Inside~Out 2026, the fifth edition of the show and the first sponsored by DEDON and Gloster and hosted by Two Trees Management, reaches beyond the human realm to explore how we can form inter-species connections for a more thriving urban habitat. In our increasingly distracted and isolating world, we continue to look toward design to play a key role in facilitating a nourishing future. For many of us, that future will be in urban centers like New York City: vital ecosystems filled with an exciting biodiversity of ideas, experiences, and perspectives. On top of buildings–the mountains of our landscape–our vantage point shifts to that of the birds, giving us access to a rich expansiveness of possibilities. The 2026 exhibition, coined “Bird’s Eye View,” includes more than 30 independent design studios, featuring works for birds and humans to meet on a rooftop garden, providing both with a space to relax, connect, learn, and be inspired by each other.

Inside~Out was founded by Kin & Company in 2019, with the principal intention of fostering social connections through playful outdoor design. The inaugural edition of the show focused on bringing the exciting work of the burgeoning American design scene to the outdoor space. The outdoor furniture market had been largely overlooked by the independent design community and many designers jumped at the opportunity to fill the void by participating in the first and only NYCxDESIGN show to feature exclusively outdoor work. Located at Vale Park, the idiosyncratic elevated green space adjacent Brooklyn’s William Vale hotel, Inside~Out created an opportunity for visitors to interact with contemporary design in a personal and casual setting.

For the 2020 edition of the show, Kin & Company planned to delve deeper into the vision of an interactive outdoor design show, focusing on exhibiting new designs that create opportunities for social engagement and discovery. The exhibition was slated to include in situ works of furniture and art that engage a wide and diverse public audience and highlight how interactive design can enrich everyday experiences. With the design fair’s Covid-related postponement and the hotel (the planned venue for Inside~Out) temporarily closing down, Kin & Company began to envision new opportunities for design in our collective “new normal.”  As the world moved into a virtual landscape of Zoom calls and Instagram lives, our need to continue to find spaces for creativity became a driving force. The show was reconceptualized as a self-produced, virtual show, and Kin & Company solicited the help of the local creative community as well as the participating designers. They brought in up-and-coming digital artist Duyi Han to design imaginary landscapes to place the furniture within and set the visual tone for the show.

Inside~Out: In the Garden, hosted by Avdoo Partners in 2021 and one of the first live events of the design community after over a year of dormancy, presented the opportunity for us all to emerge from our cocoons, beginning the process of rebuilding our connections amidst furniture and sculptures exploring the post-pandemic contours of social interaction outdoors and in. The show  brought to life a group of the works that were originally conceptualized as part of the Inside~Out virtual presentation, and conveyed designers’ cautious optimism toward a time when we would be together again.

Inside~Out: Grounded in Nature, returned again in 2024 with a second Avdoo collaboration, exploring the role of design as a facilitator for deeper grounding in the natural world and in the rhythms of nature. The show called on designers and artists to create works that reflect on and consider our relationship to the living world around us, with nature not solely as research for design, but instead as a mentor.

As our collective perception of social engagement has continued to fundamentally shift over the last six years, we have reconnected with a deeper sense of our own capacity and what we need to thrive. For many of us, the pandemic caused us to reexamine our priorities, our structures, and our rhythms, and to seek paths that are more generative and nourishing. In this shifting time, it is our belief that artists are our societal sensers, feeling more broadly beyond their own individual experiences and reaching into the future to create alternate visions for healing and flourishing. Inside~Out seeks to be a forum for artists to strengthen those translational bridges that serve our collective vitality.