19 essential exhibitions to see during NYCxDesign 2026
Ahead of design week NYCxDesign 2026, Dezeen has rounded up exhibitions around New York City, from exhibitions by large brands to collectives of independent designers, such as one show dedicated to nightlights and another to birds.
New York City's design extravaganza continues to stretch outside of its formal dates, officially 14 to 20 May. Designers from all over the city and the world will gather to show work, with a huge emphasis on smaller-format pieces after the grandstanding at Milan design week.
The event, which combines design fairs such as Afternoon Light Design Fair and ICFF with talks, parties, showroom openings and smaller-scale DIY shows across the city, is kicking off early this year, starting 8 May weekend with the returning Head Hi Lamp show, the design show Tangent in Brooklyn and newcomer exhibition Co+Hab.
Otherwise, it's business as usual, with curators, designers, and brands exhibiting work in hotels, in apartments, and even on a terrace in Brooklyn by emerging talents and seasoned pros.
Read on for 19 exhibitions selected by Dezeen's editorial staff.
For more events during New York's design week, check out Dezeen's NYCxDesign event guide.
Elsewhere, Still Ours
Elsewhere, Still Ours will take place in a single room at the Standard, East Village and brings together nine Korean artists and designers who explore their personal identities through traditional materials such as hanji, hemp and clay.
The exhibition is curated by John Kim and Sandy Park of Parkim Agency and will occupy an exhibition space in the back of the hotel's restaurant, fronting its lush Manhattan courtyard.
10 to 15 May, The Standard, East Village
Dudd Lite: Dudd Haus x The Future Perfect
Philadelphia-based collective Dudd Haus, with support from Bocci, returns to NYCxDesign with a show centred on plug-in nightlights featuring designers such as Lindsey Adelman and Bethan Laura Wood, plus some local and emerging talents.
The show is the "brainchild" of The Future Perfect's managing director Laura Young and Dudd Haus co-founders Chris Held and Charles Constantine, and will be presented throughout The Future Perfect's West Village townhouse.
12 May to June, The Future Perfect, West Village
Objetos de Hojalata para el Hogar: Cranbrook Industrial Design
Cranbrook Industrial Design students will each present two household objects they created during a collaborative workshop in Guadalajara for the Objetos de Hojalata para el Hogar show, which takes its name from local objects made from rolled and embossed sheet metal.
It will be presented in the Maharam New York showroom and was developed in collaboration with Cranbrook Academy of Art artist-in-residence Leon Ransmeier and visiting artist Fabien Cappello.
14 to 28 May, Maharam New York, Gramercy Park
One Night Stand - What We Bring to Bed: American Design Club
Brooklyn-based platform The American Design Club has put together a show at the CitizenM New York Bowery hotel that will showcase furniture and small-scale household items by designers inlcuding Christan Borger and Mary Angela.
"The exhibition explores the objects, rituals, and identities that shape our space as we prepare for sleep", said the team.
14 to 20 May, CitizenM New York, Bowery
Amica Collection for Assembly Line: Christopher Merchant x Kawabi
Brooklyn-based design studio Assembly Line recently expanded its operations with the Assembly Line Annex gallery, which is located in the studio's new Tribeca HQ.
To inaugurate the space for NYCxDesign, the studio worked with designers Christopher Merchant and Aaron and Irisa Chan-Kawabi of Kawabi to create a 10-piece lighting collection that merges their sensibilities and materials of choice.
14 to 17 May, Assembly Line Annex gallery, Tribeca
Safe & Sound: Slow Construct x Leroy Street Studio
Local design platform Slow Construct and architecture office Leroy Street Studio have teamed up to present the Safe & Sound exhibition in the studio's ground street space, Allen Street Gallery in the Lower East Side.
The group show includes work by Han Seungmin and Studio S II and "considers how objects are associated with and evoke feelings of comfort, protection, and belonging within dwellings".
15 May to 26 June, Allen Street Gallery, Lower East Side
High-Touch
Held at MillerKnoll's New York gallery at 251 Park Avenue South, High-Touch is a design history exhibition that combines archival furniture pieces, drawings and photographs from work by designers Joseph D'Urso and Ward Bennett, both pioneers of the high-tech design movement of the 1970s.
Curated by writer Luke Baker, the exhibition "reframes New York minimalism not as a reductive aesthetic, but as a deeply hands‑on practice", according to the team.
15 May to October, MillerKnoll New York, Flatiron District
Frame in Frame – Swiss Design in Motion: Consulate General of Switzerland in New York
Curated by Christian Herren and presented by the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York, Frame in Frame is a large-scale installation that will be on view in WSA in Downtown Manhattan.
The installation centres around a display of experimental films produced in Switzerland between the 1960s and 1990s, projected onto a variety of surfaces, including a pavilion designed by Ben Ganz, which is a reconfiguration of Andreas Christen's Lehni aluminium system.
15 to 20 May, 161 Water Street, Seaport
Put Together: Placed
Montana art and design gallery Placed has curated group show Put Together, with about a dozen studios that " approach the rules of their craft with the spirit of anarchy".
Work by designers such as Dotan Appelbaum, beeep, and Studio Ahead will be on display in a newly renovated street-level space at an art-deco office tower.
15 to 16 May, 32 Avenue of the Americas, Tribeca
In My Dreams All the Furniture is Dancing: Crina Arghirescu-Rogard x Aurore Vullierme
Cultural institution Villa Albertine is producing a week-long group show as part of Oui Design! Festival, which is focused on French design within the broader sphere of New York design culture.
Curated by Crina Arghirescu-Rogard and Aurore Vullierme, the show will take place in a penthouse apartment that was recently overhauled by Arghirescu-Rogard in the American Thread Building.
16 to 20 May, American Thread Building penthouse, Tribeca
Food Form Function: Pinch x USM
Local caterer and studio Pinch Food Design is teaming up with Swiss furniture brand USM to create an installation in USM's SoHo flagship store.
Eight bespoke USM pieces, designed in collaboration with Pinch, will be presented alongside food items to "explore the blurred lines between cuisine, service, and spectacle".
16 May to 19 June, USM Modular Furniture, SoHo
ICFF: Wanted
Wanted takes up about 20,000 square feet of showroom floor in the larger furniture fair ICFF and showcases a slew of emerging and student talent from around North America.
Many design studios will be on show, including Pennsylvania studio Unform Studio, which will present its new Penna Collection, a series of chairs informed by traditional American craft.
17 to 19 May, The Javits Center, Hudson Yards
Afternoon Light Design Fair
Afternoon Light Design Fair, co-founded by Minya Quirk and Deirdre Maloney, returns for its second annual edition to skyscraper-turned-creative hub WSA with over 75 exhibitors.
Highlights include a music installation by USM in collaboration with Symbol Audio and an IKONstudio and Rarify installation, all set among "immersive exhibitions, new product launches, shopping, music, food, and a dynamic, multi-level show floor".
17 to 19 May, 161 Water Street, Seaport
144 Vanderbilt Avenue
Multiple shows will be held in residences and social spaces at 144 Vanderbilt Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, which was recently completed by architecture studio SO-IL and developed by Tankhouse.
Nothing Comes From Nothing
Curated by interior design studio Office of Tangible Space and furniture platform Verso, Nothing Comes From Nothing pairs a contemporary work with a historic piece, such as an Alvar Aalto chair. It will be held in a ground-floor exhibition space.
14 to 19 May
Espasso Apartment
Office of Tangible Space will also present a curated apartment in 144 Vanderbilt, filled with pieces by Brazilian furniture gallery Espasso. The show is by appointment.
13 to 27 May
Paraphernalia
Periodic exhibition Paraphernalia returns to NYCxDesign with a group show exploring the "political designation and rhetorical weapon" of the term "alien".
14 to 19 May
A Loose Grip
Brooklyn-based woodworker Luke Malaney will present his first curated design exhibition in apartment 3E of the building, focused on work that "resonates with his own".
13 May to 19 May
144 Vanderbilt Avenue, Fort Greene
Body Language: Bower Studios
Design studio Bower Studios is presenting a group show at the jewellery and homeware showroom Mociun in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Works range from furniture to oil paintings and include pieces by Alexis & Ginger and Chen Chen & Kai Williams.
19 May to 27 June, Mociun, Williamsburg
Inside Out: Kin & Company
Brooklyn-based design and fabrication studio Kin & Company has returned to curate its fifth edition of the outdoor show Inside~Out as part of programming for the Dumbo Design District.
Over 30 independent design studios will showcase work designed for both humans and birds "to relax, connect, learn, and be inspired by each other", according to the team.
18 to 22 May, 45 Main Street, 10th Floor Terrace, Dumbo
NYCxDesign takes place from 14 to 20 May. For more events in architecture and design, visit Dezeen Events Guide.
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