NYCxDESIGN is guided by core values of community, creativity, inclusivity, diversity, and sustainable design for the greater good. Beyond our annual Festival, our year-round programming provides a platform for NYC’s diverse design talent, from students and emerging designers to seasoned professionals. Each program fosters connection, education, and inspiration, empowering the next generation to use design as a powerful tool for positive impact and addressing the world’s most pressing needs.

Saya Woolfalk: Empathic Universe

Museum of Arts and Design 2 Columbus Circle, USA

The first retrospective of the artist’s two decades of world-building installations, the exhibition showcases Woolfalk’s ambitious fictional narrative of an imagined race of women known as “Empathics.” Woolfalk has created for the Empathics’ their own distinctive visual imagery, symbolism, and folklore, which reflect her investigations of African, African American, Japanese, European, and Brazilian art, craft, and storytelling. In this parable told through garment-based sculptures, video, paintings, works on paper, and performances, cultures mix, clash, and are ultimately transformed through shared understanding.

Davis Center at the Harlem Meer Tour

Tour Starts at the Dana Center Mid-Park between 106-108 Street, walking access from 110th Street and Malcolm X Blvd The closest subway stop is Central Park North 2 and 3 trains, New York, New York, United States

Join us this spring for a walking tour of the Davis Center at Harlem Meer. Designed by Central Park Conservancy's landscape architects, Susan T. Rodriguez Architecture, and Mitchell Giurgola, the tour explores the restored landscape, green roof, boardwalk, and enhanced access to the park’s natural beauty and waterfront year-round.

Micro and Macro: A Conversation on Interior Design and Architecture

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 2 East 91st Street, New York, NY, United States

A conversation with 2025 National Design Award winner Little Wing Lee and architect Frida Escobedo about their work and the multifaceted relationship between interior designers and architects. Gain insight into their respective design approaches and hear more about how they continue to think on micro and macro scales together.

A Fresh Day In Harlem

Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel 233 W 125th Street, New York, United States

A Fresh Day in Harlem — May 20, 2025 Renaissance Harlem Hotel, 125th Street All events are free and open to the public. 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM Public Talks […]