NYCxDESIGN Suspends May Festival, Announces Fall Programming

This morning, NYCxDESIGN announced that due to growing concern surrounding COVID-19 and in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s recommendation on large-scale events, the May festival is being suspended. NYCxDESIGN will instead present programming this October, timed to align with a month of significant design events planned across the city, such as the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum’s National Design Week, Archtober, the Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF), and Open House New York Weekend.  The NYCxDESIGN Awards program will continue to honor the design community in May, as planned, with virtual programming followed by a fall live event.

“NYCxDESIGN was conceived to bring New York together in celebration of the incredible talent in the city, and the tremendous examples of international design that are shown here. Gathering our community around design is so central to the work we do that, given the concerns around COVID-19, we are shifting from our annual Festival in May to a reconceived fall program to ensure the safety and well-being of all who participate in and visit NYCxDESIGN,” noted Edward Hogikyan, Vice President and Executive Director of NYCxDESIGN.

“NYCEDC supports the decision to suspend May’s NYCxDESIGN programming. We are fully committed to continuing our efforts in support of the design sector and its many contributions to New York City,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James Patchett.

The NYCxDESIGN Awards will continue on the same schedule as before, with awards announced in May in a digital ceremony, followed by an event coinciding with fall programming.

“As we’ve spoken with our partners and colleagues across the city and around the world, we’ve been heartened by the desire to present a dynamic program this October. Though our May festival could not move forward as planned, we are glad to be able to continue with the NYCxDESIGN Awards digitally to honor and celebrate the designers of today,” said Adam Sandow, Chairman and Founder of SANDOW, operator of NYCxDESIGN.

NYCxDESIGN: The Magazine, which has received enthusiastic support from New York’s design community through submissions from leading designers as well as rising stars, will now be published in the fall, ahead of the announced programming.

Metropolis will publish a New York City Design Guide in September, in lieu of the Official Guide to NYCxDESIGN in May.

Since 2004, Metropolis has provided the essential New York resource for architects and designers, first in the form of the New York City Design Guide and then as the Official Guide to NYCxDESIGN.

In 2020, the New York City Design Guide will anticipate New York’s rich calendar of design events in September and October, including Archtober, Open House New York, and the fall programming of NYCxDESIGN, but will include information that architects and designers can use throughout the year.

The Guide will pack neighborhood maps, showroom listings, and cultural highlights into a handy pocket-book size, all specifically curated for architects and designers from all over the world, helping them navigate everything that New York City has to offer.

New York City’s architectural heritage is so rich that even locals are routinely surprised by the hidden design gems the city has to offer. The Guide will showcase some of the city’s most unique and unexpected architectural landmarks, alongside architectural walking tours of several neighborhoods that will give architects and designers plenty to take in this fall.

Another special feature of the Guide will be navigational tools for some of the city’s most important destinations for professional interior designers—the New York Design Center and the A&D Building, among others.

Next year, Metropolis will resume its publication of the Official Guide to NYCxDESIGN, as a companion to the May 2021 edition of NYCxDESIGN: The Festival.