DETROIT TO HOST FIRST GATHERING OF ARTISTS REIMAGINING THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY

Mozilla Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation bring the artists behind the inaugural Artists Make Technology cohort of 20 projects to Michigan Central on November 13 to explore what happens when creativity drives innovation.

DETROIT, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Detroit will become a meeting point for art, technology, and imagination as Mozilla Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation bring together 20 projects, made up of 40 pioneering artists and creative technologists, for the Artists Make Technology (AMT) Lab Assembly at the historic Michigan Central.

The grantees, chosen from a field of nearly 400 applicants, were announced last month. In Detroit, they'll finally be in one place. Working across AI, robotics, immersive performance, spatial audio, and other emerging technologies, these artists are challenging conventional ideas about who gets to build technology, what it can do, and who it should serve.

Few places have pushed the boundaries of what's possible like Detroit. The city is where Diego Rivera painted auto workers into the walls of the Detroit Institute of Arts, where Motown built a hit factory, and where a group of young musicians pushed drum machines and synthesizers in directions their makers never imagined, inventing techno. The Assembly's venue carries that spirit of reinvention: the 1913 train station that sat empty for three decades before reopening in 2024 as a hub for technology and community.

"We do not want to live in the imagination of a few people in Silicon Valley and that's why we're bringing together 20 extraordinary creative minds who are already inventing an alternative future. Detroit has never waited for permission to build, and we're putting real money behind artists who won't either," said Ziyaad Bhorat, Vice President of Imagination & Strategic Growth at Mozilla Foundation.

The Assembly will bring artists into conversation with leaders from the arts, technology, philanthropy, and policy communities. Through discussions, live performances, and creative demonstrations, the gathering will explore how artists can influence both the technologies being developed and the decisions governing their use.

The program will feature conversations about community-led technological innovation and the role of artists in shaping AI policy, alongside performances showcasing new forms of creative expression. Participants include representatives from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Americans for the Arts, Omidyar Network, and Detroit's creative and technology communities.

"In a world that invests in artists, technology stops being something that happens to us and becomes something we shape together. By bringing this exceptional group together in Detroit is an opportunity to connect creative experimentation with the people and institutions that can help turn new ideas into lasting impact," added Bhorat.

"True innovation happens when we place artists at the center of technological development rather than as an afterthought," said Ashley Ferro-Murray, Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Foundation. "We are thrilled to partner with Mozilla Foundation and bring this remarkable inaugural cohort to Detroit, a city with a rich history of cultural reinvention, to build a more creative and equitable digital future together."

"Michigan Central is proud to welcome the inaugural Artists Make Technology Lab Assembly to Detroit. Artists have always helped us imagine new ways of seeing, connecting, and building, and this gathering puts their ideas and leadership at the heart of the conversation about technology's future. Bringing this cohort together at Michigan Central reflects our belief that innovation is strongest when it is grounded in creativity, community, and a diversity of voices," said Nate Wallace, Head of Civic Partnerships at Michigan Central.

The $11 million, three-year initiative has raised $8 million to date, with support from the Doris Duke Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. Since its announcement in January 2026, two additional funders have joined: the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Omidyar Network.

The first round of grants, unveiled in October at Mozilla Festival in Barcelona, totals $2.75 million, with up to 40 awards planned over the life of the fund.

Event Details

Artists Make Technology Lab Assembly
Friday, November 13, 2026 | 2:00–8:00 p.m. ET
Michigan Central, 2001 15th Street, Detroit, MI 48216

Register for the assembly here.

Learn more about the inaugural Artists Make Technology cohort here.

About The Doris Duke Foundation

The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) is to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. The foundation works across three areas: Arts & Culture; Nature; and Health & Well-being. DDF focuses its support to the performing arts on contemporary dance, jazz and theater artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. The Doris Duke Foundation is one of only two foundations in history to have received the National Medal of the Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts, presented by President Barack Obama, in special recognition of DDF's support of creative expression across the United States and bold commitment to artistic risk, helping artists, musicians, dancers and actors share their talents and enrich the cultural life of the nation. Visit www.dorisduke.org to learn more.

About Mozilla Foundation

Mozilla Foundation is a global nonprofit dedicated to ensuring the internet remains open, inclusive, and equitable. Founded in 2003, it supports people-first technology through funding, advocacy, education, and research.

Rooted in the open-source movement and guided by the Mozilla Manifesto, Mozilla Foundation focuses on critical issue areas like ethical data practices, healthy digital ecosystems and shifting digital power toward individuals and communities.

Its work connects technologists, researchers, policymakers, and activists to reimagine and rebuild systems to serve the public good. With over two decades of global impact, Mozilla Foundation continues to lead the movement for a better technology future—powered by people, open by design and fueled by imagination.

About Mozilla Foundation's Imagination Work

Mozilla Foundation's Imagination Work finds and funds the people building what technology should do next, before their ideas enter the mainstream. Through fellowships, artist residencies, early-stage grants, dedicated funds, and convenings around the world, we back artists, researchers, technologists, and communities whose ideas are still too early or too unusual for traditional funding, and carry their work into the institutions that can adopt it. Current bets include grassroots open source quantum computing, small AI models that run locally and keep data on the device, AI tools for democratic institutions, and Artists Make Technology, an $11 million multi-foundation fund putting performing artists at the center of technology development. The Imagination Work is the front end of Mozilla Foundation's mission. The organization that kept the internet open now works on what gets built on it, and who gets there first.

Contact:
Taylor Jeffrey
[email protected]

SOURCE Mozilla Foundation