***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, 400-square-foot polyhedron pod structure, 2017

***INVINCIBLE–ILL WEAVER***, ***DETROIT MI***, Taylor’s creative partner, in *Complex Movements* and *Emergence Media*, mentee of Grace Lee Boggs

***MENTOR GRACE LEE BOGGS***, 1915-2015, courtesy of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership, Detroit MI

***Complex Movements: Invincible-ill Weaver, L05, Sage Crump, Waajeed, Wesley Taylor*** installation, 2017

Complex Movements shares insights from their project ***Beware of the Dandelions*** which is a mobile art installation that functions as a multimedia performance, a community organizing process, and oral history video archive. The piece intersects disciplines including: community organizing, design, hip-hop and electronic music, architecture, and theater. Complex Movements engages communities to expand their strategies for organizing around local and trans-local social justice issues, 2017

***GRACE LEE BOGGS***, 1915-2015, ***with Complex Movements: Invincible-ill Weaver, L05, Sage Crump, Waajeed, Wesley Taylor***, 2017

***Beware of the Dandelions*** installation and workshop mode, 2017

***Philly/Detroit Conversation, Kites on Kites: Shadow to Sky***, collaborative installation, URBN Center, Drexel University, Philadelphia PA, 2017

Wesley Taylor is an interdisciplinary designer and fine artist, musician, filmmaker, and curator. Taylor holds an MFA in 2-D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He taught at Virginia Commonwealth University before joining Wayne State University in Detroit MI.

Taylor’s diverse skillset and extensive collaborations have established him as a critical member of the Detroit creative community. As a musician and designer, he has made many contributions to the Detroit hip-hop scene. Locally and beyond, he is widely recognized for building stronger bridges between design and social justice movements. He describes his projects as institutional grassroots initiatives.

A Mission to Nurture Talent

Taylor co-directs the artist space and residency Talking Dolls Detroit with Ron Watters and Andrea Cardinal. The mission of Talking Dolls is to “… empower our northeast Detroit neighborhood through justice-focused initiatives. We create a nexus of progressive art and community-led activism through access to our shop, artist studios, and gallery space for workshops, performances, and celebration.”

***Complex Movements: Beware of the Dandelions*** touring structure, 2017

Talking Dolls hosts artists including, most recently, multimedia artist bree gant from the west side of Detroit. Their artist’s statement notes that a current project entitled Ore is “an investigation into temporality and process as performance, turning from the landscape of the city toward how we move through ourselves.”

Talking Dolls Detroit is particularly focused on establishing and building stable spaces for creatives to flourish. “A lot of what I am working on currently is expanding public offering of creative space to the Detroit community through stable space with resources and facilities, as well as the ability to help nurture talent in and outside of institutions,” he says.

While Taylor hopes to build stronger connections between Talking Dolls and WSU, he also applies that same sense of purpose to the classroom, providing a space for free exchange of ideas, discussion, and experimentation. “I like to think of my classroom as a lab,” he says, highlighting its critical use as a place where there is “research happening and a free exchange of ideas.” The lab model is rooted in collaboration and, vitally, a location “where students do not have to think of being competitive, but … doing research [that] is available for everybody to continue on with if they see fit.”

Emerging Media, Ideas, and Approaches

***Emergence Media Retrospective***, 2016

Taylor is also a founder of Emergence Media, which has a far-reaching mission and purpose. According to its website, the organization “explores the power of creative expression to activate social transformation.” They work with a core group of artists and projects, and a wide network of collaborative partners to produce music, multimedia, installations, tours, workshops, and special events. Taylor explains that while he initially started Emergence Media as a record label, with long-term Detroiters and activists ill Weaver/Invincible and Mike Medow, the work now extends far beyond that genre. “We started a music label that now supports creative initiatives across a lot of things. There is no one thing that Emergence Media is working on,” he says.

***Complex Movements: Invincible-ill Weaver, L05, Sage Crump & Wesley Taylor*** presentation, 2017

***Wesley Taylor***
interdisciplinary designer and fine artist, musician, filmmaker, and curator

***Waajeed***
music producer, sound designer, filmmaker

***Sage Crump***
producer, cultural strategist

***Invincible*** (***ill Weaver***)
lyricist, organizer, filmmaker

***L05*** (***Carlos Garcia***)
artist and designer

+ ***Aaron Jones***
architect/fine artist

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, which occurred inside a 400-square-foot polyhedron pod structure, 2017

Taylor has collaborated with Detroit-based DJ and producer Waajeed, cultural strategist Sage Crump, Invincible, and the multimedia technology artist LO5 to form the creative team Complex Movements. Together, they constructed a science fiction-inspired immersive visual and sound experience using projections, music, and gaming. Their most acclaimed project was the mobile art installation and production Beware of The Dandelions, which occurred inside a 400-square-foot polyhedron pod structure. It was described by Emerson College film publication The Independent as “a science fiction parable in which the audience plays the role of post-apocalyptic survivors and unlocks the untold stories of their community.” The project received funding from Mapfund, National Endowment for the Arts, and Knight Foundation. Its purpose was to apply complex scientific ideas to social justice movements, community work, and capacity building. The team developed an engagement strategy that was rooted in organizing and building community cohorts and advisory circles in the cities and places that the project toured.

***Complex Movements*** film title, 2017
Complex Movements' Beware of the Dandelions (Detroit) was presented in collaboration with Allied Media Projects and Talking Dolls with support from:
National Endowment for the Arts. New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Peck Family Foundation. Creative Capital. Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. MAP Fund. Creative Many. The Kresge Foundation. The Center for Community-Based Enterprise (C2BE). David Blair Memorial Fund.
***Video by The Right Brothers***

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions*** performance, 2017

Today, Emergence Media is supporting efforts to create a legal framework for grassroots film work called the Reimagine Framework. Emergence is collaborating with directors, lawyers, and other stakeholders to develop “a document or process that is easy for people to plug in at the beginning, instead of facing issues at the end of a project.” Taylor explains, “Often, there are a lot of problems that prevent projects from moving forward. This would enable them to grow legally and not deal with the boring — but necessary — side of art making.” Emergence Media wants to support those projects and make sure that they happen. “We support internal projects and external projects that need support and logistical resources, like being a fiduciary partner and able to hold or accept grant money for artists.”

Embracing Technology

As evident in his work with Emergence Media and Complex Movements, Taylor does not shy away from experimenting with emerging technology that challenges existing approaches to art and design. “I work with a lot of theoretical and contemporary approaches to art making and design making,” he says. “Sometimes, these ideas might be kind of new and not really well established — they might be emerging ideas as opposed to tried and true, well-established ideas.”

One example he shares is his efforts to incorporate Artificial Intelligence applications into the classroom, specifically for writing proposals for speculative designs. ChatGPT, for example, can be “an aid a way to think through design or anticipate design practices from these new technologies,” he says. “Things move so fast, and there’s so much hype around certain things and not a lot of information, so I think it’s important to incorporate these things, leverage them in a critical way, and for the students to see if these are worthwhile tools to incorporate in their practices.”

The exercise became a learning experience of the vulnerabilities of technology reliance. “They were working with AI in critical ways. Some students realized that there were holes in the ChatGPT, like that it was generating references that didn’t exist. They learned that they had to use caution when using these tools, and were somewhat suspicious as they were using them. These were great, real-time discoveries for the students to have.”

Building Design Justice

***Design Justice Network: 10 Principles*** publication and workshop, 2023

***Design Justice Network: Community-led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need*** publication, 2025

***Design Justice Network: Practicing New Worlds*** publication, 2025

Within Complex Movements, Taylor continues to explore the role of design in supporting social change. His work with the Design Justice Network amplifies its process of using a set of principles that bring about more just and equitable design processes. This is especially important among the most marginalized individuals and communities that have been excluded from design processes and most adversely impacted by design decisions.

“The design justice network is a global community of design practitioners, and the designers can be expansive — from graphic design to product design, to service design and systems design, to architecture and city planning, or even creative coding and computational coding and UI/UX design. Those practitioners are all represented within the network, and they have all signed onto this set of 10 principles,” Taylor says.

Bringing Design Justice to the Classroom

Taylor has worked to bring the idea and principles of design justice into the classroom, and he hopes to do more. He acknowledges some limitations to the fullest integration of a design justice curriculum at the undergraduate level, Taylor focuses on the opportunities.

“Where undergrads are concerned, the principles are not immediately aligned with their hopes of getting a job or employment, but they are not counter to it either,” he says. “In the network, we have people … figuring out how to engage with their employment, coworkers, projects, or clients in ways that they might feel [are] at odds with those parties, but then [developing an opening for] a counter-conversation with those parties. Students may not necessarily have experienced some of these things yet.”

Taylor recognizes that a design justice approach requires a greater complexity that may not align with the fast pace of a design classroom. “We want people to take into account more tolerances, more axes. It is not a single axis approach, but a multi-axis approach,” he says. “We want designers to slow down. In school, there’s an acceleration to get stuff done really fast. By the time you account for many of the aspects that design justice asks you to consider, it becomes very difficult to fully engage with design justice in a classroom.”

While design justice in the classroom may be a longer-term goal, Taylor is currently focused on bringing the city into the classroom in meaningful ways. He wants to show WSU students how Detroit can help make theoretical ideas more tangible — by utilizing specific resources that the city has to offer and discussing their work within the broader context of the city.

“I like to incorporate real-world material and experiences,” he explains. “If we’re working on projects with archives or collections, then I fully encourage my students to go visit them in person. They can then see, even locally, how a design concept or something conceptual gets used in the real world, and how those things are very much immediately available to them. When we’re talking about a concept, they can see how it is alive in the City of Detroit.”

Ultimately, Taylor sees his return to Detroit and WSU an opportunity to strengthen the connections between his work and his network. “At Wayne State, [I can] bring a lot of my worlds together, and I am really excited about that. Having multiple worlds means I have multiple approaches, and I’m dealing with multiple mediums and different groups of people. Being able to combine those things at opportune times increases tenfold through Wayne State …. The work that I’m doing exists on different planes, and I’m still exploring the best way to translate to the classroom experience. As some of these things begin to mature, I am finding ways to incorporate them into the classroom more efficiently and effectively. I am excited about being a part of the growth of people’s practices.”

A Suite for Malcolm Reflections
2025

In the early 90s, my mother handed me a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X when I was in my early teens. This was probably the first piece of non-fiction that I read that I completely devoured (I’m a slow reader so maybe it took me a month or so to read). This was also the piece of literature that has had the most lasting impression on my development as a young person. He taught me knowledge of self, knowledge of history, and commitment to community. These are things I saw in motion and were ingrained growing up in Detroit in the 80’s.

***Detroit Pistons Malcolm X Detroit Red Capsule*** commission, 2025

Before I knew his story, I witnessed his influence reverberating in the Black community. I learned “assalamu alaikum” “wa alaikum assalam” in Sunday School and community meetings at New Prospect Baptist Church as a regular greeting. Later, I was swept up in the Malcolm X-mania of the early 90’s and had several X shirts and hats as some of my favorite items in my wardrobe and that my mom would buy at African World Festivals at Hart Plaza along with bootlegs of Public Enemy tapes. I was excited about how artists were inspired about him and fascinated by how his influence made its way into people’s expression.

Since my initial reading I have revisited this book multiple times at crucial parts of my life. I usually revisit it when I need inspiration or pivot and in moments where I’m about to make a major transition. Every time I read it I come away with the inspiration that I was seeking, but also the feeling that many people share when they internalize the life that was taken, a sense of hollowness of a life taken too soon, potential unrealized, a bright light extinguished before its time.

In the Fall of 2024, I was approached by my friend, Bilal Saed, to work on an interesting project related to Malcolm X’s legacy. Bilal is the Vice President of Marketing for the Detroit Pistons and he reminded me that Malcolm was born in 1925 and his 100th year birthday was soon approaching in May. Bilal felt compelled to introduce Malcolm back to the public consciousness through the Pistons and highlight his time in Detroit through a clothing capsule called “Detroit Red.” He assembled a team comprising Malcolm X’s family and estate, Piston’s staff, and historians. He asked me to design the line to launch in February of 2025. As soon as the directive for the capsule was set I hit up one of my main design partners Sterling Toles to create a series of portraits. This team was brought together to generate content and a line that highlights Malcolm's time in Detroit. Using Malcolm’s life as the example, we decided that transformation was the guiding theme to lead the look of the line.

In order to find the inspiration and direction I listened to and read many speeches and interviews, I also decided to visit the Autobiography once again. During my research I did my best to listen to the negative spaces, the gaps in order to find subtext that I missed in previous reads. Halfway though this reading I realized that at 47 I was 7 years older than Malcolm when he was murdered. That hollowness I felt from previous readings shifted to a new feeling. There was an eerie feeling when I found myself comparing my life to his and what I’ve accomplished up until this point compared to him. I realized that Malcolm left us with more than 10 lifetime's worth of work in his short 40 years.

Talking Dolls Detroit
2022

Talking Dolls is a collectively, predominantly Black-owned artists' studio that has been in operation on the Eastside of Detroit since 2011. It is currently co-owned and operated by Ron Watters, Andrea Cardinal, and Wesley Taylor. We are situated in an industrial strip on East Davison Ave comprising independently owned auto repair shops, lumberyards, machine shops, and small-scale factories. We are a block away from Detroit's longest-running vinyl production plant, Archer Records, which has mass-produced LPs and 45s for decades for legendary Detroit labels such as Motown and Underground Resistance. Historically, the businesses in this corridor were owned mainly by the residents of Hamtramck, an adjacent municipality surrounded by Detroit on all sides, which once held one of the largest concentrations of Eastern European immigrants (mostly of Polish descent) in the Midwest. Within a mile radius, we are flanked by several close-knit working-class black neighborhoods, multiple cemeteries, intersecting freight train lines, Detroit Detention Center, and City Airport. A ten-minute walk South of our building are large-scale metal processing facilities, and a ten-minute walk to the North is the Perfecting Church campus, stewarded by gospel music powerhouse the Winans Family.

As far as we know, no name or clear borders distinguish our neighborhood. Our immediate area registers cold on a heat map for real estate speculators and development interests. Many factors are changing the fabric of our neighborhood, though. Only a handful of businesses are still owned by the Eastern European community. Hamtramck has become the only Muslim-majority city in the US, with growing Bangladeshi and Yemeni-American communities. Four years ago, our strip of East Davison was designated as a "Green Zone" for the sanctioned production of marijuana. As a result, we have witnessed many of the industrial buildings on our street converted into grow operations. The tell-tale sign that a building will soon become a weed grow is that all of the activity in and around the building ceases. Then the new owners will paint the building black, reinforce the windows with cinder blocks, mount cameras on the perimeter, and barricade the building with large concrete blocks and fences.

The boom and bust cycles of the marijuana industry have had the most drastic impact on the landscape in our neighborhood, both visibly and economically. A year ago, property values skyrocketed due to the high demand for small industrial buildings to house startup marijuana grow operations. Now the market is in disarray because of the larger-scale industrial operations taking hold in the area and saturating the market with cheaper product, making it untenable for smaller growers. This disarray has led to more For Sale signs on buildings than we've ever witnessed before, leading to uncertainty about how this new wave of turnover will transform the surrounding neighborhoods in the near future. It is also important to note that the residents of the neighborhoods don't benefit economically from the industries on Davison because those are owned, operated, and staffed by people living outside the city of Detroit. Even though the residents share backyards with these businesses, they do not see a bump in their property values. Despite the proximity, there is very little flow in communication, resources, or services, a disenfranchisement that predated the marijuana boom by decades.

All of this external scene-setting of the current conditions of our neighborhood is important to understand how the socio-economic factors that govern space and place have been central to our story as an artists' studio since Talking Dolls' inception. We have had two locations, both within a two-block radius. In our first location, we established Talking Dolls under the pretense of generating stability for ourselves by forming a tight-knit community, paying cheap rent, and secluding ourselves from the rest of the world. Five of the six founding members attended Cranbrook Academy of Art; we valued the spirit of experimentation, collaboration, and interdisciplinary work that the institution instilled in us and desired to keep it going post-graduation. We found a place on Craigslist in a building dubbed the Toy Warehouse, a former toy wholesaler. It already housed a ragtag assortment of artists' collectives and off-the-grid entrepreneurial pursuits in its massive 150,000-square-foot footprint. The extremely loud signage wrapping the enormous building and advertising the wholesaler's products in large bold lettering is how we adopted our name and identity. (We also had the choice of "trucks, backpacks, cars, etc.").

At the Toy Warehouse, we negotiated a deal enabling us to pay $1,500 monthly for a 10,000 s/f ground-level chunk of the building. In this space, we could incubate our own practices as independent artists, generate exciting projects, and work at temporally and spatially unimaginable scales in the other urban centers where our peers moved post-graduation. This phenomenon was exemplified by the experimental architectural projects prototyped by founding member and architect Aaron Jones. Another example was the development of Complex Movements' Beware of the Dandelions, a performance that merged the disciplines of architecture, design, music, film, animation, technology, complexity science, and social movement organizing in a multi-modal immersive space. In that same space, we managed to house an extensive wood and metal fabrication shop and a full-scale screenprint studio.

The discipline of screen printing played a significant role in our ability to serve the larger Detroit creative community. Over the years, we have been able to collectively pool resources to assemble a robust print shop. Talking Dolls member Ron Watters has been growing his practice of actively mentoring the city's youth through his screen printing business OneCustom City. As a result, countless clothing labels, spinoff print shops, and grassroots political campaigns in and around Detroit can trace their origins to his expertise and generosity. We also established the Incubator Residency (IR) for Cranbrook students between their first and second years of graduate school. We recognized a need for such a program due to the lack of support Cranbrook provides its students during the summer months. The IR was successful in its initial mission in that it could host a wide array of artists and their practices, provide them with the time and space to hone their craft, and become oriented with the city in ways they would not usually get to. Past IR participants include Jova Lynne, Conrad Egyir, Victoria Shaheen, and Ebi Baralaye.

One of the biggest challenges we've faced also turned out to be one of our biggest blessings. In 2015, we were blindsided when the Toy Warehouse was purchased at the Wayne County Tax auction by West Coast investors hoping to develop the building into an upscale mixed-use shared work/retail space. We were unaware of the building's delinquent tax status, as we were still paying rent to our landlord, thinking he still owned the building. This caught all of the building's residents off-guard, as none of us were able to make a deal with the new owners. As a result, we were all displaced in January during one of Michigan's most brutal winters. Luckily, in the midst of all the chaos caused by this upheaval, we were able to secure a place right around the corner. An auto mechanic looking to move his operation was putting the building up for rent or sale. At the time, the building was so full of car parts that we could barely even see or step on the floor to inspect it. In desperation, we decided to take it and have been in the building ever since.

In this new building, we could commit more to our mission and develop new strategies. Talking Dolls' core membership swelled and shrank as some members decided it was time to move on and start new ventures. After two years of occupying the building, the remaining members could purchase it. Ownership was a significant step in securing our place in the neighborhood, allowing us to dig deeper into our mission, but it also came with its challenges. We have always been self-aware of our privileged position as artists and how that position in any community can have many unintended consequences. Those consequences can be powerful and positive when done with intention and support. Still, more often than not, they can fail miserably, resulting in many negative impacts on unwitting community members. One such consequence would be the possibility of triggering a wave of artist gentrifiers if we were not careful in the way we occupied our place in the community.

In other areas of the city, artists have been celebrated for their ability to change a community, and their projects received high-profile attention in the media. Yet often, those projects have mixed reviews by those living near them, and often enough, as time passes, the dust from the media hype settles, and funding dries up; there are significant voids and messes to be cleaned up by the neighbors. One strategy we adopted to avoid this scenario was blending in as best as possible. We opted not to have any signage or markers of our location and to leave the facade of the building untouched, maintaining the nondescript aesthetic of the previous owners. This camouflage strategy prevented us from unintentionally signaling to other artists that this was a great place to set up shop and prevented us from being targets. In all the time that we've occupied the building, we've never had a security system or cameras, and we have never been vandalized or broken into. However, we have been violated by the police on several occasions. On one occasion, two close friends of the studio (one a 17-year-old intern) were held at gunpoint by the police, who mistook our studio for an illegal marijuana grow operation.

Another challenge of ownership was that it took more work for the remaining Talking Dolls members to shoulder the financial burden. Our objective has never been to squeeze the artist working in the building for rent. We see that as antithetical to our mission, and we would severely transform the use of the building if we maximized square footage for renters. We have been lucky enough to receive the support of other artists and collectives. One such partnership was with Bulk Space, a collective of interdisciplinary artists and Cranbrook graduates who shared a similar trajectory just a few years later. We were able to nestle their collective inside our collective, as they had just experienced their own displacement. Ultimately, Bulk Space saved us in our time of need. They were critical in helping us pay the mounting bills and brought an influx of energy and fresh ideas. They helped us expand the Incubator Residency by providing programming through arranging studio visits and mentorship for the residents, as well as launching an initiative to exhibit their work. We are forever grateful for our wider community of artists who have come in at crucial times to help us level up and expand our mission.

During the Covid lockdowns, we did our best to keep our doors open semi-publicly to continue supporting the artists in our community. Doing so was exacting, to say the least. We did our best to work with our tenants and partners to devise safety and accountability systems, ensuring access to the building was still possible in valuable and equitable ways. We planned a schedule, with staggered shifts of when people could work in the building, to maximize productivity while reducing the probability of infections. Like everyone during this time, we had no idea what we were doing and only hoped that the measures of care and consideration would keep people healthy and safe. We had no idea whether measures like signup sheets tracking people's times in the building were effective or if people were actually using the disinfectant stations. We hoped the rent reductions, and at times, forgiveness would be enough to get people through. Ultimately, the combination of loss of employment, uncertainty, and loss of capacity and health due to Covid infections eventually put a strain on the studio. We were only able to continue if we made some drastic changes. We were not poised to take advantage of stimulus support, nor did we have institutional support or grants to help with the financial burden. Our most significant loss was having to part ways with Bulk Space. Those experiences forced us to grow as a studio, and we continue to navigate the waves of Covid while synthesizing our collective lessons.

This summer marks the 10th anniversary of Talking Dolls' Incubator Residency (IR). To celebrate this milestone, we have asked our current residents to submit work for MDW Atlas. This summer's cohort represents both emerging and established voices in the Detroit creative community. They include MC/music producer/fashion designer Miz Korona, designer/animator/song writer/art director Evie Dahmer, filmmaker/writer/multimedia artist bree gant, graphic designer Reed Smith, and multimedia artist/photographer/painter Diana Noh. Our contributors have practices rooted in mapping the city through thoughtful investigations, creative interventions, and a compelling variety of media. Their works explore marginalized bodies in urban and suburban space as they encounter public transportation, the commons, and social networks. These explorations are synthesized into song, film, and installation, which residents are currently developing while acclimating to the studio.

Together with residents this summer, we want to add a hyper-local focus as we seek to explore our immediate neighborhood's agency to produce, operate, manage, and maintain collections of print-based artifacts of both intrinsic and extrinsic value. These collections could encompass everything from family reunion shirts and protest banners to fine art prints and alternative NFTs. This project will build on Talking Dolls' current methods of studio practice, mentorship, exchange, training, education, pedagogy, cooperative ownership, and archiving.

***WES TAYLOR***, ***DETROIT MI***, 2025

***TAYLOR AT HIS TALKING DOLLS PRINT SHOP***, ***DETROIT MI***, 2024

***TALKING DOLLS*** ***CO-DIRECTORS*** ***with Taylor***, ***Ron Watters*** ***and*** ***Andrea Cardinal***, ***DETROIT MI***, 2023

Talking Dolls has been rooted in our Northeast Detroit neighborhood for almost 15 years in an area of the city devoid of many cultural spaces. The space houses a 500 sf gallery, fabrication wood shop, and a high-production cooperative screenprinting studio. We have hosted interactive performance installations, festivals, artist collectives, community meetings, and art workshops. Talking Dolls hosts one of the largest black-owned printing studios in the midwest. We are able to print thousands of posters, t-shirts, and ephemera for many local grassroots organizations and initiatives. We also develop other screen printing businesses and entrepreneurs through access to resources and an apprenticeship program.

***TAYLOR’S THEATER BUILDING***, ***DETROIT MI***, 2024

***TALKING DOLLS DETROIT EXCHANGE AT ANIMAL FARM PRINTSHOP IN ZIMBABWE***, 2024

***TAYLOR’S PRINTWORK***, ***DETROIT MI***, 2024

***Complex Movements: Beware of the Dandelions*** merch, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of the Dandelions***, one of Taylor’s collaborators, ***Waajeed***, on his sound design, 2017

***Complex Movements: Invincible-ill Weaver, L05, Sage Crump, Waajeed, Wesley Taylor*** installation, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, ant iconography, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, starling flock iconography, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, dandelion iconography, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, iconocity installation, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, modalities of movement making and art exhibition, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, multi-planar screen space, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, this entire project is in dedication to Charity Hicks, to Sheddy Rollins Sanchez, to Grace Lee Boggs, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, when we are first invited to a city, we ask how can Complex Movements support local movement building here? We work with cohorts to co-curate a series of activities, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, dialectic narratives, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, in Dallas, black and indigenous organizers from the groups ***Mothers Against Police Brutality*** and ***American Indian Heritage Day*** in Texas committee met through our cohort and are now working in regular collaboration with each other, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, in Seattle, organizers from the group ***Ending the Prison Industrial Complex*** of ***EPIC*** and another group, ***Got Green***, which is a people of color led environmental and economic justice organization, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, in New Mexico, we will also be working with community organizations such as ***Taywa Women United***, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, with the lessons learned from this as our guide we are embarking on future work by hosting a series of creative community residencies, a text called ***Tower and Dungeon*** by Detroit elder, activist and author ***Dr. Gloria House***, exploring spatial politics of Detroit through architecture by examining two structures: one as a Renaissance Center, the other in Jackson State Prison, 2017

***Complex Movements: Beware of The Dandelions***, we were fascinated by the way Grace Lee Boggs and Meg Wheatley were framing social justice movements as emerging complex systems, 2017

***Intellectual Squatters: Sterling Toles, Wesley Taylor, Linda Zeb Hang***, 2024

***SOUND GRAFFITI***, Detroit MI, 2024
**Wes Taylor**, Detroit MI
**Stefan Pederson**, Denmark
**Linda Zeb Hang**, Rotterdam NL
**Samuel Michaelsson**, Göteborg SE

***Athletic Mic League — RU???***, music video, 2004

You ready for the onslaught?
We’re colonizing and not checking for alliances /
I’m zoning / rising / blowing by them / open note books for notoriety / don’t close them till my eyes bleed

***Athletic Mic League — RU???***, music video, 2004

Blow ‘em a kiss / I’m gone with the wind / on the road to get rich / spread culture and spit
Inspiring minds is a risky business / unsure where it leads / when I get back make you believe that.

WESLEY TAYLOR
1978 Eynsham UK
Lives and works in Detroit, MI

EDUCATION

2009–2011, Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Bloomfield Hills, MI Master in 2D Design

1996–2004, University of MI, Ann Arbor, MI
Bachelor of Fine Arts, General Arts Degree

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Wayne State University (2023-present) Detroit, MI
Associate Professor

Virginia Commonwealth University (2017-2023) Department of Graphic Design
Associate Professor

BOARD APPOINTMENTS/LEADERSHIP

PROCESSING FOUNDATION
President
TALKING DOLLS
Co-Director, Co-Founder
DESIGN JUSTICE NETWORK
Steering Committee Member, Co-Founder

AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS, & OTHER HONORS

2024
Flourish and Fund Grant
Culture Source, Detroit, MI
Artist In Residence
New Lab, Detroit MI
Fellow, OPI (Of Public Interest) Lab
Royal Institute of Art (Kungl. Konsthögskolan), Stockholm, Sweden
Print Media Department, Printer in Residence
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Print Media Department, Bloomfield Hills, MI

2023
Fellow, OPI (Of Public Interest) Lab
Royal Institute of Art (Kungl. Konsthögskolan), Stockholm, Sweden
Print Media Department, Printer in Residence
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Print Media Department, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Guest Designer
Cranbrook Academy of Art, 2D Department, Bloomfield Hills, MI

2022
National Philanthropic Trust (NPT)
OneProject, Boston, MA
Collective Awarded: Design Justice Network
Pioneering Ideas Grant
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Washington DC
Collective Awarded: Design Justice Network
Knight Arts + Tech Fellowship
United States Artists, Chicago, Il
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
Artist of Practice Fellowship
Sundance Interdisciplinary Program, Los Angeles CA, Park City UT, New York NY

2021
Artist of Practice Fellowship
Sundance Interdisciplinary Program, Los Angeles CA, Park City UT, New York NY

2019
National Theater Project (NTP) Transition Grant
New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), Boston MA
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
Haas Fellowship Award
University of California Berkeley, Berkeley CA
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
Thoreau Foundation
College of the Atlantic- Bar Harbor, ME
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
USA Fellowship United States Artists
USA Fellowship, Chicago Il
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements

2017
Nina Tesla Ballen Visiting Professorship
New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
VCUarts Diversity Grant
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
VCUarts Dean’s Faculty Exploratory Grant
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
KADIST Artist Circle Award
KADIST Foundation Paris, France/San Francisco, CA
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements

2016
SEED Grant
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements

2015
Critical Practice Fellow
Lawrence Technological University, School of Architecture, Southfield, MI
Knight Arts Challenge Detroit
The Knight Foundation Miami, FL
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
Meadows Prize Fellow
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

2014
Critical Practice Fellow
Lawrence Technological University, School of Architecture, Southfield, MI

2013
Knight Arts Challenge Detroit
The Knight Foundation Miami, FL
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
National Theater Project Creation and Touring Fund
New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), Boston, MA
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
Works of Art Grant
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Washington, DC
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements
Creative Capital (Performing Arts)
Creative Capital, New York, NY
Collective Awarded: Complex Movements

EXHIBITIONS/PERFORMANCES

2025
Code Switch
MOCAD, Detroit, MI
A Suite for Malcolm
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2024
MdW Sumit Exhibition
Charlotte Street, Kansas City, MO
Tiny Park Festival
OPI Lab, Stockholm Sweden
Sound Bridge
Sunshine Shrine, Gothenburg, Sweden

2022
Ann Arbor Summer Festival
Ann Arbor, MI
Dream Mega with WSG Johnson, All Faux Everythings, and Shawn Greenlee
Machines with Magnets, Pawtucket, RI

2021
Web Model Dot Space, curated by Pamela Meadows
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO
Brood, curated by M. Pofahl
MOCAD, Detroit, MI
Story, Word, Sway, Sound, curated by Jennifer Junkermeier-Khan, and Moteniola Ogundipe
Stamps Gallery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

2019
The 5th annual Sidewalk Festival, Curated by Ryan Johnson
Sidewalk Festival, Detroit, MI
Assemblage, curated by Maori Carmel for the Blackstar Film Festival
Perlstein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
I Throw My Body on This Hot Pile, curated by Patrcik Harkin
Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA
ICA Artist Choice
ICA, Richmond, VA

2018
Standing Still As If, curated by Ouliana Ermolova
Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Detroit, MI
Building Utopias, curated by Lauren Kaulman
Elaine Jacobs Gallery, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Black Portals Project DJ Exchange
Chez Zandi- Harare, Zimbabwe
Black Portals Project Record Exchange
Post Post Studio, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Factory Studio Two Three Annual Auction
Studio Two Three, Richmond, VA

2017
Dlectricity, Detroit, MI
Manifest, Linden Row Gallery, Richmond, VA
Foot Work: The Choreography of Collaboration, Curated by Public Design Trust
International Design Biennial Saint-Étienne, Saint-Étienne, France
Art+Science Project in collaboration with Bradley Foerster, MOCAD, Detroit, MI

2016
Beware of the Dandelions
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Time+Space: Futures curated by, Ellie Kevorkian
BEMIS Center for contemporary Art, Omaha, NE

2015
Beware of the Dandelions
Tower Building, Fair Park, Dallas, TX
Techno Yurt
Marygrove College, Detroit, MI
Storefront TV, curated by Carlos Carrasco
Storefront For Art And Architecture, NYC, NY
H30-The Drift
Carnegie Mellon Center for Urban Intervention Research: Veterans Bridge, Pittsburgh, PA
Beware of the Dandelions
On the Boards, Seattle, WA
Movement Memory Maps Installation
On the Boards, Seattle, WA

SPEAKING/PANELIST

2025
Panelist; Chris Schanck Panel Discussion
MOCAD, Detroit, MI

2024
Speaker; ICC Conference
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Panelist; MdW Convening
Charlotte Street, Kansas City, MO
Guest Artist/Critic; Vermont Studio Center
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
Speaker; Design Justice AI Conference
University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Panelist; The Potluck
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Guest Artist; Community, Art and Placekeeping
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

2023
Keynote Speaker; RETHINK! Festival
Spaces Porta Nuova, Milan, Italy
Speaker; Visiting Artist Program at the School of Art
California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
Speaker; Paul Rand Lecture Series
Yale School of Art, Graphic Design, New Haven, CT
Cranbrook Academy of Art Lecture Series
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI

2022
Panelist; Alumni Panel
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI
Keynote Speaker; MIT Design Justice Symposium
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Speaker; RISD Foundations Visiting Artist Talk
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Guest Speaker; Models of Practice
Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, LA

2021
Speaker; City of Design Challenge
Design Core City of Design, Detroit, MI
Speaker; Web Model Dot Space
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
Speaker; Creative Imperative Program
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
Panelist; Design Justice Roundtable
Glendon College at York University, Toronto, ON
Panelist; Virtual Stamps Alumni & Student Networking Panel
Penny Stamps School of Art and Design, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Panelist; Building New Futures at the Intersection of Design + Social Justice
MICA, Baltimore MD
Guest Speaker; Cranbrook 2D Department|
Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Bloomfield, MI
Guest Speaker; Pam Lawton’s course
MICA, Center for Art Education, Baltimore, MD
Panelist; Conversation with Artists from the Exhibition Story, Word, Sound, Sway
University of Michigan, Stamps School of Art & Design, Ann Arbor, MI
Guest Speaker; Spring 21 Graphic Design Guest Speaker Series
School of Art and Design at San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

2020
Panelist; 2020 AIA Arizona Virtual State Conference: Change
University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning, & Landscape Architecture, Tucson, AZ
Panelist; Adaptive Platforms for Artist Resilience, invited by Isaac Pool
Creative Capital, New York, NY
Panelist; Sense-Making for Sharing Sensibilities: Art, Design and Social Change
Royal College of Art, School of Humanities, London, UK
Speaker; Creative Capital for Kresge Fellows and Gilda Awardees in Detroit
Creative Capital, New York, NY
Speaker; Design Justice and Crisis Response, Guest Designer Presentation
Vermont College of Fine Arts VCFA
Facilitator; Space Jam organized by Janani Balasubramanian
Complex Movements, Virtual (National, Invitational)

2019
Guest Speaker: Esperanza Spalding's Art Lab course
Harvard University Department of Music, Boston, MA
Speaker; Livable Futures Presentation, invited by, Norah Zuniga-Shaw
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Guest Speaker: Ian Gerson’s, Sci-fi and the Power of the Imaginary course
Wake Forest University, Wake Forest NC
Speaker; CultureLabs (Recipes for Social Innovation) invited by Elena Silvestrini
Internet Festival, Pisa Italy
Speaker; College of the Atlantic Presentation
College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine
Speaker; Complex Systems Summer School
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM
Panelist: Digital + Performance Convening and foldA Festival
HowlRound Theatre Commons and SpiderWebShow Performance
Isabel Bader Performing Arts Centre, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Speaker; United States Artists Artist Crawl
Scarab Club, Detroit, MI
Speaker; Artist Choice Presentation
ICA, Richmond, VA

2018
Speaker; Collective Wisdom Symposium
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Speaker; Complex Systems Summer School
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM
Speaker; Building Utopias Presentation
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Speaker; sssppppaaaccceee
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI

2017
Speaker; EYEO Festival
Walker Museum, Minneapolis, MN
Speaker; INST-INT
Jazz Market, New Orleans, LA
Panelist; Equité + Inclusion
Shiftspace / Café Détroit, Site Cité du design Saint-Étienne, France

2015
Speaker; Multidisciplinary Arts with Social Justice Focus Round Table
On the Boards, Seattle, WA
Panelist; Hand in Glove, Aesthetics, Relevancy, and Social Context
Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
Speaker; Creative Capital Retreat Presentation
EMPAC, Troy, NY

2014
Speaker; Under the Radar
Public Theater, New York, NY
Panelist; Artist-Run Michigan
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI
Speaker; Creative Capital Retreat
Williams College, Williamstown, MA
CSSSA Presentation
CalArts, Valencia, CA

RESIDENCIES/VISITING ARTIST/CONVENINGS

2024
New Lab Artist in Resident
New Lab, Detroit, MI
Visiting Artist
Vermont Studio Center
Cranbrook 2D Design Artist Residency
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI
2023
Cranbrook 2D Design Artist Residency
Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, MI
2022
Sundance Labs Residency
Mass MoCA, Williams MA
2020
Athletic Mic League Retreat LA
Los Angeles, CA
Athletic Mic League Retreat, Richmond, VA
My House, Richmond, VA
Design Justice Network Steering Committee Retreat
Virtual

2019
Haas Institute Residency
University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
College of the Atlantic Residency
College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME

2019
Design Justice Steering Committee Retreat
Vermont Studio Center, Burlington, VT
Livable Futures Residency
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Design Justice Network Mediterranean Retreat
Pisa, Italy
Complexity Systems Summer School Artist In Residence
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM
USA Assembly Chicago
United States Artists, Chicago, IL
Design Justice Steering Committee Retreat
Glendon College, York University,Toronto, ON

2018
Black Portals Travel Residency facilitated by Black Chalk & Co.
Johannesburg, Harare, Addis Ababa
Complexity Systems Summer School Artist In Residence
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2017
August Wilson Center + VIA, Visiting Artist Residency
August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Ballen Artist Teaching Residency
New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM
New Museum IdeasCity Arles Residency with support from the LUMA Foundation
Luma Arles, Arles, France

2016
New Museum Ideas Detroit City Residency (Mentor)
Herman Kiefer Complex, Detroit, MI
Tribeca Film Institute Co/Lab
Civilla, Detroit,MI

2015
Meadows Fellowship Visiting Artist
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Creative Capital Retreat
EMPAC, Troy, NY
Artist Residency
On The Boards, Seattle, WA

2014
Facing Race Conference Artist Residency
Dallas, TX
California State Summer School for the Arts
CalArts, Valencia, CA
MAP Fund Artist Info Exchange
Creative Capital Headquarters, New York, NY
Kennedy Center Artist Residency
Anacostia Art Center, Washington DC

2013
Creative Capital Retreat
Williams College, Williamstown, MA

WORKSHOPS/COMMUNITY EVENTS/COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS

2023
Design Justice Workshop
Harvard School of Design, Cambridge, MA

2022
Gathering Workshop
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

2021
Willow Tree DEI Design Justice Workshop
Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter BCX, Richmond, VA
Design Justice in Philanthropy
MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL

2019
Mycelium and Movements
College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME
Metaphors and Complex Science
Complexity Science Summer School, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM
Philly/Detroit Conversation, Kites on Kites: Shadow to Sky
URBN Center, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Juneteenth Collective Projection Workshop
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI
Smart Cities Workshop
Trinity Square Video, Toronto, ON

2018
Metaphors and Complex Science
Complexity Science Summer School, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM
Design Justice and Monument Ave Workshop
The Depot, Richmond, VA

2017
Movement Memory Seed Saving Circle
Tewa Women United, NM
Design Justice Network Planning Session
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

2016
#Sheddyforever Mural
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Detroit Narrative Agency Public Forum
First Unitarian, Universalist Church of Detroit
Get Ready Stay Ready Skillshare
Red Door Gallery, Detroit, MI
Community Button Making Workshop
Sidewalk Festival, Detroit, MI
Design Justice Network Network Gathering
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

2015
Resisting Displacement/Building Community
Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Dallas, TX
Movement Memory Maps Seed Saving Circle
St. Phillips, Dallas, TX
Movement Memory Seed Saving Circle
Hiawatha Loft, Seattle, WA
Seatroit Solidarity: Exchanging Strategies Between Seattle and Detroit at the Intersections of State Violence and Ecological Justice
Got Green, Seattle, WA
Connecting Social Movements, Creative Expression and Science
Venue, Seattle, WA
Generating Shared Principles for Design Justice
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Cooperative/3D/Immersive/Interactive Storytelling
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Rendering the Future: What Place is this Time? (Re)building the Past/Future Home
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Complex Movements Creative Collaboration Skillshare
South Dallas Cultural Center, Dallas, TX

2014
The What, Why and How
Anacostia Art Center, Washington DC
Interconnectedness
Honfleur Gallery, Washington, DC
Seeds of resistance and Resilience Lessons from the Dandelion
Anacostia Art Center, Washington DC
California State Summer School for the Arts Immersive Interactive Installation Workshop
CalArts, Valencia, CA
MAP Fund Artist Info Exchange
Creative Capital Headquarters, New York, NY

CURATORIAL

2022
Inlight 2021, co-curated with Tiffany Barber
Bryan Park, Richmond, VA
Full Circle, Ruben Telushkin solo exhibition
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2021
Inlight 2021, co-curated with Park Meyers and Tiffany Barber
Shiplock Park, Richmond, VA
Talking Dolls Incubator Residency Retrospective Show
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2020
Safety and Accountability, Inlight 2020, co-curated with Park Myers
Various locations, Richmond, VA

2019
Inlight 2019, co-curated with Park Myers and Emily Smith
Chimborazo Park, Richmond VA

2017
Surface Expression, solo exhibition Maria Simon
Big Models LA, Los Angeles, CA
Hypostyle Toile, exhibition Design w/Co
Big Models LA, Los Angeles, California
WAY TOO BEYOND BIG SATS’ TOP 30 solo exhibition Satoru Nihei
Big Models LA, Los Angeles, California
Journey With Water: New Mexico Highlands University Student Exhibition
Espanola YMCA Teen Center, Espanola, NM
Guest Curator; BFA Graduation Show
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Design Justice Exhibition
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

CONSULTATION

2021
Vance Wellenstein, MoMA PS1
Institutional Rebranding
Kresge Foundation Mentorship
Bree Gant, Theodore Dorsette III

2017
Rachel Bers, Andy Warhol Foundation
Equitable granting practices

2016
Vere Van Gool, New Museum
IdeasCity Community engagement

INTERVIEWS/PODCASTS

2022
Season 7 Episode 4
DevDiscuss

2019
3. You gon be my new best friend: Chaz Antione & Wes Taylor
Black Matter
008. A Conversation with Wesley Taylor
Shockoe Artspeak

MEDIA PLATFORMS

2021
Mic League TV
Design Justice Network YouTube Channel

MUSIC RELEASES

2022
Athletic Mic League, Playground Legends Vol 2

2020
Athletic Mic League, Playground Legends (digital)
Athletic Mic League
Hold My Hand (7” single white label) b/w Winners Win

2016
Complex Movements, Beware of the Dandelions Soundtrack

BIBLIOGRAPHY
PUBLISHING PRACTICE

2022
Taylor, Wesley, Talking Dolls, et al. “A Letter From Detroit” MDWfair, June 2022, https://www.mdwfair.com/atlas/talkingdolls

2021
Dr. E Gaynel Sherrod, Dance Griots: Reading the Invisible Script
By E Gaynel Sherrod
Edwin Mellen Press, NY, New York, September 2021
Barnett, Victoria, Taylor, Wesley, et al. “Design Justice: Local Nodes.” Design Justice Network Zine, July 2020, pp. 6–29.
static1.squarespace.com/static/5d5d34e927fded000105ccc4/t/5f18ead87884c24ae12e58f0/1595468506794/DJN-LocalNodesZine_Booklet.pdf

Taylor, Wesley, et al. “A Complex and Beautiful Year in Review.” Design Justice Network: 2020 Membership Report, 2020, pp. 3–16. static1.squarespace.com/static/5d5d34e927fded000105ccc4/t/6079b0e44727544100c10a6e/1618587877607/2020+Membership+Report+Web+%28without+Financials%29.pdf

2017
DWCo, et al. “Hypostyle Toile.” Limited RISOprint, Big Models LA, 2017, www.bigmodels.la/zines. 2016
Taylor, Wesley, and Aaron Jones. “Surface Expression.” Maria Simon “Surface Expression” Captioned by Perry Kulper “Some Things ‘I LIKE’, a Double Dozen,” 2016, www.bigmodels.la/zines.
Taylor, Wesley, Taylor Stewart, et al. “Issue #3: Design Justice for Action.” Design Justice Network Zine, Allied Media Projects, 2016, static1.squarespace.com/static/56a3ad187086d771d66d920d/t/597b2d20cf81e057708841eb/1501244715717/DJ_2017_Issue3_SM.pdf.

2015
Taylor, Wesley, Lee, Una , et al. “Issue #2: An Exhibit of Emerging Practices.” Design Justice Network Zine, Allied Media Projects, 2015, static1.squarespace.com/static/56a3ad187086d771d66d920d/t/5840b272f7e0abc08500560/1518579771327/DESIGN+JUSTICE+ZINE_ISSUE2.pdf.

2014
Taylor, Wesley, Carlos Garcia, et al. “Principles for Design Justice.” Design Justice Zine, 2016, static1.squarespace.com/static/56a3ad187086d771d66d920d/t/574f1c96cf80a12ba2bb5818/1464805120051/DESIGN+JUSTICE+ZINE_ISSUE1.pdf.

ARTICLES & REVIEWS

2023
Ackerman, Rebecca, Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did we go wrong? MIT Technology Review, Feb. 2023 https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/09/1067821/design-thinking-retrospective-what-went-wrong/

2022
Kelly, Robin DG, Back to the Future: Complex Movements Make Revolution, Feb. 2022 https://www.shiftspace.pub/back-to-the-future-complex-movements-make-revolution

2021
Letts, K.A. Review of "STORY WORD SOUND SWAY" EXHIBIT AT STAMPS GALLERY, Review of Story Word Sound Sway Pulp, , pulp.aadl.org/node/576125.

2020
Porter, Christopher “Athletic Mic League Returns after a 15-Year Hiatus to Confirm Its Status as Ann Arbor’s ‘Playground Legends’ | Ann Arbor District Library.” Ann Arbor District Library, 29 Sept. 2020, aadl.org/node/573795.

2019
Movements, Complex. “Narrative Sharing and Narrative Shifting with Digital Technology.” HowlRound Theatre Commons, 27 Jan. 2020, howlround.com/narrative-sharing-and-narrative-shifting-digital-technology.
Oliphint, Joel, and Complex Movements. “Livable Futures Meets Complex Movements.” Columbus Alive [Columbus, OH], 14 May 2021, eu.columbusalive.com.
Complex Movements. “Complex Movements, Installation & Performance Collective.” 2019 Anthology, A Slow Unfolding, edited by 2019 USA Fellows et al., Chicago, Lowitz & Sons, 2019, pp. 12–13, www.unitedstatesartists.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/USA_Anthology.layout.4.web_.pdf.
Arts & living, lifestyle (Author not listed), Performance collective to discuss work, Desert Islander September 23, 2019
https://www.mdislander.com/living/performance-collective-to-discuss-work
VCU ARTS (Author not listed), VCUarts Offers Interdisciplinary Course on Dance, Design, and Community Justice, Hyperallergic September 6, 2019,
https://hyperallergic.com/515004/vcuarts-faculty-members-wes-taylor-and-mk-abadoo-teach-course-dance-design-and-community-justice/
Emily Storz. Assemblage: An Exhibition on Collective Creativity Opens in Drexel’s Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel Now April 2, 2019, https://drexel.edu/now/archive/2019/April/Pearlstein-Gallery-Spring-Exhibition-Assemblage/
Farrah Rahaman, On Assemblage, Assemblage Guide, Drexel University April 10, 2019
VCU ARTS (Author not listed), Wes Taylor and collective win $50,000 Fellowship, VCUARTS February 4, 2019
VCU ARTS (Author not listed), Sharing Practices, VCUARTS September 6th, 2019

2018
Art at Wayne (Author not listed), On display: Building Utopia / THIS MUST NOT BE THE PLACE YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE, Art & Art History November 9th, 2018, http://art.wayne.edu/news/on-display-building-utopia-this-must-not-be-the-place-you-thought-it-would-be-33353
Jennifer Hamra, MOCAD Presents: Standing Still, Lying Down, As If, Good Life Detroit October 1, 2018, https://mocadetroit.org/rl_gallery/standing-still-lying-down-as-if/
Metro Times Staff, Detroit 2018 fall arts guide, Metro Times September 19, 2018, https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/detroit-2018-fall-arts-guide/Content?oid=15711942

2017
Western Bonime, The Next Art + Tech Movement is Happening at the Eyeo Festival, Forbes July 17, 2017
https://www.forbes.com/sites/westernbonime/2017/07/12/the-next-art-movement-is-happening-at-the-eyeo-festival/?sh=725d270f5b69
Today at Wayne, DLECTRICITY outdoor festival of art and light returns to WSU, Midtown, Today @ Wayne September 14, 2017, https://today.wayne.edu//news/2017/09/14/dlectricity-outdoor-festival-of-art-and-light-returns-to-wsu-midtown-657
Dlectricity, Underground Creative Spaces Highlighted by Aaron Jones + Wes Taylor, Dlectricity August 22, 2017, https://dlectricity.com/underground-creative-spaces-highlighted-aaron-jones-wes-taylor/
Rosie Sharp, DETROIT DEMONSTRATES THE POWER OF DEMOCRATIC DESIGN ON AN INTERNATIONAL STAGE, Knight Foundation March 23, 2017, https://knightfoundation.org/articles/detroit-demonstrates-the-power-of-democratic-design-on-an-international-stage/
Vanessa Quirk, Could Detroit Show Us the Way to a New Future of Work?, Metropolis March 9, 2017, https://www.metropolismag.com/ideas/detroit-show-us-way-new-future-work/
VCU Arts Research Institute, VCUarts 2017-18 Faculty Research and Exploratory Grant Recipients, VCUARTS November 13, 2017, https://go.arts.vcu.edu/ari/news/vcuarts-2017-18-faculty-research-and-exploratory-grant-recipients/
VCU ARTS (Author not listed), 2017-18 Independent and Departmental Inclusion Grant Winners, VCUARTS 2017-2018
https://arts.vcu.edu/community/news/vcuarts-2017-18-faculty-research-and-exploratory-grant-recipients/
Taylor Renee Aldridge, Building Better Futures: Complex Movements Brings ‘Beware of the Dandelions’ to Detroit, ARTnews January 10, 2017,
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/building-better-futures-complex-movements-brings-beware-of-the-dandelions-to-detroit-7579/
Zach Frydenlund, Waajeed Speaks on Complex Movements' 'Beware of the Dandelions' Art Installation, Complex January 04, 2017, https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/waajeed-speaks-complex-movements-beware-160238454.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEqPLJoJbAg0ueEnIQVT-dH5r3GGwGDw1mnonwSJlhemQqlZZSGwduW5M_NsprXEguMTdTe90W6gloyAg2I_vV7uOr3nA333_QkPDZ_hkTL9VH4vor5odHlbOHGDVztIJfK_bSiWsDav7GEcyX-1nLTEbxQF9_Ie0BACDP9jm-ng

2016
Rosie Sharp, 'BEWARE OF THE DANDELIONS' STOPS IN DETROIT FOR A RUN OF HOMETOWN SHOWS AND COMMUNITY STORYTELLING, Knight Arts Foundation October 28, 2016,
https://knightfoundation.org/articles/complex-movements-beware-of-the-dandelions/
Allied Media Projects, Complex Movements’ “Beware of the Dandelions” Opens in Detroit, October 6-31, Allied Media September 8, 2016
Sarah Rose Sharp, Seeds of Resistance: Complex Movements in Detroit, Arts in America, November 7, 2016
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/seeds-of-resistance-complex-movements-in-detroit-60022/
Laurent Fintoni, Complex Movements Is The Detroit Collective Using Sci-Fi Storyteling To Empower It’s Community, Fader, November 2, 2016, http://www.thefader.com/2016/11/02/complex-movements-detroit-interview?fbclid=IwAR0h9SeSpVZKO0AD8XloS4ctyVpo4-_yUMGzWRCZ6urAl22VaneRXs3q7ys
Michele Meek, 10 Filmmakers to Watch: Complex Movements, The Independent, March 22, 2016
https://independent-magazine.org/2016/03/22/10-filmmakers-to-watch-complex-movements/
Complex Movements. “Complex Movements Honor Decentralized Networks and Resilience.” Creative Capital, 6 Oct. 2016, creative-capital.org/2016/10/06/complex-movements-premiere-complex-project.

2015
Zach Frydenlund, Complex Movements Is a Detroit Artist Collective That You Need to Know, Complex, November 16, 2015
https://www.complex.com/music/2015/11/complex-movements-is-a-detroit-art-collective-you-need-to-know?utm_campaign=musicfb&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&sr_share=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1zUsh4CrJNgFwVRIGjk3Wyo_eh17YEYbZ6NDO5Lc8_WJ0aI8Eh0IDT21Q
Erin from On the Boards, PEOPLE OF COMPLEX MOVEMENTS: WESLEY TAYLOR, On the Boards Journal Apr 10, 2015
SMU Meadows School of the Arts, Start a Movement: Meadows Prize, SMU Meadows School of the Arts 2015, https://www.smu.edu/Meadows/TheMovement/MeadowsPrize
Jerome Weeks, Traveling To The 25th Century – At Fair Park, Art + Seek November 26th, 2015, https://artandseek.org/2015/11/26/traveling-to-the-25th-century-at-fair-park/
Jeff Chang, Complex Movements’ Beware of the Dandelions, Howlround November 19. 2015, https://howlround.com/complex-movements-beware-dandelions
Paula Newton, Detroit Collective Brings Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi, Interactive, Social Justice, Music and Light Show to Dallas. Inside a Pod., Glasstire November 18, 2015
Jenna Crowder, What is our Common Field? notes from Hand in Glove 2015, The Chart October 2015, https://thechart.me/what-is-our-common-field-notes-from-hand-in-glove-2015/
SMU Blog, Artist collective Complex Movements, Public Theater’s Lear deBessonet win 2015 Meadows Prize, Southern Methodist University February 11, 2015, https://www.smu.edu/News/2015/meadows-prize-03jan-2015
Janice L. Franklin, The Memory of Dandelions, Theater Jones November 22, 2015

2014
Jamilah King, Facing Race Spotlight: Detroit Artist Collective Complex Movements, Colorlines November 12, 2014, https://www.colorlines.com/articles/facing-race-spotlight-detroit-artist-collective-complex-movements

2013
Creative Capital, Meet Our 2013 Grantees in Emerging Fields, Literature and Performing Arts!, Creative Capital January 10, 2013, https://creative-capital.org/2013/01/10/meet-our-2013-grantees-in-emerging-fields-literature-and-performing-arts/
Steve Dollar, Where Good Ideas Go to Live: Getting Creative with a Local Venture-Capital Fund for the Avant Garde, The Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2013, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323442804578234031871723490

2012
NET/TEN Shareback: Invincible- How Do We Make Work That’s Healing Rather Than Retraumatizing
https://www.ensembletheaters.net/news/Invincible_Fall2012?fbclid=IwAR2Vjdgoyb9Q8Pxg8azB5kt0l9N1NWAtjdcFpPRL1MzJyFiVGdVBtBe3blg

COMMISSIONS

2025
Detroit Pistons Basketball Association, Detroit Red Clothing Capsule
Detroit Pistons Organization, Detroit, MI

2021
Chris Schanck, Off World clothing line 2022 exhibition
Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY
Allied Media Projects, Love Building Elevator Shaft Design and Signage
Sector 7-G Recordings, Manger on McNichols merch
Dr. E Gaynel Sherrod, Dance Griots: Reading the Invisible Script, chapter images

2020
Patrisse Cullors, A Prayer for the Runner, typesetting
Sterling Toles, Manger on McNichols, LP album art
Carrie Morris Art Productions (CMAP), McPherson Fence Project design

2019
Carrie Morris Art Productions (CMAP), McPherson Fence Project

2018
Carrie Morris Art Productions (CMAP), McPherson Fence Project
Chris Schanck, Unhomley, show signage
Sidewalk Festival, Shoe Store Facade Redesign

2016
Sterling Toles, Resurget Cineribus, LP album art
Sterling Toles, Archival Arteries of Sterling Toles, LP album art
Sector 7 logo design

ADMINISTRATIVE/INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT

2021
School/Residency, Exodus: School of Expression
Airport Studio, Richmond, VA
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2021
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Residency, Winter/Spring Incubator Residency 2021
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Exhibition, Cloister by Rachel Deboard
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Speaker Series, DJN Members Spotlight Pierce Gordon
Exhibition, Emerge by Ciaran McQuiston
Design Justice Network Care Session w Carolyn Jones
Design Justice Network Node Meetings
Los Angeles, Scotland, London, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Bay Area, Singapore, Mediterranea
Design Justice Network Reading Groups
Los Angeles, Scotland, London, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Bay Area, Singapore, Mediterranea
Speaker Series, DJN Members Spotlight Sarah Fathallah
Virtual
Speaker Series, DJN Members Spotlight Lesley-Ann Noel
Virtual
Exhibition, An Udder Disaster: A Selection of Work by Violet Luczak
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2020
Performance/Exhibition, Scenes from The Weight of Air
CMAP Detroit
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Presentation, Principles ot Work in Civic Tech: Book talk with Cyd Harrel
Virtual
Design Justice Network Node Meetings
Los Angeles, Scotland, London, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Bay Area, Singapore, Mediterranea
Speaker Series, DJN Members Spotlight Leila Sidi
Virtual
Exhibition, Amorpha work by Rebekah Sweda
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Exhibition, Where you can find her, Scenes of home: Works by Laura D. Gibson
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Conference, Design Justice Network: Network Gathering
Allied Media Conference, Virtual (Detroit, MI)
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2020
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Presentation, Design Justice 101- Unpack and Interact with the 10 principles of Design Justice
Virtual

2019
Action/Gathering, The Great Sankofa, Juneteenth Celebration
NO New Jails Coalition, Detroit, MI
Residency, Poetic Computation: Detroit
School for Poetic Computation
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Design Justice Network Node Meetings
Los Angeles, Scotland, London, Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Bay Area, Singapore, Mediterranea
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2019
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Workshop, The People’s Paper Co-op: Collage Workshop
Detroit Justice Center
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2018
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2018
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Design Justice Network Track
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

2017
Performance/Exhibition, Beware of the Dandelions
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Design Justice Network Track
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2017
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Workshop, Creative Many Resonant Detroit Workshop Part 2
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2016
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2016
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Convening, “Outside the XY” Detroit Book Release
The Baltimore Gallery, Detroit, MI
Educational Tour, Explore the Northeast Detroit Tour
Two Way Inn, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Design Justice Network Gathering
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Complex Movements Translocal Network Gathering
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Curatorial Support, Design Justice: An Exhibit of Emerging Design Practices
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

2015
Event Planning and Support, Stolen Birthdays: In support of the Mothers Against Police Brutality
Sandaga 813, Dallas, TX
Summit, Cross Pollinating Youth Movements
Roots Young Adult Shelter, Seattle, WA
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2015
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Complex Movements Translocal Network Gathering
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Future Design Lab
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI
Event Hosting, Perform Midwest: Incubating Interdisciplinary Research
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2014
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2014
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI
Conference Planning, Complex Movements Translocal Network Gathering
Allied Media Conference, Detroit, MI

2013
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2013
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

2012
Residency, Summer Incubator Residency 2012
Talking Dolls, Detroit, MI

COMMITTEES

2020
Committee Member, Foundation in Art: Theory and Education

2019
Nominator, USA Fellowship

2018
Nominator, USA Fellowship
USA Fellowship

2018
Guest Juror, Penny Stamps Undergraduate Show
University of Michigan

2017
Committee Member, MFA Advisory Board Committee
New Mexico Highlands University

Advisory Council
Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts

LZH

All images, works and text copyright Wesley Taylor.