US and Canada Art & Design Events 2022

Up from #3

Miami
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Art Basel Miami Beach, taking place Dec. 1-3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, as well as online via the return of Art Basel Live, the fair's digital collection of Online Viewing Rooms that launched in 2021 and allows attendees to view galleries and conversations with inspiring aficionados. It also marks a significant change in leadership, with Noah Horowitz (formerly the organization's Director of Americas from 2015-2021) coming back as CEO. With 282 exhibitors spanning 38 countries on display—plus the return of Art Basel’s Conversations series that will feature 35 speakers across nine panels to provide insights into the evolving global art scene—this year's event will be the biggest one yet. Next: TBD 2023

New York

From Sept. 9-11, The Armory Show returned to—and took over—the Javits Center (its permanent venue as of 2021) with 240-plus exhibitors from more than 30 countries. As New York's premier art fair, the event attracted more than 42,000 attendees. Amory Off-Site, the show's new public art program, also returned for its second year. The off-site extension of the event placed large-scale installations throughout New York's public spaces and parks, including Bella Abzug Park, Flatiron Plaza, Ruth Wittenberg Triangle, and Times Square—some of which remained on display through December. Although Armory Online (a digital platform that turned last year's show into a hybrid event) didn't resurface, in June 2022, The Armory Show announced an inaugural partnership with the United States Tennis Association to present five outdoor sculptures from artists from underrepresented backgrounds at the US Open, which took place Aug. 29-Sept. 11, overlapping with the art fair. Also for the first time, the event brought together three curators specializing in Latin American and Latinx art. Next: Sept. 8-10, 2023

Up from #4

Toronto
Making its welcomed return to an in-person format after taking a virtual approach in 2020 and being canceled in 2021, this year's Nuit Blanche Toronto—a dusk-to-dawn contemporary arts festival produced by the City of Toronto—celebrated its 16th year with more than 170 inspiring projects from 130 local artists on display throughout the city. The 2022 edition of the annual all-night event featured more indigenous, Black, and artists of color than ever with local, national, and international representation. For the first time, Nuit Blanche Toronto expanded into new areas of the city, including downtown, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough. More than 35 projects will remain on display as part of the Nuit Blanche Toronto Extended Projects program, the event’s largest extended program to date. Next: Oct. 7, 2023

Up from #6

Black Rock Desert, Nev.
Like many of the events you'll see on this year's Top 100 list, Burning Man made its anticipated in-person revival this year, drawing tens of thousands artists and creatives to Nevada from Aug. 28-Sept. 5 to construct Black Rock City in the middle of Black Rock Desert. Following the event's two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, this year's eventgoers, known as "burners," pulled out all the stops. Take a peek at the city's construction in this video called "Above the Dust" captured by Jesse Chandler of Adjective Entertainment using drone technology. Born from 2020 and 2021's virtual format, the online platform Kindling was turned into a year-round offering with monthly Campfire Talks, "Blueprints" podcast, and more. Next: Aug. 27-Sept. 4, 2023

Toronto

Happening mostly in person for the first time in two years, the 2022 DesignTO Festival took place for 10 days in January as a mix of virtual exhibitions and events, and in-person window installations, outdoor exhibitions, and events. This year's art and design festival gathered 20,000 art lovers and featured 114 projects, which included 90-plus in-person experiences in and around Toronto—extending as far north as Eglinton Avenue, as far south as Queens Quay, as far east as Don Mills Road, and as far west as Pacific Avenue. Due to COVID-19, in-person events—which were mostly free—still saw reduced capacities. Next: Jan. 20-29, 2023

Up from #7

Toronto
After taking a hybrid format in 2021, Canada’s largest modern and contemporary art fair revived its original setup in 2022 and took over the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for four days in October. In addition to a full program of insightful talks and tours, the event displayed more than 90 galleries from local artists across the country. Making its debut at this year's event was Focus, a new museum-like exhibition that assembled a mix of 16 new and historical pieces selected from participating Art Toronto galleries. Next: Oct. 26-29, 2023

New to the list

New York
For the triumphant in-person return of DIFFA by Design (formerly known as Dining by Design), New York's Center415 was filled with 21 design-forward vignettes and more than 2,500 attendees for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS’ biggest fundraising event of the year. In line with the theme of "coming back together," organizers expanded this year's event to not only include decadent dining spaces but also a range of creative communal spaces—all outfitted by some of the design industry's biggest names, like Rockwell Group, Lauren Rottet, and Maya Romanoff, to name a few. The three-day experience also included a gala and tasting, a silent auction, panel discussions, and a curated pop-up shop by lifestyle expert Robert Verdi. Each element contributed to the success of the event, which raised more than $540,000 to help those struggling with HIV/AIDS, homelessness, food scarcity, and mental health issues. Next: TBD 2023
See more: Get Inspired by 18 Fantastical Spaces From DIFFA By Design 2022