Displaying items by tag: cooperhewitt national design museum

On Saturday, May 17, the 26th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) will open at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. This year’s fair will feature over 570 exhibitors offering everything from furniture and seating to carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, wall coverings, accessories, and textiles. For the first three days of the fair, admission is exclusive to trade professionals, including interior designers, architects, retailers, developers, manufacturers, store designers, and visual merchandisers. On Tuesday, May 20, the show will open to the general public.

Widely regarded as one of world’s trendiest design fairs, the ICFF is the go-to venue for designers looking to unveil their latest creations to the public. This year’s show features exhibitors from 38 countries, including well-known design hubs such as Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Around 30,000 attendees are expected to visit the Javits Center and browse the show’s encyclopedic offerings.

Christopher W. Mount, former Architecture and Design Curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, announced that he will open two eponymous galleries -- one in Los Angeles and another in New York City. The California outpost is housed in the Pacific Design Center, a multi-use facility for the design community, and will open to the public on Friday, May 23. The New York gallery, located on the Upper West Side, will be open by appointment only. Both locations will specialize in architecture and design-related material. 

Mount, a curator, writer, and educator specializing in 20th- and 21st-century architecture, design, and graphics, is an active member of the Los Angeles design scene. Last year, he organized the Museum of Contemporary Art’s (MOCA) troubled exhibition, “A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture from Southern California.” The show faced multiple delays, which Mount said was the result of mismanagement at MOCA. The exhibition took place while the museum’s controversial director, Jeffrey Deitch, was still at the helm.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York received $5 million from the city to be put toward its $79 million renovation project. The city has already contributed $9.3 million to the endeavor.

The Cooper-Hewitt is the only museum in the United States devoted to historical and contemporary design. Located in the former home of steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, the museum has been closed since 2011 while the building and its surrounding gardens are being restored and expanded. The Cooper-Hewitt is slated to reopen by fall 2014.

The museum began campaigning in 2006, hoping to raise $79 million for the renovation and $10 million for its endowment. Officials say that over 90% of the funds have been raised. When the project reaches completion, the Cooper-Hewitt will have a new third-floor gallery and 60% more exhibition space, enabling it to present a more significant portion of its collection as well as major design exhibitions.