Miami Beach
#1 Art & Design Event
The behemoth art fair celebrated its 15th edition by featuring 269 galleries—including 21 new ones—from 29 countries and territories across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Held at the Miami Beach Convention Center, the vital industry event again boasted attendance of 77,000. Next: December 7-10, 2017
New York
#2 Art & Design Event
A new layout for the event converted Piers 92 and 94 from two spaces into one, widened show-floor aisles, offered larger lounges, and had fewer small exhibit booths—leading to increased sales, according to show organizers. The show featured new and redesigned sections to spotlight its 210 exhibitors and drew more than 65,000 visitors over its five days. Next: March 8-11, 2018
Chicago
#3 Art & Design Event
Improvements to the commercial design industry show’s venue, the Mart—like the addition of a second-floor lounge called Marshall’s Landing, and a new venue for keynotes and seminars—enhanced the show-going experience for the record-setting 57,000 attendees. Organizers welcomed 7 percent more delegates than last year, as well as six new permanent showrooms in the building and 75 new exhibitors. Next: June 11-13, 2018
New York
#4 Art & Design Event
For the 20th annual opening gala of the five-day extravaganza—where interior designers are invited to make a raw space come to life with over-the-top decor—guests who didn't have set tables on Pier 92 were accommodated at one long communal table instead of several round ones, leading to an attendance boost of about 5,000. The auction portion of the benefit focused on experiences rather than prizes, and there were 2,000 people in attendance at each of the two fund-raisers, Cocktails By Design and Dining By Design. All told, 45,000 people came throughout the week and about $800,000 was raised for Diffa’s mission to fight H.I.V./AIDS. Next: March 22-26, 2018
Los Angeles
#5 Art & Design Event
To increase the impact of the conference program, the modern design event, which was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, combined its two stages into one, moved sessions from the meeting rooms onto the show floor, and had four keynotes, instead of the usual one, from David Adjaye, Bruce Mau, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, and Christiane Lemieux. The event also served as the site for a product launch by designer Nate Berkus, and presented a collection of architecture-inspired short and feature films through a new relationship with the Architecture & Design Film Festival. Next: April 5-7, 2018
