Since her appointment in 2024, Salon Art + Design executive director Nicky Dessources has been expanding the fair’s dialogue between design and fine art in new and often unexpected ways.
Dessources said the 14th edition marks a dynamic new chapter defined by a fresh curatorial vision, a growing advisory council and bold steps toward new markets. The premier New York City fair for collectible design and fine art will return to the Park Avenue Armory Nov. 6 to 10. Its Dallas debut is scheduled to take place March 25 to 29.
The honorary committee now features new cultural voices like photographer Douglas Friedman, author Linda Fargo, Gabriel Hendifar, founder of lighting and design hub Apparatus, and Everette Taylor, chief executive officer of Kickstarter, the world’s premier crowdfunding platform for creative projects.
The advisory board has also welcomed designer Giancarlo Valle and entrepreneur Jane Keltner de Valle, founders of design-forward gallery Casa Valle in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood.
“The Advisory Council has always been about bringing together people who genuinely love and champion design, decorative arts, and fine art in all their forms. For me, it’s not just about getting people excited about the fair, it’s also about learning from them. The council helps me see how others experience Salon, how the larger conversations in art and design are shifting, and what’s happening outside the walls of the Armory,” Dessources told WWD in an interview.
Nicky Dessources
Courtesy of Salone Art + Design
Salon Art + Design, she said, has always catalyzed dialogue between creative sectors like jewelry and design. Jewelry, for example, has been part of its DNA from the start, with presentations from Temple St. Clair and Italian high jewelry maker Giampiero Bodino, among others. This year, Salon Art + Design is continuing that tradition by inviting dealers that specialize in museum-quality pieces. Among them are estate jewelry experts DK Farnum, Portuguese jewelry firm Rosior, wearable art designer Elisabetta Cipriani, alongside contemporary jewelers such as Brazilian born artisan Fernando Jorge, Cora Sheibani, and Sarah Ysabel Narici, the British-Italian designer and founder of the New York based brand DYNE.
Dessources, who previously served as the fair’s director of operations, also emphasized the importance of the fair’s recent collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman, which highlighted how seamlessly design and fashion share a language of craft, innovation, and luxury
From January to April 13, Salon Art + Design staged an open exhibition on the iconic store’s seventh floor.
That showcase featured a thoughtfully curated selection of galleries who participate in Salon — such as Onishi Gallery, Galerie Gabriel, J. Lohmann Gallery, Liz O’Brien, Verso and Room 57 Gallery — each presenting pieces that celebrate artistry, innovation and craftsmanship.
“Partnerships like these reflect Salon’s broader vision: to create a space where collectors can encounter not only extraordinary furniture and objects, but also wearable works of art that resonate far beyond the runway or the gallery,” she said.
Inside the Salon Art + Design pop-up in Bergdorf Goodman in April.
In 2024, organizers welcomed younger, up-and-coming galleries like Room 57, Bossa and Black Folks in Design with Verso.
“They were voices that opened up the conversation between design and fine art in new ways,” she said, adding that momentum continues to grow with regard to putting forth fresh talent.
The upcoming edition will also welcome new names such as the London-based midcentury Brazilian design gallery, the Paris-based Theoreme — which connects contemporary designers with the finest European craftsmen to create poetic works of furniture and objects — and Poland’s Crafitca, which is known for spotlighting experimental Polish craftsmanship.
“It ties back to the educational long term vision I have for the fair. I hope the fair’s curation and inviting atmosphere will keep nurturing the next generation of collectors, engage new design and art enthusiasts, and spark curiosity across audiences,” she said.
Since its inception in 2012, Salon Art + Design has risen to the fore as a premier destination where collectors and designers can discover rare and high-value collectible pieces showcased by well-known galleries. Compared to contemporary fairs like Design Miami, Salon features works from various time periods.
Fairs around the world are also expanding in terms of vision and also geographically. In 2024, Design Miami launched the inaugural Los Angeles edition, another Basel fair, and its second edition in Paris. Brussels’ curated design fair Collectible opened its doors in New York City for the first time in September of 2024.