Opening January 2026, A World in the Making: The Shakers brings contemporary works, including newly commissioned pieces, by an interdisciplinary cohort of artists—including Reggie Wilson, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Christien Meindertsma, Finnegan Shannon, David Hartt, Chris Liljenberg Halstrøm, and Amie Cunat—into conversation with over 150 Shaker objects.

This January 2026, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Philadelphia opens A World in the Making: The Shakers, a major traveling exhibition examining the enduring design reverberations of the Shakers, a centuries-old separatist religious community whose minimalist and functional design principles have influenced generations of artists and makers.

Opening January 31 and running through August 9, 2026, the exhibition features a selection of newly commissioned and existing works by seven international contemporary artists—whose practices reflect on faith, form, and collective life—shown alongside more than 150 original Shaker objects dating back as early as the 18th century, including furniture, tools, textiles, and everyday goods. A World in the Making: The Shakers is co-organized by Vitra Design Museum, ICA Philadelphia, Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Wüstenrot Foundation in collaboration with Shaker Museum.

Founded in England in the mid-18th century, the Shakers emigrated to the American colonies in 1774, establishing 18 communities whose furniture, domestic objects, and architecture were celebrated for radical simplicity and innovations in standardization and serial production. Today, their influence endures not only through form but through values that continue to shape contemporary practice: intentionality, ethical craftsmanship, accessibility, and collective care.

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