Detroit, MI
June 22nd - 27th, 2026
@ The Boyer-Campbell Building
hosted by BULK Space
In June 2026 MdW met at The Boyer-Campbell Building in Detroit, MI in collaboration with MdW Partner (and host organization) BULK Space to explore questions like: What is an artist organizer? In which ways can we explain, record, and share our practices? How do we build networks of support?
Together we gathered 300 artist organizers from over 150 platforms and projects to build camaraderie, spark new collaborations, and make lasting friends. Each day we explored the Detroit Arts ecosystem through tours and workshops from local artists. We sat in conversation with presenters from across the Midwest with our new attendee-led programming.
The gathering shapeshifted between a “professional” conference, region-wide exhibition, artmaking residency, book fair, activist summit, and whatever else the participants wanted to make it. Because we bring together artists and culture-bearers whose role in their regions is to connect people, we celebrate that the most vital (and urgent) aspect of our gathering as the gathering itself.
States in Play: MdW All Partners brought together a network of Midwest-based artist-run and community-centered initiatives.
States in Play was a public exhibition presented by the College for Creative Studies in collaboration with the MdW Summit Detroit.
States in Play: MdW All Partners brought together a network of artist-run and community-centered initiatives that form the backbone of the Midwest’s independent art landscape. This exhibition foregrounded collaboration as both method and ethos, an exploration of how collective action, shared resources, and mutual support can sustain artistic practice beyond traditional institutional frameworks. Central to the presentation is the recognition of artist-led organizations working together to plan and shape MdW, emphasizing the power of cooperative organizing in building lasting cultural infrastructure. Participating partners presented a constellation of approaches that reflect the region’s dynamic, interdependent creative ecology, including an interactive map and timeline of artist-run activity in the Midwest.
THANK YOU TO FRED & BARBARA ERB FAMILY FOUNDATION FOR SUPPORTING MdW SUMMIT 2026
