It’s time to gear up. On May 16, New York’s design week, otherwise known as NYCxDesign, officially starts, and it’s looking like a good one. The week, which runs through May 23, will see a plethora of panels, exhibitions, soirées, and receptions staged throughout Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. In addition to AN-hosted and moderated shindigs, the festival is slated to be a stacked week for all things design. To help navigate the inbox’s unending invitations and ease any fear of missing out, here is AN’s guide—organized by location—on what to see during 2024’s NYCxDesign festival.
Time & Materials
Assembly Line
373 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11217
May 15 to June 23
Featuring work from Bowen Liu, Christopher Merchant, Danny Kaplan Studio, Fern, Fort Standard, General Assembly, Jaime Lindahl, Nick Sugihara, Pat Kim, Ravenhill Studio, and Steven Bukowski, Time & Materials is a group exhibition of furniture, lighting, and objects that puts materiality and process at the forefront. The show is curated by Assembly Line founders Colin Stief and Sarah Zames and uses a common design and architecture industry term, “time and materials,” as a reference point for the works on display.
Design Dysphoria
Studio S II
53 Scott Ave Suite 401 Brooklyn, New York 11237
May 18 to May 25
Curated by interiors firm Studio S II, textile artist Liz Collins, and glass and performance artist Grace Whiteside, Design Dysphoria is an exhibition featuring 17 architects, artists, and designers focusing on the importance of queer creative spaces, especially as they relate to the cultivation of art and design. The show includes Vivian Chu, Liz Collins, Pamela Council, Deborah Czeresko, and more creatives.
Designing Women IV: Eileen Gray’s “House For Two Sculptors”
Egg Collective
151 Hudson Street New York 10013
May 15 to June 15
Design firm Egg Collective returns to the annual, female-focused series Designing Women with a focus on Eileen Gray’s House For Two Sculptors, an unbuilt seaside villa envisioned by Gray that centers around an egg-shaped atelier. When Egg Collective came across the drawings, the studio was inspired to reenvision the home through careful staging of their Tribeca showroom. It features work by two sculptors—Taylor Kibby and Molly Haynes—as well as the latest furniture from the collective, including their newest: the cork-framed Eileen Mirror. The show serves as a reminder of the ways in which architecture has and still is structured around men.
The Head Hi Lamp Show
Head Hi
102 Franklin New York 10013
May 17 to May 19
The fifth edition of The Head Hi Lamp Show features the work of 54 designers. As with previous years, the art and design organization held an open invite for creatives across experiences to submit their work to be in the show. The resulting designs, chosen by cofounders Alexandra Hodkowski and Alvaro Alcocer, are based on a spectrum of price points, materials, and concepts. For the first time, the show will be held at an offsite location in Tribeca. Following the in-person exhibition, lamps will be for sale online from May 22 to October 2024 at Head Hi’s website.
Alchemist Collection
Lee Broom Penthouse (By Appointment Only)
May 12 to May 23
During the festival, Lee Broom is launching a new lighting collection, Alchemist, which focuses on the interconnection of sculptural metal forms containing light. The collection was inspired by the novel The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, applying a level of mysticism and folklore to the art of turning base metals into collectible design. This debut is the first time the designer and brand will launch a collection in the U.S.
Quarters
In Common With
383 Broadway, Floor 2 New York 10013
From lighting brand In Common With comes a new concept store, bar, and showroom: Quarters. The Tribeca loft acts as the full expression of the studio’s warm vision and appreciation of centuries-old craftsmanship. The space acts as both a gathering space for creatives as well as a gallery to debut the studio’s first-ever furniture collection.
Finding the Light
Common Things
76 East 7th Street, New York 10003
May 16 to May 23
Common Things, a story-forward home goods shop founded by architect Komal Kehar, presents Finding the Light, an exhibition of charismatic lighting from designers Edition CF, Blanca Codina, Ryoko Nakamura, Christopher Flechtner’s Triptych, and Juno Shen. The presentation merges whimsy, innovation, and surrealism to meditate on the small joys of everyday life.
Ettore Sottsass: Shapes, Colors, and Symbols
Raissonné
May 8 to June 2024
For design week, Raisonné presents a grand survey of Ettore Sottsass, comprising over 100 works across five decades of the architect and designer’s life. The colorful, radical collection combines both iconic pieces like the Ultrafragola mirror designed for Poltronova in 1970, as well as some rarer pieces in glass that Sottsass began experimenting with in the 1940s.
JONALDDUDD
Contact Sports
43 Mercer Street, New York 10013
May 18 to May 20
NYCxDesign’s longest running independent exhibition makes its return after a brief hiatus. The 2024 JONALDDUDD show continues to subvert the qualifiers and arbiters of design. The show, in line with the work’s offbeat sensibilities, is located in a former sex shop, Contact Sports, and features 30 works from 99flic, Alexis Tingey, Andrew Carter, Astraeus Clarke, Aydan Huseynli, beeep, and more creatives.
Mercer Street Block Party
May 17
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
On Friday, showrooms in Soho are opening their doors for an evening of conversation and celebration for the Mercer Street Block Party. The participating brands include Hem, Orior, Henrybuilt, Stellar Works, Roll & Hill, BDDW, and Kasthall.
Spring 2024 Design District Showroom Crawl
Nomad and Flatiron
May 16
6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
AN‘s annual Spring Design District Crawl connects showrooms across Flatiron and NoMad to gather the magazine’s community for drinks and conversation. Tour through Ligne Roset, Havwoods, Porcelanosa, Rimadesio, Toto, PID Floors, and Roca’s latest offerings—and get a sneak peek at the AN Interior’s Spring/Summer 2024 issue.
ICFF
Javits Center
May 19 to May 21
Of course, no NYCxDesign is complete without the anchoring fair: ICFF. The 35th edition features the second year of The Crossroads—an exhibition on American design by David Rockwell and Pei-Ru Keh—and will focus on sustainability. The fair also returns with a special spotlight on emerging designers under its platform WANTED and talks throughout the week—including a talk on sourcing local wood moderated by Jack Murphy, AN’s executive editor, and panels with architects Rossana Hu and Lyndon Neri.