The 2026 Annual Awards Banquet of the Society of Automotive Historians was held Saturday, September 19 at the historic Durant-Dort Factory One in Flint, Michigan. Considered the birthplace of General Motors, Factory One is where visionaries William C. Durant and Josiah Dallas Dort helped put the world on wheels and Flint, Michigan on the automotive map. The restored building’s grand exhibition hall – with antique vehicles and vintage articles parked on the floor – served as a perfect venue for a gathering of automotive historians.
As both the SAH Awards Chair and organization President, I was responsible not only for ‘encouraging’ the award panel chairs to submit their decisions in time for the ceremony, but also for all the particulars of the evening, including menu, presentation slides and script, programs, and the guest speaker. The last task is the trickiest; while past banquets have included presentations on automotive icons and obscure automobiles, my goal was to choose an individual who was both an unusual but ultimately appreciated choice. Last year – my first year in this position – I inadvertently hit the jackpot. I convinced an individual from my advertising past to talk about his collection of automotive advertising art. He was a hit, so much so that he recently gave his third presentation to a sold-out crowd of former advertising art directors, photographers, and illustrators.
When my first contact for 2026 did not pan out – a former automotive clay modeler who was unavailable that weekend – I racked my brain for someone who could discuss an aspect of automotive history unfamiliar to those in attendance. I remembered meeting Shelley Selim, the Detroit Institute of Arts Mort Harris Curator of Automotive, Industrial, and Decorative Art, at a book signing last year. I approached her about presenting to a group that most likely appreciated cars more than art, and she graciously accepted.
As someone who has a BFA in art as well as an interest in both automotive and art history, I found Shelley’s presentation – ‘Automotive Design at the Detroit Institute of Arts’ – to be fascinating. She began with a short history of the automobile in America’s art museums, moved on to past exhibits in the DIA, and followed with many examples of automotive illustration now in the museum’s collection. She concluded by alerting the audience to two exhibitions of automotive design scheduled to take place at the DIA within the next three years. Shelley’s presentation was informative, visually interesting, and accessible to a group somewhat unfamiliar with the subject matter.
Shelley also informed the audience that the DIA is actively collecting studio renderings for exhibition and preservation at the museum. Although a foundational gift provided most of the current examples, building the collection is a number one priority. She noted that in addition to storing the artifacts in accordance with the best standards in the industry, the museum will also be mounting temporary exhibitions and every piece acquired will be catalogued, photographed, and viewable on the DIA website. She encouraged those in attendance interested in contributing work to the collection to contact her for preservation instructions and information.
Although I was worried about the speaker’s reception at the banquet, I received much positive feedback from the guests in attendance. I was pleased – and relieved – that my unusual speaker choice was well received. I can’t thank Shelley enough for taking on the challenge of presenting to an assembly of automotive geeks. And as someone who resides in southeastern Michigan, I look forward to visiting the automotive illustration exhibits she will curate at the DIA in the not too distant future.
