NYCxDesign 2018: WantedDesign Returns to Manhattan and Brooklyn

Manhattan: May 19–22, Terminal Stores Building, 209 11th Ave.
Brooklyn: May 17–21, Industry City, 274 36th St.
wanteddesignnyc.com

WantedDesign has established itself as an international venue for idea exchange and the design community. Cofounded by Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat in 2011 as a “crossroads of culture and commerce,” and taking place at two locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the week-long festival continues to deepen its commitment to fostering young talent and showcasing design that tackles “current and future challenges, in terms of sustainability or social responsibility,” says Pijoulat.

WantedDesign Manhattan will bring attention to international designers and brands in dedicated group exhibits from Finland, Colombia, Turkey, Mexico, and Chile, while continuing to champion young designers with Launch Pad, presented with Design Milk and Design Within Reach, which showcases emerging furniture and lighting visionaries. The fair also spotlights designers from around North America with Look Book, a new exhibit and publication that will introduce top architecture and interior firms to independent makers.

In Brooklyn, WantedDesign will launch IC Design Festival, which expands the festival’s five-year collaboration with the borough’s Industry City. “Industry City is becoming a pretty amazing creative district, with about 7,000 people working here every day,” says Hainaut. Visitors will have the chance to view a slice of that creative production during IC Open Studios.

In addition to studio visits, IC Design Festival by WantedDesign will include installations, talks, and panels. As in Manhattan, many events highlight work by young designers; Wanted Career Day, geared toward students, returns for its second year. Meanwhile, a range of programs, like the Conscious Design exhibition, actively engages issues of sustainability, social responsibility, and diversity across disciplines. Hainaut and Pijoulat will curate Couleur, an exhibition of work by pioneering French women designers, and, in partnership with the French embassy and its partner FACE, they commissioned a vivid mural by French artist Camille Walala on the facade of one of Industry City’s buildings.

Elsewhere in Brooklyn, an informal series of events is planned in the neighborhood of Red Hook, home to a number of designer and artist studios and fabrication labs. On May 19 and 20, visitors are invited to walk the neighborhood and visit open studios.

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