The Source speaks to show director Liz Crawford about this year’s art and design showcase.
For 30 years Surtex has been the go-to event for artists, art agents, licensing agencies and licensors to connect with manufacturers and retailers to create the next best-selling products in every category imaginable. Every year over 5,500 buyers and manufacturers from 49 countries converge on the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City to seek out the very best original art and design being created today.
More than 200 artists from around the world will be exhibiting at Surtex and are split into three areas, making it easy for visitors to find their way around.
The largest section by far, and the heart of Surtex is the art and brand licensing area, with artists, designers, agencies, brands exhibiting over 1,000 creative works available for licence. This year there are 84 artists exhibiting for the first time in this section.
A relatively new section, Atelier, is dedicated to exhibitors selling surface designs for a multitude of product categories. This year there are 55 exhibitors covering a broad range of categories – interior textiles, fashion fabrics, wall coverings, paper, and more.
New this year is the design district, featuring 27 emerging artists never seen before. The design district is exclusively for individual artist studios that are first-time exhibitors.
As well as the opportunity to discover new artists and artwork, Surtex also gives attendees the chance to learn more about the industry with its growing conference programme. The seminars are designed to provide designers, manufacturers, retailers and others in the field with practical ‘how to’ advice on the sales process from creation, to product development to retail placement.
“This 30th annual edition of Surtex promises to be the best yet in terms of art and design offerings, as well as education and networking,” says Liz Crawford, vice president and group show director.
“This is a must-not-miss event for artists looking to bring new art to market and for product developers and retailers looking to licence original art or design for use in the manufacturing of everything from home goods, bedding, to fashion fabrics and textiles to toys and giftware.”
Surtex runs from May 15-17 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York.
This feature originally appeared in the Summer 2016 edition of Art & Design Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
