Michael Andrews Featured by U-M Detroit
In a recent U‑M Detroit profile, Stamps Lecturer Michael Andrews discusses his research, practice, and collaborative work with students.
As a lecturer at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design, Michael Andrews works with undergraduate students to develop their individual style, hone their artistic skills and engage in the world through the arts. In addition to teaching Michael often takes on other curatorial or management projects.
From 2020 to 2022 he was the Creative Director at Nora Detroit, a design centered boutique in Detroit. The store, Nora, features carefully selected modern gifts, housewares and personal items. When the Coronavirus pandemic forced schools and businesses to cancel their public programming in the spring of 2020, Andrews worried that his students would not be able to display their art. As part of the undergraduate program, the Senior Exhibition is the culmination for many students of years of hard work.
At Nora, Andrews saw an opportunity to benefit students and increase awareness for the store. He curated a unique art exhibition and sale, shepherding students from U‑M, Center for Creative Studies and other schools through the process from start to finish. Stamps undergraduate Rachel Heidel was selected to craft a series of slip cast porcelain vases for sale at Nora. Andrews, in collaboration with the team, helped Nora gain the designation from Dwell Magazine as one of “America’s Best Independent Design Shops.”
Creativity, collaboration and education are at the forefront of Andrews’s career as an artist and teacher. He is currently developing a space in Detroit that hosts community space and art studios, as well as what he calls a “mixed reality clothing project” — a garment that can be worn in the physical world that is replicated in digital form, thus creating a “digital-physical hybrid world.” This June he will participate in “Mighty Real/Queer Detroit,” a city-wide retrospective and exhibition of Queer artists in Detroit.
Michael Andrews helps students hone artistic style and engage with the world | U‑M Detroit