The Shakers: A World in the Making

A radically different way of living, expressed through design.

The Shakers: A World in the Making is the first major traveling exhibition to place extraordinary Shaker objects alongside the contemporary artists and designers they continue to inspire. Organized in partnership with the Vitra Design Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and featuring rare loans from the Shaker Museum, the exhibition brings together more than 150 historic objects and contemporary installations in a landmark exploration of design, ideas, and how we live.

Founded in the late 18th century, the Shakers, formally known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, built entire communities around equality, communal living, shared labor, and spiritual purpose. Their furniture, tools, textiles, architecture, and domestic objects reflected those beliefs, demonstrating how design could shape everyday life. Every object served a purpose. Every space was carefully considered. Nothing was made without intention.

Drawing from the largest and most comprehensive collection of Shaker material culture in the United States, the exhibition presents many historic objects that rarely travel. These works are shown in dialogue with contemporary artists and designers whose installations, sculpture, photography, performance, and design reflect on ideas central to Shaker life, including community, labor, sustainability, spirituality, accessibility, and the search for more intentional ways of living.

Through historic objects and immersive contemporary environments, visitors encounter the Shakers not as simply as makers of beautiful things, but as a community that imagined a radically different way of organizing society. At once visually striking and intellectually engaging, The Shakers: A World in the Making connects remarkable objects with enduring questions about how design shapes our lives and the kind of world we want to build together.

An exhibition organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Vitra Design Museum, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and the Wüstenrot Foundation, in collaboration with Shaker Museum, Chatham, NY.