Designing The Armory Show
Established in 1994, The Armory Show is one of the world’s most galvanizing art shows, and the official kick-off to New York’s fall art season. The show presents the world’s leading international galleries showcasing works of art from both modern and contemporary artists while making art more accessible to the public as well as buyers, sellers and collectors. This was the first time in 17 years that the art fair was integrated under one roof. Having moved to the newly expanded Javits Center during the Covid-19 Pandemic, the show needed to be adapted to a new environment, to maximize the space’s benefits and comply with safety mandates.
In 2021, Frederick Fisher and Partners was invited to reimagine the Armory Show in New York City’s Javits Center. As a collaborative design practice, FF&P worked closely with the show’s leadership to honor the art fair’s rich history, accommodate its ambitious expansion into a vast new location, and address the unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by the energy and spirit of the Armory Show’s host city, FF&P’s design succeeded in elevating the modern art fair environment into a varied, user-friendly experience infused with delight and enhancing the visitor in-person experience.
The open floor plan spanned three halls with unobstructed sightlines and spacious lounges. The concept of the design reflected the identity and energy of New York City. This was achieved by combining the intensity of a dense urban grid with an iconic, open public space that disrupted the regularity and introduced serendipitous encounters, much like Central Park and the Highline.
The central space was conceived as an agora which spans the large Javits Center halls and connected its far corners while unifying the experience of the space. New York’s parks and rivers, landscape elements, pattern and color helped define the interior spaces. The floor surfaces of the agora referenced the colors and textures of the nearby Highline and Hudson River. Visitors entered the fair through a bosque of trees that created a welcoming threshold and a more intimate, human sense of scale within the massive conference center.
Our client, as well as the press, were vocally enthusiastic about the show’s design success—they felt it offered a striking yet complementary backdrop for the exhibiting galleries.
“This is the start of a new chapter for the Armory Show. This is an opportunity to take this fair to the next level. The fair’s new layout, by Frederick Fisher and Partners, is allowing the art to shine.” – Nicole Berry, Executive Director - The Armory Show
