Andrew Blauvelt is a curator, designer, and historian who currently serves as Director of Cranbrook Art Museum located in metropolitan Detroit since 2015. Prior to Cranbrook, Blauvelt served in a variety of curatorial and administrative roles at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, including as Chief of Communications and Audience Engagement; Senior Curator of Design, Research, and Publishing; and Design Director. Blauvelt’s work as a museum leader focuses on building connections with cities and communities through strategic initiatives.

As a curator, he has organized numerous traveling exhibitions and accompanying catalogs, typically focused on modern and contemporary art, architecture, craft, and design. His curatorial work includes collaborations with other institutions, such as: the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Arts and Design; the Carnegie Museum of Art; the ArtInstitute of Chicago; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

As a practicing designer, Blauvelt received his MFA in Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and is therecipient of nearly 100 design awards, including the National Design Award for Institutional and CorporateAchievement from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and the AIGA Medal for lifetime achievement. His design work has been published and exhibited across North America, Europe, and Asia.

As a historian, his research areas include: the art, architecture, and design of the counterculture of the1960s and 1970s; the development and impact of mid-century modern architecture and design in the United States; alternative pedagogies of twentieth-century art and design schools; the historiography of graphic design; and the social and cultural impact of design.

The photograph of Andrew Blauvelt was taken by Scott Winter.