Industry City's Design Festival, an annual celebration of the hundreds of artists, makers and creatives at Industry City, will take place on Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19.
The featured event, Open Studios, offers the community the opportunity to visit, explore and meet the diverse array of designers, artists, makers and small business owners at Industry City whose studios are usually closed to the public, according to a news release.
Participating studios and galleries include a solo exhibition by Sun Young Kang, featuring new work from the artist's "Memories, Veiled" series and a site-sensitive, immersive installation spanning three rooms; Ishka Designs and Art Hedge presents “Dreamscape, Beyond Limits,” a collection by African artists Thokozani Mthiyane and Emmanuel Ifebunm; Caroline Kaufman, a New York City-based textile artist and designer will showcase her experimental textiles, hand-painted prints and playful perspective.
The studio of Pavel Kraus (Building 5, Suite B314), who recently passed away in April 2024, will be open on Saturday and Sunday in remembrance of his extraordinary talent and unique personality. The Czech-born New York painter, sculptor and installation artist was known for abstract compositions in glass and encaustic, plus experimental materials like natural resins. Kraus had numerous solo exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad, and was the recipient of a 2012 Peter S. Reed Foundation award for sculpture.
“The campus is a place to explore, discover and make connections, and we look forward to welcoming the public to the offices and workshops of over 70 of our creative tenants," said Jim Somoza, Managing Director of Industry City. "We have no doubt that visitors of Open Studios will leave inspired.”
Highlighted programming at ICDF includes family-friendly pop-up workshop, as well as Natural Dyeing with Local Plants + Food Waste workshop, where participants can learn about locally grown plants that can be used to make natural dyes using a variety of plants and food waste to create color on fabric with the bundle dye method.
Separately, local designers will be meeting up for a host of discussions this weekend, to network and discuss business options and opportunities.
To learn more about the Industry City Design Festival, visit https://industrycity.com/icdf.
