(US) – WantedDesign Manhattan announces its tenth edition highlights, new location and ambitious 2020 programming, as part of NYCxDESIGN.

WantedDesign Manhattan 2020 celebrates ten years of promoting North American design and bringing the best in global design to the US market. The anniversary is not only a benchmark of success for the past decade of WantedDesign, but also a harbinger of growth for the platform and its impact on behalf of the design industry in this and years to come. WantedDesign Manhattan’s co-location was also announced with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), run by Emerald, within the Javits Center, NYC.

The 2020’s program-wide emphasis on unity through design which emphasises WantedDesign’s dedication to promoting and celebrating all aspects of design. A new location, a new design experience Venezuelan born, New York-based designer Rodolfo Agrella and his studio are designing the entire WantedDesign Manhattan space. In doing so, they have interpreted the theme of unity as an embrace of the engagement between technology and nature, present and future. 

“I chose to reinforce the avant-garde spirit of the show,” says Agrella, “I am using the platform as a portal for the future by transforming a traditional exhibition space into an oasis inside the Javits Centre. The design sets the tone for a new consciousness in a new decade.” 

Conceiving of an inviting, physical envelope for the WantedDesign environment, Agrella has composed a path of continuous patios with contracting and expanding modular dividers that allow visitors to experience the space’s rotating activities and programmes.

The design creates a moment for guests to immerse themselves within the show grounds. Unity through design is particularly relevant as 2020 marks the year in which two industry powerhouses, ICFF and WantedDesign Manhattan, will be occurring directly alongside one another. Previously housed in the Terminal Store building, WantedDesign Manhattan is enthusiastic about its new residence.

WantedDesign Manhattan’s dedicated 20,000sqft within the Javits, which will maintain the WantedDesign identity and directorship of founders Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat; selections of exhibitors, programming schedules, and branding will remain distinct from ICFF, while badges to the shows will allow attendance to both.

Hainaut and Pijoulat are incredibly passionate about the move to the Javits, and are confident in Emerald as a partner for this new season of life for WantedDesign Manhattan. “After nine successful years at the Terminal Stores building, we’re excited to embark on the next chapter for WantedDesign Manhattan, and to bring the fair to a new level,” say Hainaut and Pijoulat. “We look forward to leveraging the resources of the ICFF, and benefiting from cross-promotion with the show, while also maintaining the identity and essence of WantedDesign Manhattan.

In its new location, WantedDesign Manhattan will continue to showcase its signature programs: American Design Honors presented with Bernhardt Design; Launch Pad presented with Design Milk and the support of EQ3; and Look Book presented with Dwell focusing on North American independent studios. It will also include Wanted Interiors with immersive and new visions for experiential interiors settings, the Design Milk and Clever live podcast and Conversation Series, as well as international and domestic group exhibitions from all corners of the globe through the Pavilion showcases. The new format in partnership with Emerald Expo will be NYCxDESIGN’s main destination in terms of scope of brands, designers and conversations.

wanteddesignnyc.com