DIFFA’s Twentieth Annual Dining By Design

Banner_sponser_v3_2DIFFA-RocheBoboisxGensler_LRecognized as one of the top design-industry fundraisers in the country–DINING BY DESIGN (DBD) will celebrate 20 years of bringing together premier brands and local and international designers to raise funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS. Hosted by DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, this 5-day celebration of design opens next week (March 16-20) at Pier 92 in New York City and is co-located with the Architectural Digest Design Show. A signature fundraiser for DIFFA, this year’s edition is set to be one of the largest and highest grossing in the event’s 20-year history. DBD has since raised $13 million toward DIFFA’s work to support HIV/AIDS prevention, education and direct care.

“We are proud to be celebrating twenty years of an event that has given so much to the organizations that are leading the charge in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” says Johanna Osburn, Executive Director at DIFFA. “The design community has been a tremendous champion of the cause, investing talent, resources and ingenuity year after year to showcase exceptional design while raising awareness and much-needed funds for an issue that affects so many. We have made great strides, but with an estimated 1.2 million individuals living with HIV in the US, 1 and 8 unaware of their status, our work is not done.”

DIFFA_Humanscale_ToddBracher_LThe 20th annual DINING BY DESIGN New York will bring together over 40,000 guests to experience a dazzling array of over-the-top table designs by more than 30 designers, architects, manufacturers and brands. This year’s tabletop displays represent a diverse array of creative talent, each of whom will transform a raw space into an immersive exhibit representing a unique concept, many tying in themes related to the cause. Leading brands including Florim, Roche Bobois and Gensler, and M Moser have utilized their table installation to raise awareness toward the fight against HIV/AIDS. Through their table design, M Moser aims to encourage contemplation and ultimately action in the race to zero: zero new infections and zero discrimination in the continued fight against HIV/AIDS.

Through DIFFA’s Student Design Initiative, sponsored by the Angelo Donghia Foundation, local design schools built installations, taking special care to create an installation that raises awareness about HIV/AIDS care and prevention. Students from Parsons will incorporate found materials from each of New York City’s five boroughs, coming together in a single color; an analogy for the many New Yorkers affected by HIV/AIDS. The Pratt Institute installation will represent a “home” in the fight against AIDS. The New York School of Interior Design has titled their installation “Shining Brightly Together.” Evoking emotion and energy through light and color, it symbolically references a pulsating heartbeat. A series of lines merge in the center to embrace a theme of unity.

In addition to the design installations, DINING BY DESIGN will feature a silent auction, complete with innovative products, original artwork and unique experiences. A special part of the auction will include custom-designed pieces from a group of artists and designers that will be featured in a campaign from ONE CONDOMS to benefit DIFFA. ONE Makes a DIFFArence is an educational program in which professional and student artists create one-of-a-kind designs to benefit DIFFA’s work. As part of the program, ONE and DIFFA worked together to educate students in New York City about sexual health.

DIFFA_Rockwell Group_Ovando_L“In this 20th year, we are absolutely thrilled to have sponsors who have supported us since the first decade of DINING BY DESIGN, like Create and Barrel, Ralph Lauren, Benjamin Moore, the New York Design Center, and our beloved Rockwell Group,” says Cindy Allen, Interior Design Editor and Chief and Chair of the Board for DIFFA National. “We also are wowed by the growing designer-manufacturer collaborations designing tables like Gensler and Knoll, Perkins + Will and Steelcase, and Knoll, and Poltrona Frau with Benjamin Noriega Ortiz. This event truly represents the BEST of what this industry has to offer!”

David Rockwell, former Chair of the Board for DIFFA National whose firm the Rockwell Group has participated in the event since its inception in 1997 adds, “DIFFA’s Dining by Design has become an integral and thriving part of the design community. It’s incredible to see designers come together year after year to make a difference for people living with HIV/AIDS.”

The displays are available for viewing from Thursday through Sunday, and set the stage for two fundraising parties: Cocktails By Design (Thursday, March 16) and the DINING BY DESIGN Gala Dinner (Monday, March 20).

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