For sixteen years, Detroit Month of Design has served as a global stage for the city’s creative community—connecting designers with new audiences and celebrating Detroit’s status as a UNESCO City of Design.

We invite you to contribute to this year’s narrative. We are seeking independently produced exhibitions, installations, product launches, lectures, tours, and workshops that bring design to life across the city. Whether you are an established firm or an emerging independent creator, if you have a project that embodies our 2026 theme—Design Moves the Future—we want to hear from you.

OPEN CALL IS NOW OPEN!

September 1-30, 2026
"Design Moves The Future"

Designing the future.

Together.

2026

OPEN CALL

APPLY

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About the Open Call

For 16 years, The Detroit Month of Design has served as a global stage for the city’s creative community -- connecting designers with new audiences and celebrating Detroit’s status as a UNESCO City of Design.

We invite you to contribute to this year’s narrative.

We are seeking independently produced exhibitions, installations, product launches, lectures, tours, and workshops that bring design to life across the city. Whether you are an established firm or an emerging independent creator, if you have a project that embodies our 2026 theme, we want to hear from you.

Event Application

Designing the future.

2026 Festival Theme

This year, we’re shifting focus from theory to practice, with the festival theme centering on the ways that Detroit designers are shaping the future of our city and beyond.

The festival will highlight the ways in which our creative community innovates to solve problems, build resilience, and move the needle on what’s possible.