• Thank You for Celebrating Van Alen Books!
• Open House Brunch and Design Speed Dating
• Fitch Foundation Annual Awards Reception
• Festival of Ideas for the New City
• Life at the Speed of Rail: Submit By May 21
• In the Field: Upcoming Programs and Opportunities
• The Public Realm Is Blooming at Van Alen

THANK YOU FOR CELEBRATING VAN ALEN BOOKS!

We’re thrilled that so many of you (over 600!) showed your support on April 21 for the launch of Van Alen Books, our new storefront bookstore and public reading room. From all of us at Van Alen, thank you for making our opening party a huge success! The great response only reaffirmed what we already knew: New York City is ready for a new architecture and design bookstore. If you weren’t able to attend, we’ve posted photos of the party on our Facebook page.

Here’s a big shout-out for the plentiful bar supplied by Absolut Vodka, pizza by Grandaisy Bakery, music by our super DJs Eddie Pak and Sun An, and our hosts Jeanne Gang and Anthony Vidler, whose new editions are now available at Van Alen Books.

We welcome you to stop by the store during our open hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. (Please note: We’ll be closed Saturday, May 7 for the Festival of Ideas—see below for more details.) Come browse our ever-changing selection of 1,000 architecture and design titles, along with Van Alen Books gift cards, tote bags, and more. We’ll see you in the store!

OPEN HOUSE BRUNCH AND DESIGN SPEED DATING

On Saturday, April 30, we hosted another whirlwind round of Design Speed Dating at our second Open House Brunch of 2011. Thanks to everyone who joined us for a festive afternoon of mimosas and great company, especially our fantastic critics Benjamin Prosky (Harvard GSD), Nina Rappaport (Yale University), Marc Tsurumaki (Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis), and Alice Twemlow (School of Visual Arts). And congratulations to this round’s emerging designers: Simon Battisti, Shima Ghafouri, Elizabeth Lasater, and Alessandro Orsini. Stop by our sixth-floor gallery to browse their portfolios, along with 1,000 architecture and design titles on tap in our Reading Room.

And we’re always keeping an eye out for standout designers to feature at our next Design Speed Dating event, so be bold: submit your portfolio as a PDF attachment, 5 MB maximum, to vai@vanalen.org.

FITCH FOUNDATION ANNUAL AWARDS RECEPTION

On Tuesday, May 3 at 6:00 p.m., Van Alen is pleased to host the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation’s Annual Awards Reception, celebrating the foundation’s most recent grant recipients for projects in architectural preservation, including Laura Blokker and Heather Knight, Shawn Evans, Ned Kaufman, Jorge Otero-Pailos, and VAI’s 2009 New York Prize Fellows Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi. We’re extending an invitation to Van Alen members to join us for this evening, which includes a viewing of Van Alen Books followed by the awards program in our sixth-floor gallery. To attend, please RSVP to info@fitchfoundation.org, or call 212-252-6809.

FESTIVAL OF IDEAS FOR THE NEW CITY

This weekend, we’re joining forces with arts and culture groups, grassroots organizations, and local design firms at the Festival of Ideas for the New City, the collaborative extravaganza unfolding over five days in downtown New York. Come visit us on Saturday, May 7 at StreetFest on and around the Bowery, where we’ll open an outpost of our Reading Room from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Stop by and browse a selection of our most thought-provoking titles about public space inspired by The Good Life, VAI’s 2006 exhibition exploring new paradigms for urban play. Look for the yellow balloons!

PRESENT TENSE: THE 2011 D-CRIT CONFERENCE

On Wednesday, May 4, from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m., the School of Visual Arts is hosting Present Tense: The 2011 D-Crit Conference. Join the MFA Design Criticism faculty, along with featured speakers including VAI’s Olympia Kazi, Paola Antonelli, Bjarke Ingels, John Seabrook, Linda Tischler, and Rob Walker. The conference, which takes place at the Visual Arts Theatre in Manhattan, presents work from the program’s 11 graduating students, followed by a panel moderated by documentary film producer Adam Harrison Levy on the future of design criticism. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required by signing up here.

DESIGN IMPACT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

This fall, the social design nonprofit Design Impact is sending its first round of full-time design fellows to India to work with local organizations on five projects applying design to the nation’s social and environmental challenges. Fellows will live and work for six months among India’s resource-poor communities, using their design expertise to build capacity and create social change. Fellows must have three years experience in the field of design. Applications are due June 1, and fellowships commence on November 1. Find more information here.

ARTS WRITERS GRANT PROGRAM

The good people at Creative Capital and the Warhol Foundation have teamed up to present the Arts Writers Grant Program, which supports individual writers whose work addresses contemporary visual art. Writers who meet the program’s eligibility requirements are invited to apply in the categories of Articles, Blogs, Books, New and Alternative Media, and Short-Form Writing. Intended to encourage and reward writing about contemporary art that is rigorous, passionate, eloquent, and precise, the grants range from $3,000 to $50,000 depending on the project scope. Applications are due June 8.

PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE AROUND TOWN

Here are three more May events you won’t want to miss. On Sunday, May 8 from 2 to 6 p.m., Socrates Sculpture Park opens the spring exhibition Vista. Featuring new works by 11 artists, the show explores how viewing affects our interpretation of the physical world. Check out a panel discussion on May 21 with curators and artists at the park’s spectacular East River site.

The Consulate General of the Netherlands and the Battery Conservancy are throwing a cocktail party on Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m. to celebrate the grand opening of the New Amsterdam Plein and Pavilion.  The Ben van Berkel–designed structure will be home to Merchants Market and the Alliance for Downtown New York’s new visitor information booth, located at Peter Minuit Plaza adjacent to the Whitehall Ferry Terminal. Please RSVP to the Battery Conservancy at jmagnusson@thebattery.org.

And on Monday, May 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance presents the Waterfront Conference Floating Follow-Up. Extending the debate about the future of New York’s waterfront, the event features Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward, as well as elected officials and advocates discussing strategies for advancing waterfront revitalization despite difficult economic times. For more information and tickets, click here.

THE PUBLIC REALM IS BLOOMING AT VAN ALEN

Public architecture is in full bloom at Van Alen Institute, with a bouquet of new projects, competitions, and events coming up this spring. From our new storefront bookstore to our call for design ideas Life at the Speed of Rail to our collaboration on a student design competition for Designing the Parks, we’ll have much to share in the months ahead—and we invite you to be a part of all our exciting initiatives by becoming a Van Alen member. Of course, you already know about the 10% members’ discount at Van Alen Books, and you’ll enjoy complimentary VAI publications, invitations to members-only events, and more when you support projects in public architecture. Join us today by signing up here. 

And remember, it’s easy to keep in touch with Van Alen: We’re wherever you are! Browse our home page at www.vanalen.org, find us in your in-box via our monthly newsletter, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Van Alen Institute’s ongoing programs are made possible through the generous assistance of our individual contributors and partners, and are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund. We gratefully appreciate their assistance, and acknowledge the generous support of the following organizations: