NYCxDESIGN FESTIVAL

Details

The NYCxDESIGN Festival returns May 14–20, 2026, bringing together more than 163,000 designers, innovators, industry leaders, and enthusiasts for a week-long celebration of creativity, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Established in 2012 as New York City’s official design week, the festival has grown into one of the world’s leading design gatherings, activating all five boroughs of the city with dynamic programming.

“NYCxDESIGN represents a global platform that showcases the ideas, talent, and innovation that make New York City such an influential design destination, and home to the largest concentration of creatives per capita anywhere,” said Ilene Shaw, Executive Director of NYCxDESIGN.

Key events include the following highlights:
May 14, 6:00 pm ET, NYCxDESIGN Festival Opening Night Party, at Halo Twenty Eight —
The festival’s official kickoff event sets the tone for a week of creativity, connection, and celebration.

May 14–19, NYCxDESIGN Presents the Design Pavilion by Lexus in Times Square —
Lexus returns to the NYCxDESIGN Festival with an immersive installation blending design, craft, art, technology, and innovation.

May 14–20, NYCxDESIGN Exhibition: SHINE, at The Seaport —
SHINE builds on the success of the 2024 and 2025 Festival exhibitions. It features original light objects by 70 designers exploring craft, technology, personal expression, and function.

May 14–20, Oui Design! —
Presented by Villa Albertine, the fourth edition of Oui Design! celebrates French craft and design as an NYCxDESIGN International Spotlight, highlighting the evolving dialogue between French and American creative communities.

May 15, Friday Night on the Town —
New York City’s design districts are partnering with showrooms across the city to present showroom programming from 4:00–10:00 pm ET.

May 15–19, NYCxDESIGN Keynote Program —
Highlights include a featured talk on May 16 by Santiago Calatrava at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church & National Shrine, accompanied by a personal tour of the acclaimed Oculus guided by Gabriel Calatrava. Continuing the series’ exploration of design across disciplines, Hervé Descottes will guide New York in Light: A Night Boat Tour on May 17, showcasing the city’s skyline from the water through light, form, and iconic landmarks.

May 15–19, NYCxDESIGN Salon Series — This new series of salon-style open studio gatherings and conversations is curated in collaboration with INC Architecture & Design, an interdisciplinary design studio led by Adam Rolston.

May 15–19, NYCxDESIGN Tours — Featured tours include Defensible Dwelling and Placemaking in Brownsville: Live on Livonia, Harlem Sculpture Gardens, a tour of large-scale sculpture and design works installed across parks, plazas, and public spaces in West Harlem; and the Wagner Park Tour. The program also includes NYCxDESIGN High School Student Tours, which invite students to visit end-of-year exhibitions at participating institutions.

May 16–19, Afternoon Light Design Fair, at WSA —
Presenting 80+ carefully selected exhibitors across three days of discovery and commerce, the fair is open to trade and public audiences.

May 17–19, ICFF and WANTED, at the Javits Center —
Guided by the theme Common Ground: A Global Dialogue on Design and Shared Values, ICFF brings together the global design community and positions design as a unifying force.

May 18, NYCxDESIGN Awards Presented by Interior Design —
Now in its 11th year, the awards recognize outstanding projects and products across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, celebrating the diverse voices and creative contributions shaping the region’s design landscape.

May 18–19, Italian Trade Agency International Spotlight — Four curated tours will highlight Italian design and manufacturing showrooms across SoHo, NoMad, and Madison Avenue.

May 19, Future Now AI Summit, at Cornell Tech —
Responding to overwhelming demand, NYCxDESIGN’s AI Keynote expands into a full day of presentations and panels. Exploring AI as an evolving creative medium, the summit examines how this new creative medium is reshaping authorship, accelerating imagination, and challenging the very nature of design.

May 20, DUMBO Festival Closing Party — The festival’s closing celebration will follow DUMBO x Design Day programming throughout the district, including activations by BIG, Fishs Eddy, Henrybuilt, Hudson Wilder, Reform, and Snøhetta, among many others.

And across the festival, a vast array of 200+ events spanning diverse design disciplines will take place in all five boroughs, with a concentration of activity in the city’s distinct design districts, including Atlantic Avenue, DUMBO, Flatiron and NoMad Design District, Harlem Design District, Hudson Yards, Meatpacking, SoHo Design District, and Upper Madison Avenue.