NYCxDESIGN: the highlights

Once a well-kept secret, American designers and craftspeople are now finding the respect they deserve this side of the Atlantic.

You only have to look at last September’s US showcase Assembly at the London Design Fair to see the energy and originality currently exuding from the country’s design scene. NYCxDesign, which runs between 11-23 May, is an opportunity to catch US designers on home turf. Popping up in locations all around the city’s five districts, here are our top picks of the exhibitions and events to explore.

Camille Walala: Sunset Park mural

WantedDesign Brooklyn, Industry City

17 May 2018 – ongoing

Working on her tallest mural yet (a 40m-high whopper in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park), London’s Camille Walala is set to transform a somewhat drab seven-storey block of artists’ studios into a beacon of exuberance. Organised by WantedDesign – the international design fair at the heart of the NYCxDESIGN programme, Camille’s monolithic project will create a 3D-effect facade. Her design riffs on the repeated pattern formed by the building’s windows, with a colour palette inspired by the sunset light that bathes the structure at dusk.

Conscious Design

WantedDesign Brooklyn, Industry City

17-21 May 2018

Also taking place at WantedDesign’s Brooklyn outpost, exhibition Conscious Design really looks up Zetteler’s street. Showcasing international design projects that aim to do good as well as pushing creative boundaries, Conscious Design brings together a range of different projects that tackle environmental, social and political challenges. We’re particularly excited about the Biodesign Challenge (a university competition that has paired design students with scientists to envision future applications of biotechnology) and Save our Souls, an emergency shelter created by16-year-old designer Achilleas Souras from abandoned life jackets.

Field Studies

Offsite, 201 Mulberry Street

17-21 May 2018

US design bible Sight Unseen has paired 13 designers with creatives from the worlds of food, fashion, film, art, and music and tasked them to collaborate on designing a piece of furniture. A lovely idea, but what’s incredible is the calibre of talent they’ve managed to ensnare – hotshot Hollywood actors Seth Rogen and Jason Schwartzman for example. We can’t wait to see the results.

Brooklyn Designs

Brooklyn Museum

11-13 May 2018

Brooklyn Designs – the trade show hub of the borough’s design week activity – has a new home this year in the excellent Brooklyn Museum. We’re particularly impressed with the talks programming for 2018, with panel discussion Women in Design at the Forefront of Change (on 13 May at 4pm, featuring Frances Bronet from the Pratt Institute, Lora Appleton of Female Design Council & kinder MODERN, A/D/O’s  Alyse Archer Coite and Jessica Iwaniec of Pembrooke & Ives) looking particularly inspiring.

Norway x New York

Offsite, 201 Mulberry Street

17-21 May 2018

It’s no secret that we’re big into Norwegian design, so this collaborative project between a set of Norwegian creatives and their American counterparts brought us a great deal of delight. Surprisingly similar in terms of their design scenes, both countries have more young, skilled designers than they do manufacturers, and both are moving towards models of self-initiated production and distribution. Also hosted at Sight Unseen’s Offsite show, the exhibition features Zetteler faves Ann Kristin Einarsen and Stine Aas, as well as a wealth of other emerging talents.