New York City Mayor Bloomberg has officially proclaimed April 25 through May 1 as Art and Antiques Week in New York. In the same statement, he welcomed the first annual Spring Show NYC hosted by the Art and Antique Dealers League of America.

Art and Antiques Week will consist of a series of events beginning with a benefit preview for the ASPCA on April 27 at the Park Avenue Armory. A second event, Arts’ Night Out for Young Patrons, takes place April 29 from 5 to 9 pm.

Michael Franks and Clinton Howell; and Wendy Moonan at the AADLA press luncheon at Doubles Club.

“The idea behind Art and Antiques Week NYC is to celebrate the world’s greatest cultural center: New York City,” said Clinton Howell, President of AADLA and owner of Clinton Howell Antiques on the Upper East Side. “There are more cultural events going on in this city at any given moment than anywhere else in the world. “

Lars Bolander interior featured in his book, Scandinavian Design.

Organizers have enlisted the talents of Swedish designer Lars Bolander to create a visual tour de force for the AADLA Spring Show. The exhibition hall will be visually opened up to the structural ceiling, which will allow natural light to pour in. Nearly 125 feet of fabrics will be used on each end of the building to hide the existing seating areas on the balcony.

Park Avenue Armory drill hall

The ceiling will be lighted with numerous spotlights from the balcony. The overall affect is a bright open clean space that will serve as a counterpoint to the dealers’ offerings on their stands. Seven-foot tall obelisks will continue throughout the walkways together with upholstered benches. To reinforce the Spring theme, the main coloring throughout the obelisks and seating are various shades of green.

Ellen Scarborough, Mario Buatta and Barbara Dixon at the AADLA press luncheon at Doubles Club.

"So, how will our show be new and different?" said Howell. "We believe that it has to do primarily with whom the show reaches out to. As much as collectors and interior designers are important, our goal is to inspire and encourage a new and younger audience, if not to come and buy, to come and look."

"My father was an executive recruiter, and one of his earlier and better clients was Avis, the rental car company. He used to tell me that he thought their advertising campaign was genius: 'We try harder.'  In essence, that is what the creation of our new show is—a group of top-notch dealers who believe that by trying harder they can do a better job of creating an event that will be an integral part of New York City’s cultural landscape."

Photos by Ann Watts.