Cranbrook Salon @ Knight Arts Blog
Women throughout history have gathered for the purposes of discussion, education and communication on subjects that range from the intellectual to the highly personal. Cranbrook Art Museum Curator Laura Mott and Assistant Curator Shelley Selim decided to emphasize this tradition as they assembled “The Cranbrook Salon,” the second of three installations that are surveying and celebrating the permanent collection at Cranbrook’s multiple facilities. The exhibition draws together a multitude of elements for consideration, and is accompanied by a program of active participation executed by a collective known as the Detroit Bluestockings Crew, which was formed specifically to facilitate this series of salons.
Aside from Mott and Selim, the Bluestockings Crew is comprised of a compelling cross section of luminary women from Detroit’s art and cultural scene: Maia Asshaq, founder of DittoDitto; Samantha ‘Banks’ Schefman, co-founder of Playground Detroit; Meaghan Barry and Lilian Crum, designers at Unsold Studio; artist Ingrid LaFleur, founder of Afrotopia; and Marsha Philpot, a writer and performer.