New Exhibition and Book Chronicle How Cranbrook Academy of Art Radicalized Art and Design in America

This summer, Cranbrook Art Museum is pleased to debut With Eyes Opened: Cranbrook Academy of Art Since 1932, the first book and largest exhibition to expansively chronicle the school's nearly 90-year history as a radical experiment in the education of artists. On view from June 18-September 19, the exhibition will occupy the entire museum.

The result of a four-year research project, the With Eyes Opened exhibition features more than 275 works by more than 220 artists representing the Academy's various programs of study-architecture, ceramics, design, fiber, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. However, in keeping with the Academy's interdisciplinary spirit, all of the museum's galleries combine works from different disciplines and mix historic and contemporary pieces, bringing into dialogue different artistic visions and voices across the arc of the school's history. A special focus of the project is to expand the historical legacy of the Academy's early reputation in design by expanding the canon of artists and designers associated with the school through the inclusion of women and artists of color.

To cover the most ground in capturing the Academy's history, the museum has also published a landmark 624-page companion book commemorating the impact of the Academy, focusing on 200 of the many thousands of artists, former students and faculty, that have formed its artistic community. The exhibition and publication were conceived as parallel projects that share a title but not a checklist; several artists are included in one but not the other.

Join us this Thursday, May 6th at 1pm ET for a conversation with Cranbrook Art Museum Director Andrew Blauvelt and hear about some of the 270+ artists included in the landmark exhibition and publication. Register Today.

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