WHQ Art Collection Honors Our Past, Inspires Our Future

With the doors officially open on Ford’s new state-of-the-art World Headquarters, many employees have already experienced how the vision extends far beyond concrete and glass. It's about creating an environment that truly embodies the spirit and legacy of Ford. 

Bringing Ford’s brand narrative to life through art and spatial storytelling are Ford Land’s Anuja Raja, global design strategist, and Rachael Smith, senior interior designer. To date, 786 pieces of art have been curated, commissioned, or created, and every piece contributes to the narrative in its own way. 

"The art is more than just decoration; we approach it from a storytelling perspective," Raja said. “We truly wanted to have a thread that connects all of our buildings globally.” 

That philosophy was launched during renovation of the Ford Experience Center, where works such as Detroit-based artist Tiff Massey’s “Quilt Code V: It’s Cold in the D” are displayed. The goal is to ensure that employees don't just know they're in a Ford building. They feel it.

The new 2.1-million-square-foot headquarters, the centerpiece of the company’s Dearborn campus, is designed to be a hub of collaboration and innovation. The holistic approach integrates architecture and interior design to craft an immersive experience. The integration of artwork plays an important role, with concepts that highlight the company’s past, present, and future. 

"It's a combination that includes furniture design, art, and workspace organization," Smith said. “The objective is to go beyond aesthetics and genuinely express the Ford brand in every detail.”

In partnership with Farmboy Fine Arts, the team has developed a strategy across Ford global workspaces. In addition to identifiable artwork, the team has developed thoughtful ways to include shades of Ford blue, nods to the iconic Blue Oval, product sketches from the archives, and displays of Ford’s legendary products, including selections from the heritage fleet. 

The curated collection at the new WHQ draws from the company archives, commissioned pieces from significant contemporary artists, many with Michigan ties, such as Beverly Fishman, Allie McGhee, Rosalind Tallmadge, James Benjamin Franklin, and Jack Henry. 

The goal is to ensure that as employees innovate in the new WHQ, they are surrounded by an environment that inspires and connects them to Ford’s rich history and reinforces their collective purpose.

Three pieces that Anuja and Smith say stand out, and which drew the attention of visitors touring the building during the recent WHQ grand opening celebration, include:

The Kit of Parts: Hanging inside the American Road Lobby, the piece uses 70 parts from a Bronco Raptor, painted white and assembled in collaboration with Greg Hutting, Ford digital design chief. “Kit of Parts was inspired by a piece at Ford Experience Center (FXC),” Raja said, “where you know the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”

Legacy of Colors: Comprised of more than 300 color domes that represent exclusive Ford vehicle colors dating back to the days of the Model T, the display is featured in the Oakwood Lobby. 

The Beauty of Speed: Those with access to the first-floor showroom will see a layered acrylic piece that brings a Ford GT to life as you move around the space. Showing a GT engulfed in flow lines and pressure patterns as seen in Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations, the piece illustrates the invisible beauty of the wind as it passes over a vehicle, but remains abstract as an ode to all vehicles past, present, and future, and artful visualization of automotive testing sciences.

Ford has been on a journey to transform employee workspaces around the world and has made significant strides. By 2027, more than 90% of global office employees will be in new or newly renovated workspaces. Our team has taken this opportunity to infuse these workspaces with not only the tools our employees need to work better, but also the design details that seamlessly work together to create a uniquely Ford environment — one that honors our legacy and inspires our future.