The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has appointed Shelley Selim as its first-ever Mort Harris Curator of Automotive, Industrial, and Decorative Design.
In this newly created role, Selim will focus on the themes of transportation design and artistry throughout history and looking to the future. This also will allow the DIA to acquire and present the intersections and continuums of automotive, industrial, and decorative design.
“Detroit is known as the heart of the country’s automotive industry and holds unique significance in its innovation and evolution,” says Jill Shaw, head of Modern and Contemporary Art, and Rebecca A. Boylan and Thomas W. Sidlik Curator of European Art, 1850–1970. “It’s only fitting that the museum establishes a curatorial position deeply connected with the city’s history, and I look forward to working with Shelley Selim to bring exciting art experiences to our communities.”
Selim joins the DIA this month. She comes from the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, where she served as curator of Design and Decorative Arts and developed the curatorial program for the museum’s design collection. She has curated, published, and lectured widely on topics related to modern and contemporary design, craft, and art.
Selim will work across departments to curate projects created to celebrate the history and ingenuity of the art and design of American automotive industry. She will seek to build a collection that encompasses drawings, models, paintings, prints, photographs, posters, architectural renderings, digital media, and more, showcasing the ingenuity of the American automotive industry, with an emphasis on Detroit’s distinctive place in this history.
Selim’s work will be part of the DIA’s James Pearson Duffy Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, a creative platform for the exploration of how design in its many forms both can reflect and lead contemporary art and culture.
“I am thrilled to join the Detroit Institute of Arts in this specially created position,” says Selim. “The fields of industrial, decorative, and automotive design are inextricably linked, and I look forward to shining a light on them in an art museum context, in a city so pivotal to the history of American design and industry.”
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