About
Charlie has been a Curator of the Prison Creative Arts Project’s Annual Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners since 2013. A visual artist, his works on paper and community-engaged projects have been exhibited at Apex Art & First Street Gallery in NYC, Word Detroit Gallery, The Prairie Center for the Arts, Detroit Design Festival, The Soap Factory in Minneapolis, Project Gallery in Tornto and the KNUST Museum in Kumasi, Ghana.
In addition to his work with PCAP Charlie Michaels is Associate Director for Experiential Learning & Lecturer at the Center for Socially Engaged Design (C-SED) at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. He leads C-SED’s experiential learning programs including serving as the instructor for C-SED’s fieldwork course which places students with global, cross sector partner organizations.
Charlie was previously Coordinator of Social Engagement programs at the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design. At Stamps, Charlie managed a suite of courses and partnerships with Detroit schools, including an Artist & Designer In-classroom Residency Program. Charlie has designed and taught community engaged arts & design courses with partners nationally and internationally in Ghana, Indonesia, Ecuador, Bangladesh, and India.
Charlie is a Creative Community Fellow at National Arts Strategies and the Center for Social Impact Strategies at University of Pennsylvania and has been awarded grants and residencies from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Vermont Studio Center, and The Ragdale Foundation. Charlie holds a MFA from the University of Michigan in Interdisciplinary Art & Design and a BFA from Bradley University.