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.

MdW Summit 2026 also included the States in Play: MdW All Partners Exhibition, hosted at the Valade Family Gallery (CCS), as well as the MdW exhibitions Facing Present Dangers and Building Collective Futures.

A directory of attendees that were at the summit is available below.

Check out our past summits down below!

Summits convene groups of artist-run projects, platforms, and spaces dedicated to growing our shared ecosystem of interconnected art and organizing scenes across the Midwest. We invite other folks doing work like ours to collaborate with us to build lasting coalitions of purposeful, artist-led action through workshops, programs, exhibitions, print exchanges, and art builds. 

So far, we’ve held Summits in Detroit, MI, Itasca, MN and Kansas City, MO. Check them out down below!