Long Island to Host designHamptons Fair in Summer of 2017

Organizers are already expecting over 7,000 visitors for next year's event.

designHamptons is coming to Long Island next summer. Photo: courtesy designHamptons.

Next summer the Hamptons will welcome the inaugural edition of designHamptons, a new fair specializing in mid-century design.

Taking place concurrently with the existing Hamptons Contemporary fair, from July 20 to July 23, 2017, the event brings together a curated selection of elite design and antiques dealers under one roof.

According to Rick Friedman, founder and and former owner of ArtHamptons and now owner of the Hamptons Contemporary Design + Décor Show, there’s a growing demand for mid-century design objects among Hamptonites, as well as the New York City-based second home community that migrates to Long Island every summer.

“Many of our fairgoers are already avid collectors of the modernism period,” Friedman explained. “Others [are] looking to mix and match this timeless design sensibility and mood with their contemporary home furnishings.”

designHamptons seeks to attract locals and the wealthy second home community. Photo: courtesy designHamptons.

designHamptons seeks to attract locals and the wealthy second home community. Photo: courtesy designHamptons.

Consequently, organizers say the time is right for a dedicated fair offering furniture, seating, cabinets, tables, and other decorative arts from the 1940s to the 1970s. “Having access to a curated and elite coterie of modernism dealers will enable fellow Hamptonites, for the first time, to view and acquire rare and valuable modernism pieces for immediate delivery,” Friedman said.

Interest in the four-day event is already high. Organizers are expecting over 7,000 visitors to attend in the heart of the upscale summer retreat. The 2016 edition of the Hamptons Contemporary Design + Décor Show attracted 160 exhibitors and 4,000 visitors.

As a hotbed of the 1950s abstract expressionist movement, the Hamptons-based event will host a concurrent exhibition celebrating the lives of the late East Hampton couple Elaine and Willem de Kooning. According to a press release, organizers are promising a “museum quality art exhibition” showcasing the work of the duo. It will be one of the few occasions that their work will be shown together.