The Javits Center announced Nov. 19 that two industry-leading events, International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and Lightfair, will co-locate their events at the Javits Center during NYCxDESIGN in 2021 and again in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029.
The announcement comes as the unprecedented expansion project at the Javits Center (pictured above) is scheduled to be completed in 2021, adding 1.2 million square feet of total event-related space to the convention center on Manhattan’s West Side.
The long-term commitment by these design-related events reinforces the significance of the recent infrastructure and operational improvements at the Javits Center, as well as the new dynamic spaces being constructed as part of the ongoing expansion project.
Spearheaded by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Empire State Development, the $1.5 billion design-build project will include a 53,000-square-foot special event space, a rooftop pavilion and outdoor terrace and the creation of 500,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space on one level.
ICFF and Lightfair will be among the first events to be hosted at the expanded venue, which will attract more blockbuster events to New York City and New York State, including high-impact business conferences, worldwide product launches and fundraising galas.
“Bringing these two major design-related events together will create a real impact in New York City and New York State,” says Alan Steel, president and CEO of the New York Convention Center Operating Corp., which operates Javits Center. “ICFF already plays a major role in the international furniture events calendar, and adding Lightfair to the presentation every other year will boost the prestige of both events and give even more reason for national and international business visitors to come to New York. The first joint presentation coincides with the 2021 opening of our expansion and serves as a testament to substantial investment in the Javits Center made by Gov. Cuomo and his team.”
ICFF Show Director Phil Robinson adds: “The ICFF LightFair co-location in 2021 further builds on the momentum of the ICFF-Wanted Design Manhattan co-location in 2020 and makes the Javits Center a truly multi-discipline design resource center for the North American A&D community.”
“Presenting LightFair at the Javits Center alongside ICFF during NYCxDesign is the ultimate opportunity to showcase our exhibitors’ innovations in lighting and technology and our conference presenters’ thought leadership to the global design community,” says Lightfair Show Director Dan Darby. “We look forward to using the center’s updated spaces and amenities to present an engaging and inspirational LightFair experience for all of our attendees.”
ICFF, owned and operated by Emerald Expositions, is North America’s platform for global design. ICFF hosts over 600 exhibitors of furniture, seating, carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, materials, wall coverings, accessories, textiles, kitchen and bath and fabricators from 35 counties and attracts an audience of more than 14,000 architects, interior designers, visual merchandisers and retailers.
LightFair is the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting tradeshow and conference, alternating between the East and West Coasts each year. Its more than 500 exhibitors and 175 conference presenters showcase the latest innovations in lighting design and technology to more than 28,000 lighting designers, specifiers, architects and engineers from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. LightFair is owned by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). It is produced and managed by International Market Centers.
NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s annual celebration of design, attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees and designers from across the globe. The event celebrates a world of design and showcases over a dozen design disciplines through exhibitions, installations, tradeshows, panels, product launches, open studios, and more. And, like design itself, NYCxDESIGN is everywhere, with events taking place across the city’s five boroughs. NYCxDESIGN highlights the unique creative, cultural, educational, and economic opportunities in New York City.
Emerald Expositions Events, Inc. (NYSE:EEX), a leading operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States. The company currently operates more than 55 tradeshows, as well as numerous other face-to-face events. In 2018, Emerald’s events connected over 500,000 global attendees and exhibitors and occupied more than 7.0 million net square feet of exhibition space. For more info, visit www.emeraldexpositions.com.
International Market Centers (IMC) is the world’s largest operator of premier showroom space for furniture, gift, home décor, rug, and apparel industries. International Market Centers owns and operates nearly 20 million square feet of world-class exhibition space in High Point, N.C., Las Vegas and Atlanta. IMC’s mission is to build and operate an innovative, sustainable, profitable and scalable platform for the furniture, gift, home décor, rug, and apparel industries. For more info, visit http://imcenters.com/.
Known as the “Marketplace for the World,” the Javits Center was designed by I.M. Pei & Partners and opened in 1986. The iconic facility has since become New York City’s primary venue for large conventions, tradeshows and special events and serves as home to many of the world’s top 250 trade shows, hosting millions of visitors a year. These large-scale events generate more than $2 billion in annual economic activity for New York City and New York State, supporting as many as 18,000 jobs in and around the facility. Located on 11th Avenue between West 34th and West 40th Sts. in Manhattan, the Javits Center has 760,000 square feet of total exhibition space, 102 meeting rooms and four banquet halls, as well as a range of technology services, including WiFi access. For more info, visit www.javitscenter.com.
