly lines. Sleek curves of Cadillacs and Thunderbirds defined the American dream, rolling off Motor City assembly lines into driveways across the world. Today, design in Detroit looks different. It’s in reimagined neighborhoods, in sustainable buildings rising from once-abandoned blocks, in murals and installations that speak to resilience, and in creative practices that connect the city to the world.

This September, Detroit marks the 10th anniversary of its Month of Design, an annual citywide festival organized by Design Core Detroit. What began as a platform to showcase local creativity has grown into a global event, attracting designers, artists, architects, and visitors from around the world.

Detroit’s selection as a UNESCO City of Design was not accidental. The city has long been a hub of innovation. The automotive industry defined its 20th-century identity, but Detroit also shaped architecture, furniture, and industrial design on a global scale.

In 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Detroit as the first City of Design in the United States. The honor recognized not just the city’s historic contributions but its forward-looking commitment to using design as a tool for solving urban challenges, driving equity, and building stronger communities.

The city nurtured Charles and Ray Eames, whose mid-century furniture remains iconic; Florence Knoll, who revolutionized office interiors; and Eero Saarinen, whose sculptural buildings and furniture set design benchmarks still emulated today.

The UNESCO designation placed Detroit within a network of over 50 cities worldwide, from Helsinki to Singapore, that utilize design as a driver for sustainable development and cultural exchange. The aim is to leverage creativity to address challenges such as affordable housing, environmental sustainability, equitable access, and community well-being.

Spanning the entire month of September, Detroit Month of Design transforms the city into a living gallery. Exhibitions, workshops, installations, pop-ups, and neighborhood activations invite residents and visitors alike to experience design in everyday life.

The 2025 theme, “City of Design,” aligns with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting equity, cultural heritage, innovation, and resilience. Events are spread across neighborhoods, from Eastern Market and Midtown to Jefferson-Chalmers and Southwest Detroit.

What makes the festival unique is its accessibility. Many activations are free, take place outdoors, and are family-friendly. Others blend disciplines, such as music with architecture, retail with art, and storytelling with design, creating unexpected encounters. The festival highlights that design is not just for galleries and showrooms. It is lived, shared, and woven into the fabric of Detroit.

With more than 95 events and 500 participating creatives spread across neighborhoods, the festival is both a celebration of Detroit’s heritage and a glimpse into its future.

Waste to Wander- September 10
This installation addresses the challenges of waste and overconsumption, transforming discarded materials into design interventions that spark a dialogue about sustainability and creative reuse.

Eastern Market After Dark - September 18
For one night only, the historic Eastern Market district becomes a buzzing outdoor design district. Warehouses and alleys light up with installations, local art, live music, and food trucks. It’s part block party, part gallery crawl, and wholly Detroit.

On Air Off Grid- September 20
Presented by Solar Party Detroit, this solar-powered DJ series combines renewable energy with music, underscoring how creativity and technology can build sustainable urban culture.

From Our Side of the Street - September 21
Presented by Black Bottom Archives, this storytelling installation honors the role of porches in Black Detroit life. Through oral histories, visual displays, and live performances, it transforms the porch into a design symbol of heritage and resilience.

Detroit’s UNESCO designation brings global collaborators to the city each September. Designers from Wuhan and Chongqing, China, present Design Journey: Home China and Back, an exchange that highlights how cultural migration and international practice influence local communities.

Other global participants will lead workshops, lectures, and collaborations, highlighting Detroit as a hub of creativity. Events like Futures Information, hosted with Michigan Central, explore design migration, cultural exchange, and reimagining public life amid shifting populations and global connections.

Several events this year highlight the way design intersects with daily life in Detroit:

Remix the Palette – Led by Michael Ford, “the Hip Hop Architect,” this workshop invites participants to use Detroit hip-hop album covers as inspiration for creating interior design mood boards. It’s a playful yet serious exploration of how music and design both shape lived environments.

6 Mile Street Festival- The 6 Mile Street Festival celebrates Northwest Detroit’s community, culture, and commerce, marking the 10-year anniversary of Live6 Alliance and the neighborhood’s Michigan Main Street designation.

The Art of Air - An immersive balloon installation created by Detroit Balloon Store that transforms their building—formerly a beer and wine store, and vacant for 37 years—into a lively symbol of creativity, community, and culture. This project will create environments built entirely out of biodegradable balloons, designed to reflect Detroit's legacy, resilience, and future.

Shop and See - By embedding installations in retail spaces, this initiative turns everyday shopping into an immersive cultural experience, highlighting the economic dimension of design.

Resurgo Detroit - Resurgo, a film by Emmy-winning Detroit director Stephen McGee, highlighting grassroots rebuilding, community resilience, and resident-driven design.

Housing Revolution - An Insider’s Look into a Tech-Driven, Cost-Effective, and Eco-Friendly Home in North Corktown, Featuring the Photography of Jason Keen.

From Resistance to Resilience: Honoring Detroit’s Housing Legacy and Looking Toward its Future - From Resistance to Resilience is an exhibition and panel, highlighting Detroit’s residential history through design. Featuring preservationists, designers, and projects like the Dr. Ossian Sweet Educational Plaza, it centers community storytelling, memory, and place-based narratives.

Depths of Design - Detroit’s design destination hosts a special community-focused event by Woodward Throwbacks, Hannah Architects, and Parini Design, featuring curated work, immersive activities, “Inquiry Hour” panels, and opportunities to connect with designers while exploring locally sourced, sustainable creative practices.

With events spread across the city, a little planning goes a long way. Here are tips to make the most of your visit:

- Plan Your Route: Map out events by neighborhood. Try a mix, an exhibition downtown, a performance in Eastern Market, an installation in Southwest Detroit.

- Go Beyond Downtown: Many of the most innovative projects are in neighborhoods outside the city center. Jefferson-Chalmers, Southwest, and New Center are hubs worth visiting.

- Look for Free Events: Street activations, public art, and family-friendly installations ensure there’s something for everyone.

- Engage Creators: Many events are interactive. Talk with artists, architects, and designers to learn about their process.

- Support Local: Between events, grab food at a Detroit restaurant, shop at a local boutique, or stop at a neighborhood café.

- Share the Experience: Follow and use Design Core’s festival hashtags #detroitmonthofdesign #detroitcityofdesign to connect with other attendees and help spotlight Detroit’s creative scene.

Detroit’s Month of Design is not just about exhibitions. It’s about rethinking the role of creativity in everyday life. It shows how design can illuminate history, strengthen neighborhoods, and tackle contemporary challenges like climate change and inequality.

As Detroit celebrates a decade of being a UNESCO City of Design, the Month of Design stands as proof that creativity is one of the city’s most powerful resources. Where factories once churned out cars, artists and designers now produce ideas that can change how we live.

Whether you’re a lifelong Detroiter, a curious visitor, or a design professional, the 2025 festival is an invitation to see Detroit in a new way as a city where design is not just a profession, but a way of life.

Detroit Month of Design 2025 runs September 1–30 across neighborhoods citywide. Full schedules, maps, and updates are available at https://www.detroitmonthofdesign.org.