Villa Albertine’s Oui Design! festival spotlights French savoir-faire during NYCxDESIGN
Illustration by Studio Des Signes, Paris
Five days of open studios, designer talks, exhibitions, and exclusive events all across the city will involve 25 of NYC’s most exceptional French design spaces and makers.
Wednesday, May 15 – Tuesday, May 21
New York, March 20, 2024 – Villa Albertine, the French cultural institution in the US dedicated to the exchange of art and ideas, today announced the return of Oui Design! in May 2024 in partnership with Mobilier national. The festival of open studios, designer talks, exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops, and more returns in an even larger format this year, to celebrate the rich tradition of collaboration between the French and American design scenes.
From Wednesday, May 15 to Tuesday, May 21 during NYCxDESIGN, Oui Design! will feature 25 of the city’s top design galleries and workshops (full list below), with work by dozens of established and emerging French makers, advancing Villa Albertine’s mission to deepen the dialogue and cultural connections between French and American creative communities. The schedule of events and openings is online here and will be updated frequently in the lead-up to the festival.
“French artisans and designers have a truly unique skillset, by combining savoir-faire that’s been refined over centuries with an innovative approach to sustainability and new materials. Given that New York City is home to the largest number of French design professionals outside of France itself, Oui Design! is a real celebration of that excellence, and a tribute to the ongoing collaboration between our French and American communities, which will only continue to grow,” said Mohamed Bouabdallah, Cultural Counselor of France in the United States and Director of Villa Albertine.
For the first time this year, Villa Albertine’s Oui Design! will also welcome a cohort of up-and-coming artisans traveling from France with the support of Albertine Grants. These grantees, selected through a competitive application process, will participate in a week-long immersion in the New York scene to help them gain a better understanding of the market and ecosystem, and build connections for future opportunities and business development. Grantees Maxime Bellaunay, Jean-Brieuc Chevalier, Maud Ruby, Lucie Touré, and Line & Raphaël will also lead demonstrations of their crafts at “Oui Design! Résonance” on May 17th, which will highlight sustainable practices.
Oui Design! was launched in 2015 in partnership with the French Ministry of Culture, the Institut Français, and Albertine Foundation, with the goal of supporting collaboration, education, and professional development between the French and American design industries. Since then, the program has facilitated numerous exchanges between French and American design schools, enabled up-and-coming French designers to show their work in American galleries, supported visits and skills-sharing, and more. Oui Design! 2024 is a program from Villa Albertine and Mobilier national, supported by Institut Français, in partnership with NYCxDESIGN festival.
Participating galleries
Studio Laurence at the New York Design Center, Prelle, Par Excellence, Ateliers Jouffre, SWADOH at Karen Pearse, Galerie Philia, The Spaceless Gallery (at The Invisible Collection + DDC/Minotti), D&D Building (showrooms: Ateliers de France, Pierre Frey, Saint-Louis, Ronit Anderson, Ateliers Pinton), Demisch Danant, Invisible Collection, Maison Gérard, Twenty First Gallery, Galerie Régis Mathieu, Le Studio Anthost, ICFF – Wanted Design, Combray Design, and Ralph Pucci International, among others.
Featured French designers and craftspeople
Morgane Baroghel-Crucq, Pia Chevalier, Vincent Corbière, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, Elsa Foulon, Leontine Furcy, Emilie Grière, Aurélie Hoegy, Solenne Jolivet, Gregory Lacoua, Julien Sebban, Lucie Touré, aurèce vettier and Celine Wright among others.
Also participating in Oui Design are Jean-Marc Bullet, Eve George, who participated in Villa Albertine’s Crafts & Design residency program, supported by Fondation Bettencourt Schueller and produced in partnership with WantedDesign. Former resident Steven Leprizé will exhibit at ICFF for the second time.
Program highlights
Opening Panel Discussion at Villa Albertine
Wednesday, May 15, 6:00pm – 10:00pm| Villa Albertine Headquarters
Join Villa Albertine for a panel discussion to kick-off Oui Design! 2024 featuring Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance and Jean-Marc Bullet.
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance at Demisch Danant
Thursday, May 16, 6:00pm – 8:00pm | 30 W 12th St, Manhattan
Demisch Danant invites you to the opening reception of their new exhibition in collaboration with Made in Situ, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance’s studio. Focused on reconnecting with the environment, Made in Situ advocates for respecting nature, rejecting overproduction, and centering the unique know-how of craftspeople in their local territories.
Open Studio: Royal Collection at Galerie Régis Mathieu
Thursday, May 16, 10:00am – 5:00pm | 31 Desbrosses Street, Manhattan
Visit the New York showroom of Mathieu Lustrerie to view an iconic chandelier from the Royal Collection, in partnership with the Palace of Versailles, along with select works by French master artisans who are bringing 17th century craftsmanship to the 21st century.
PRELLE x Uchronia
Thursday, May 16, 6:00pm – 9:00pm | 43 E 10th Street, Manhattan
Meet French designer Julien Sebban from Uchronia while immersing yourself in the world of exquisite silk upholstery fabrics. Explore the dynamic interplay between Uchronia’s vibrant pop art universe and PRELLE’s 18th century heritage.
Reception: The Spaceless Gallery at DDC Minotti
Thursday, May 16, 5:00pm – 7:00pm | 143 Madison Ave, Manhattan
The Art Design project unveils European talents Aurélie Hoegy and aurèce vettier, whose featured works seamlessly blend art, technology, and craftsmanship. Discover Hoegy’s exquisite rattan designs showcased at DDC Minotti, in parallel with vettier’s ‘Prothèse d’Arbres’ series displayed at Invisible Collection.
Reception at Maison Gérard
Thursday, May 16, 5:00pm – 9:00pm | 43 & 49 E. 10th Street, Manhattan
Maison Gérard will host an open house during Greenwich Village’s biggest spring fête, the bi-annual Neighborhood Gallery Walk. The gallery’s presentation will center on French Art Deco, showcasing great works by Ruhlmann and Leleu, Cheuret and Arbus, as well as mid-century and contemporary masterpieces.
Oui Design! Résonance: Live demonstrations and reception
Friday, May 17, 4:00pm – 12:00am | Ateliers Jouffre (42-25 12th St, Queens, NY 11101)
Villa Albertine and Mobilier national, in association with Par Excellence, present a captivating event hosted by the Ateliers Jouffre. From live craft demonstrations to an inspiring exhibition, immerse yourself in the dialogue between tradition, innovation, and sustainability. With demonstrations by Oui Design! Immersion grantees Maxime Bellaunay, Jean-Brieuc Chevalier, Maud Ruby, Lucie Touré, and Line & Raphaël.
SWADOH
Open Studio and Cocktail: In Praise Of The Hand – Artistry & Design
Saturday, May 18, 2:00pm – 8:00pm | Karen Pearse Showroom, 251 5th Ave, Manhattan
Explore the universe of design and crafts created by hand in the spheres of interiors, luxury products, and art. The open studio will feature Celine Wright (lighting designer), Lucie Touré (paper designer), Emilie Grière (lighting designer), Solenne Jolivet (textile artist and artisan), and Morgane Baroghel-Crucq (fiber artist). The afternoon will conclude with a cocktail at 5pm.
ICFF + WantedDesign
Sunday, May 19 – Tuesday, May 21, 10:00am – 6:00pm | Javits Center, 429 11th Ave, Manhattan
Explore ICFF, North America’s leading platform for contemporary furnishing design, and attend Wanted’s lineup of talks, panel sessions, keynote presentations and workshops. Visitors will have the chance to meet French designers and appreciate the richness of contemporary creation across the fair’s different categories:
French Designer Exhibits: Design Quarters, Fermob, Home Spirit, Ligne Roset, Ressource Peinture, ENSAAMA, Arca Ebenisterie, Ulgador, Business France
International School Student Showcase: Students from the French Ecole Camondo and ENSCI will lead workshops, culminating in a group exhibition at the event’s conclusion.
Open Showroom: Par Excellence presenting Gregory Lacoua
Monday, May 20, 5:00pm – 9:00pm | 344 Bowery, Manhattan
Discover the exceptional work of French designers including Gregory Lacoua, creator of the extraordinary “Imperial Armchair,” manufactured in collaboration with Souchet.
Open showroom and cocktail reception: Flâneries at Galerie Philia
Monday, May 20, 11:00am – 5:00pm | 90 Morton Street, Manhattan
Discover the exhibition ‘Flâneries,’ a fusion of French elegance and New York vitality in ceramic art by Galerie Philia. The artists –– Lisa Allegra, Elisa Uberti, Elsa Foulon, Leontine Furcy, and Pia Chevalier –– employ a diverse range of ceramics techniques to breathe life into their interpretations of flânerie in the context of New York City.
Reception at Ralph Pucci International
Monday, May 20, 6:00pm – 8:00pm | 44 West 18th St, Manhattan
Ralph Pucci presents new exhibitions by Xavier Lust, Rebecca Moses, Chris Lehrecke, August Lehrecke, and Antoine Bootz. Visit the sculpture studio and explore works by iconic French artists including Alexandre Logé, Andrée Putman, Elizabeth Garouste, Eric Schmitt, Hervé Van der Straeten, India Mahdavi, Jérôme Abel Seguin, Olivier Gagnère, Patrick Naggar, Paul Mathieu, Philippe Anthonioz, Pierre Paulin and Sébastien Léon.
Oui Design! x D&D Building: A French Design Showcase
Tuesday, May 21, 12:00pm – 8:00pm | 979 Third Ave, Manhattan
Join Villa Albertine at the D&D Building for a celebration of art de vivre expressed through exquisite French design, with artist encounters and demonstrations in French showrooms, featuring Ateliers de France, Ronit Anderson, Pierre Frey, Saint Louis, Ateliers Pinton. Celebrating the creativity, sophistication, craftsmanship, and innovation of French design through curated showrooms, a cocktail reception from 6:00pm to 8:00pm will close out this inspiring day.
Registration for Oui Design! events will open soon at this link. Join the Oui Design! mailing list here to be the first to hear about new exclusive events and opportunities throughout the festival.
In partnership with
Mobilier national
Mobilier National’s mission is to ensure the conservation and restoration of its collections resulting of purchases and orders. Back in the time they used to be designed for royal and imperial residences, and today for the official palaces of the French Republic. These collections are made up of more than 130,000 furniture and textile objects.
The Mobilier national has seven restoration workshops – tapestry, carpets, upholstery and decorative tapestry, seat carpentry, cabinetmaking and bronzeware.
The national factories of Gobelins, Beauvais and La Savonnerie, as well as the lace workshops of Alençon and Le Puy-en-Velay are attached to the administration of the Mobilier national.
The institution has also a research and creation workshop – the ARC – to promote creation and contemporary design in official buildings. 600 prototypes from a hundred designers have been produced in over 50 years.
The services of the Mobilier national and the national manufactures embody the prestige of French tradition, the excellence of exceptional know-how and the vitality of artistic creation and contemporary design.
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.
Albertine Foundation
Previously known as FACE Foundation, Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In close partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and its arts institution Villa Albertine, Albertine Foundation promotes artistic, literary, and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries thanks to corporate, foundation, and individual support.
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