Interior Design Students from accredited prestigious colleges will showcase their work at Port Authority Bus Terminal “The Crossroads of the World – Times Square” for a special exhibition by New York Eleven Plus (NY11+). These representative institutions include FIT SUNY; New York School of Interior Design; New York Institute of Technology; Pratt University; Russell Sage College; School of Visual Arts; and Villa Maria College. (This will be on view from April 1- May 31, 2022.)
New York Eleven Plus (NY11+) – a prominent New York Student Interior Design exhibition is partnering with the Midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal of NY/NJ on Thursday, April 7th to mount a substantial exhibit in a main thoroughfare, where the work of interior design students are to be displayed to educate the public on the benefits and potential of studying and practicing interior design. The focus of the exhibit will be to highlight one of the most pressing issues of our day and entitled: Diversity/Equity/Inclusion – A Seat at the Table.
The program details are below:
- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 3-4PM, Location: Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal – South Tower Gallery Space
- Opening Reception with Special Programming 4-6PM, Location: Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal Heartland Brewery – South Tower
The goal is to highlight these exceptional designers of distinction, to acknowledge their talent, and to show that as design professionals and educators, we are working diligently to increase cultural awareness and to combat racism and other – ism’s. It is critical to show to the public that design is relevant to people in a range of communities by using student work to show the many disparate projects that we work on, including facilities for refugees, the homeless, community centers for youth empowerment, multigenerational housing, day care centers for neuro-diverse children, etc. (This will be tremendous exposure with press/media and to meet government officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony.)
“NY11+ has united these colleges in a unique presentation with sustainable principles and narratives that help define the importance and role of interior design in our everyday living,” says Myron Johnson, PABT Curator of Arts and Entertainment
Each student’s project was assessed and selected by their respective college’s curatorial team, and was based on the quality of use and needs; the rationality of constructional approach; and the level of innovation in terms of both materials and techniques in relationship with local resources and traditions.
“The exhibition will complement the importance of community-based design as most of these interior design projects are based on real case studies” says Hans J. Galutera – a hospitality interior designer from HG DesignWorks LLC and one of the Board of Directors of Education for the State of New York. Galutera will co-chair the event with Professor Andrew Seifer, former Chair of the Interior Design Department of FIT SUNY.
The universities of NY11+ are also organizing a panel discussion at the Heartland Brewery at PABT’s South Tower from 4-6pm where principals and partners from prestigious architectural design studios such as TPG Architecture, FX Fowle Collaborative Architects and Ware Malcomb are invited for a lively discussion on this topic and to pay tribute to our dear departed Founder and President – Ruth Lynford.
NY11+ was founded by Ruth Lynford in 1997 as an exhibition of work from six New York metropolitan area interior design institutions. Under the auspices of the International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC), a non-governmental agency of the United Nations, students exhibited their work and met with delegates from all over the world, who took back to their native countries the students’ many innovative ideas in interior design. (For more details visit: http://ny11plus.org/board-of-directors.php)