“A good fair has a real identity and vibe to it,” says Rodman Primack, who’s been the chief creative officer of DesignMiami since 2014. Having worked for Peter Marino, Christie’s, Gagosian Gallery, and Phillips, as well as running his own interior design studio, Primack was equipped to transform the furniture fair into an elegant but ebullient celebration of design. “One of the things I love about Miami is the Wild West nature of it—the city is constantly reinventing itself. DesignMiami’s identity taps into that humor and casual looseness alongside something more serious.”
Nearly 40,000 people make their way to Miami for the fair each year. The crowds have grown, but Primack says that numbers aren’t the primary metrics he uses to determine the show’s success. “The fair reflects the scale of the market, so doubling the size of the fair isn’t realistic,” he explains. “The real impetus is to grow the selection: make it more interesting, give it more depth, and have more material that is new to the people attending.” His greatest act is instilling a sense of openness. “Yes, the work needs to be good, but I also think the fair needs to have a sense of abundance and generosity,” he says. “Very often, these worlds of art collecting and design collecting seem impenetrable and exclusive. It’s important to demystify that, to take away that pretense that these fairs are only for the rich people who can afford to buy these pieces. A high percentage of our visitors are not coming to buy, but I’m excited that so many people are coming and I don’t want them to feel overwhelmed.”
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