In the spirit of the NYCxDESIGN theme, Design Connects Us, IDSA NYC, with support from Shift+Alt Events, presents a curated program exploring our most fundamental bond: the universal ways we sense and experience our world. We all listen, through vibration or sound. It’s a sense that connects us, a quiet constant beneath everything.

Design has shaped our shared listening experience, carrying the human voice across continents, from the Bell Telephone to the cellphone; and opening music to all, from the wax cylinder to today’s infinite music stream. And yet these auditory objects—precise, beautiful, and made from precious materials—too often fall silent. Discarded when broken, outdated, or simply outgrown, their value fades long before their potential does.

But if design led us here, it can lead us somewhere better. That somewhere is Bang & Olufsen's SoHo flagship space. Join us for an evening of ideas and atmosphere: a dialogue and live demonstration exploring Bang & Olufsen's design choices and business models that enable circularity of their iconic audio systems.

Then circular ideas give way to circulating records as we put these audio systems to the test in a listening party.

Program Highlights:

Wavelength Performance

Not For Granted Studio presents a contemporary dance performance that brings movement to the circular economy. In collaboration with All(Ways) Dance Company and WolfCo Design, Wavelengths reimagines legacy B&O telephones as luminous sonic instruments of communication, exploring how new connections are made by transforming the old.

Vibration Listening Party

We close the evening with a live DJ set by Mythique, putting Bang & Olufsen’s iconic systems to the test with a soundscape rooted in Funk, Disco, and French House.

Join us for drinks and conversation as we celebrate the possibilities of circular design.

We are proud to feature an exquisite selection of non-alcoholic refreshments by Curious Elixirs, alongside beer and wine service generously provided by our hosts, Bang & Olufsen.

This event, created in partnership with Bang & Olufsen, is part of IDSA NYC’s collaborative Five Senses series, developed in partnership with Women In Design NYC, a chapter organization under IDSA NYC. Through this series, IDSA NYC contributes programming that explores the five senses as a shared human foundation, in alignment with the NYCxDESIGN Festival theme Design Connects Us. Across this exploration, we wonder how sensory-driven approaches shape the way we experience, interpret, and design the world around us.

This event is invite-only. A press preview will be held prior to the event. Media inquiries may be directed to [email protected].