TEDxDetroit presented by United Wholesale Mortgage, an annual gathering of the area’s leading thinkers, designers, entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, artists, and geeks, will return with a live event at The Icon Detroit. Tickets are on sale now at TEDxDetroit.com.

The popular day-long conference, which usually attracts thousands of attendees, will pivot to a smaller format to better protect the safety of our community. Only 330 tickets will be available for the theatre. TEDxDetroit will still feature the dynamic, short talks from creative minds designed to spark fresh thinking and collaborations.

Previous TEDxDetroit events have featured Pixar filmmakers, NASA scientists, autonomous vehicle pioneers, AR/VR creators, groundbreaking cancer researchers, and a host of startup founders alongside poets, magicians, and musicians. It’s an eclectic mix of speakers and performers you’ll only see at TEDxDetroit.

“The secret to creativity is cross-pollination,” said Charlie Wollborg, curator of TEDxDetroit and co-founder of Moka Boka Storybooks. “When we bring these blue-flame thinkers from different industries with different backgrounds together, we foster new connections and stretch the boundaries of what’s possible.”

“TEDxDetroit attendees have a positive attitude, great work ethic, and love to collaborate,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of UWM. “Those are exactly the kinds of people we want on our team at UWM and we are proud to return as a presenting sponsor.”

Many of Detroit’s icon theatres have hosted previous TEDxDetroit events, including the Fox, Orchestra Hall, The Opera House. This year’s venue is a beautiful place most people in Metro Detroit haven’t experienced – The Icon Detroit. The Icon’s 18-acre campus is situated along the Detroit Riverwalk with views of Belle Isle, Windsor, and the city skyline. It was the former home of the UAW/GM’s executive training center. Today, it’s a world-class office, technology, and event space that will soon be home to Detroit’s next great business success stories. 

“We really think it’s important to people back together in-person again,” said Terry Bean, TEDxDetroit Executive Producer and Vice President of Sales at PKIG, “Face-to-face networking will always beat pixel-to-pixel. The key is to do it safely and responsibly – and we’re building that into this year’s venue and event.”

“The Icon is a place that inspires all who visit to rethink what is possible – a lot like attending a TEDxDetroit event,” said Michael Scamardella, Sales, Leasing & Business Development Director for Lino Realty and one of the partners in Icon Detroit. “We’re delighted to host TEDxDetroit this year and welcome the creators and entrepreneurs to our campus.”

An additional block of tickets will be available for a socially distanced TEDxDetroit Viewing Party on the Icon Detroit campus, including access to the TEDxLabs expo – an art, technology, and small business exhibit area that happens alongside TEDxDetroit each year.

“The talks at TEDxDetroit get the gears in your mind turning,” said Anu Gopalakrishnan, TEDxDetroit Labs Director and Vice President at Kyyba Innovations. “TEDxLabs bring those talks to life. It’s an opportunity for attendees to get hands-on, co-create art projects, meet startup founders, demo innovative technologies, sample new products. It’s all designed to spark innovative ideas, foster collaboration, and inspire creativity.”

Leaders, innovators, performers, and exhibitors are encouraged to submit an application on the TEDxDetroit website for speaking and exhibiting opportunities. A selection committee will review all applications and inform hopefuls of the committee’s decisions. The deadline for submissions is October 1st, 2021.

TEDxDetroit will be adhering to CDC guidelines to make sure this event is safe for everyone. Vaccinations and masks are strongly encouraged. The event will follow state capacity restrictions. If you are unvaccinated, the event will be live-streamed on TEDxDetroit.com.