A look at last year’s NYCxDESIGN opening night festivities. Photo: Rune Stokmo
The 2024 NYCxDESIGN Festival is set to take place May 16-23, 2024, bringing immersive programming that spotlights the top art and design in the city and beyond. With a theme of “Design Is All Around Us,” the event is emblematic of NYCxDESIGN’s commitment to highlighting community, inclusivity and the broad coalition of design disciplines across the industry.
“The NYCxDESIGN Festival plays a vital role in promoting the city’s design culture, unifying its creative capital through all design disciplines, drawing significant exposure and opportunities to New York City as a design destination,” said NYCxDESIGN’s Executive Director Ilene Shaw.
Get ready for engaging events, inspiring exhibitions, public installations, international trade fairs and new keynote programming with our 2024 NYCxDESIGN Festival guide.
Ceramicist Sunshine Thacker’s unique planters will be on display at ICFF.
Plan Your 2024 NYCxDESIGN Festival Visit
Major Events
Kicking things off this year is the NYCxDESIGN Opening Night Party partnered with (and located at) Mercer Labs on May 16, with the After Party presented by Kouros in partnership with Surface Magazine at Spring Studios directly following. (Get your tickets for both events here.)
On May 20, the 9th annual NYCxDESIGN Awards Ceremony presented by Interior Design, spotlights the work of the area’s top creatives, and for the first time ever, has expanded eligibility beyond Manhattan and its boroughs, embracing the entire creative landscape of New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Looking for more trade-related events? Head to the Javits Center for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) May 19-21. ICFF highlights contemporary furniture design with an emphasis on original and sustainable design. Hundreds of brands will exhibit their latest projects, including Luxe profiled ceramicist Sunshine Thacker.
Ready For Residential
From covetable craft to new furnishings, home design lovers have much to explore during Design Week. First up, artisan furniture and lighting manufacturer John Pomp will have an open house (located in Manhattan) featuring their latest collection of abstracted organic works. (Fun fact: Each piece is made from scratch in their 65,000 sq. ft. Philadelphia studio using a combination of modern techniques and old-world craftsmanship.) Also in Manhattan, Ethan Allen’s newly re-envisioned Design Center will welcome visitors to take a sneak peek of some never-before-seen products. For the clever and quirky, take a trip to Common Things, a story-forward shop of everyday objects. The shop will present “Finding the light,” a showcase of charismatic lighting that seeks to illuminate the joys of daily life through the lens of innovative, surprising and sometimes surrealist design.
Madison Avenue gets ready for NYCxDESIGN. Photo: © Julienne Schaer
Design Districts
Design makes its way across the boroughs through an assortment of installations and exhibitions. Taking center stage in the Flatiron South Public Plaza, Flatiron NoMad Improvement District will unveil a groundbreaking public art installation for the Festival that fosters connection, both in-person and across the globe, in celebration of this year’s theme. Pencil in time to also head over to the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District to explore the 2nd annual Madison Avenue Design Week, from May 16-23, hosting bespoke collection viewings, curated experiences and more. Then on May 18, celebrate the 10th anniversary of SoHo Design District during Soho Design Day Out, featuring national and international brands. Not to be missed is “Design Day at the Yard” on May 18 sponsored by the Brooklyn Navy Yard, filled with events that celebrate diversity in design, sustainability and the importance of supporting local designers. Last but certainly not least, visit Union Square through May 17, where a 7,500-square-foot asphalt mural will be on full display as part of the 4th annual East 14th Street mural presented by Union Square Partnership, in collaboration with the NYC Department of Transportation Art Program.
New + Notable
The NYCxDESIGN Keynote Series
The 2024 Festival marks the premiere of the NYCxDESIGN Keynote series, a platform conceived to invite sharing, educating, learning and uniting. Top designers and brands from around the world will present and explore their inspiring visions of architecture, interior design, technology, product design and more. Tickets are open to the public and design community.
Keynotes include:
- “Supercharging Creativity & Design with AI” presented by Adobe, May 16
- “Unity not Uniformity”presented by IBM, May 17, “Vision for Visionaries: Design in AR”presented by MagicLeap, May 20
- Architecture Keynote presented by the National September 11th Memorial & Museum, May 21
- “Get Smart: Embracing Smart Technology in Design”presented by Samsung, May 22
The NYCxDESIGN Festival App
The first-ever NYCxDESIGN Festival app with Bloomberg Connects is here, sure to help creativity surge in each of the boroughs by weaving each of their design communities together for one week of vibrant art and design. The app is free-to-download and will also have a map view, guiding users directly to their chosen events.
Learn more about the Festival at nycxdesign.org.
