- N
Detroit's First Generative Art Exhibition: Mutual Assembly
0% complete
$2,580 raised of
27 donations
Introduction:
A home for creative coding in Detroit
My name is Samantha Griffith, a Detroit-based artist and founder of the monthly meetup, Creative Coding Detroit. I started practicing creative coding as a student at the College for Creative Studies in 2016 and have since dedicated my career to learning the craft. Ten years of independent study, taking multiple courses online and integrating the practice into my freelance design work landed me in late 2025 with a robust practice and plenty of work to show for it, but I was still working in isolation. I'd learned about others nearby with similar practices throughout the years, but never had an opportunity to meet them. Fresh out of grad school and looking towards the future, I felt an urgency that it was time for Detroit to have a home for others with practices like mine, and Creative Coding Detroit was born. Our first meeting was held at BULK Space on East Grand Blvd in November, 2025, and now we're planning the first exhibition of generative coded art in Detroit's history. And we need your help!
The Exhibition:
Mutual Assembly
This September 4-6, during the annual Detroit Month of Design, CCDET will present Mutual Assembly: an exhibition of generative code-based art.
We're occupying the historic Vander building, transforming its raw industrial interior into an immersive, dark space illuminated by hand-assembled LED displays. Each display will showcase original, hand-coded artwork created by 10 Detroit-based artists, demonstrating the ingenuity, authenticity, and technical craft that our city brings to the global digital art movement.
Mutual Assembly embodies the festival’s overarching theme, "Design Moves the Future," by turning an exhibition into a community experience:
- Mentorship & Digital Equity: To lower the barrier to entry in creative technology, we paired experienced creative coders with newcomers. Through this mentor/mentee framework, every participant has gained the technical tools and guidance needed to exhibit in a formal art show.
- Off-Grid Live Performances: Opening night will feature live algorithmic dance music ("live-coding") performed by collective members, powered sustainably by Solar Party Detroit to bring the experience completely off-grid.
- Next-Gen Youth Education: We are partnering with Journi to host an interactive creative coding workshop for kids right inside the exhibition space, inviting young Detroiters to experiment with software as a tool for creative expression.
Why We Need Your Support
Independent exhibitions during the Detroit Month of Design are completely self-funded and self-managed. Design Core Detroit does not provide micro-grants for independent happenings, meaning projects like ours rely on direct public backing to cover equipment, documentation, and artist/organizer support.
Because traditional arts grants rarely cover specialized digital hardware and software infrastructure, your contribution goes directly toward building the physical and technical foundation of the show:
- Display & Sensor Infrastructure: $850 for LED panels, LED matrix bonnets, power supply and cords.
- Sustainable Power & Audio: $1,270 for off-grid solar generator rentals via Solar Party Detroit and sound equipment setup.
- Youth Workshop Materials: $120to support workshop instruction, software tools, and learning materials in partnership with Journi.
- Artist & Organizer Compensation: $1,500 to provide stipends for our 10 exhibiting artists and reimburse organizers who have paid for venue deposits and supplies out of pocket.
- Archiving: $2,400 for professional photo/video documentation.
Co-Own the Future of Digital Art in Detroit
By supporting Mutual Assembly, you aren't just funding a three-day event, you're investing in independent artists, promoting digital literacy, circulating funds directly into Detroit's local creative economy, and helping create a home for computational art in our UNESCO City of Design.
Whether you can contribute $10 or $500, every dollar directly powers our hardware setup and keeps this event accessible to the public.
Thank you for backing independent creators, supporting Mutual Assembly, and helping Creative Coding Detroit make history!