The Special Projects That Will Stop You in Your Tracks at Design Miami 2026

The galleries at Design Miami are where the market lives. The Special Projects and Curios programs are where the ideas live. For the 22nd edition — running December 1 through 6 at Convention Center Drive and 19th Street in Miami Beach, under curatorial director Charlene Prempeh's theme of Unveiling — both programs are stacked with work that demands time, attention, and a willingness to be surprised. Read Prempeh's full curatorial statement.

Achille Salvagni Atelier opens with UNDER THE SKIN, an exploration of what lies beneath objects' surfaces through parchment-clad wood. The technique is ancient — parchment over wood is a craft with centuries of history — but Salvagni uses it to ask contemporary questions about permanence, cultural memory, and the relationship between surface and structure. It is the kind of work that rewards close looking.

Alex Turco transforms salt, volcanic stone, sea sponges, charred wood, and crystals gathered from meaningful places across the globe into handcrafted works of epoxy resin. The materials are the story: each piece carries the geography of its ingredients, blurring the line between art, sculpture, and collectible design. Turco appears in both the Special Projects and Curios programs, which tells you something about the range of his practice.

Atelier Franck Genser debuts Sub Sea, a collaboration with ABC Stone that marks the beginning of a new working relationship. Three new works and a re-edition of the Piscine table in marble evoke an ocean-floor landscape of mineral tones, reflections, and light. The stand is designed to feel like descent — a slow move from surface to depth.

Atelier Oblique and Coldefy collaborate on Liminal, a bench where a slab of natural stone appears to hover between two glass planes. The engineering required to make stone appear weightless is considerable; the effect, when it works, is the kind of quiet miracle that collectible design exists to produce.

AUTOBODY presents eight interpretations of the mailbox — one of the most mundane, utilitarian, and democratically recognizable objects imaginable. The project is charming and pointed: before visitors become spectators and consumers, AUTOBODY invites them to become participants. It is a small act of democratic design in a fair that can sometimes feel exclusively rarefied.

Nigerian artist Samuel Nnorom's Fabric of Society, presented by KATES-FERRI PROJECTS, covers the wall in undulating constellations of African wax fabric and stitched foam orbs, evoking the invisible threads that hold communities together. It is one of the most politically resonant works in the program — a meditation on connection, diaspora, and the materials through which culture is transmitted.

The Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF) presents contemporary Korean craft works exploring the relationship between material, craftsmanship, and artistic expression. Korean craft has been having a significant international moment, and KCDF's presence at Design Miami is both a recognition of that moment and a contribution to it.

Myles Igwebuike's Ifeoma, presented by Of The Cloth, opens by reading the Igbo weaving tradition Akwete as structural intelligence — an ancestral algorithm of tension, repetition, and load. The four-part textile series is one of the most intellectually rigorous works in the program, treating traditional craft as a form of engineering knowledge that deserves the same respect as any contemporary design methodology.

NATHAN YONG DESIGN's EMERGE — New Asian Narratives brings together eleven designers from Southeast Asia, presenting limited-edition works that explore material, tradition, and contemporary design through culturally specific perspectives. It is the kind of program that reminds you how much of the design world's most interesting work is happening outside the traditional Euro-American axis.

STRONG & PRECIOUS ART FOUNDATION presents Doloni: Objects of Presence, exploring the connection between touch, material, and memory through Ukrainian works across jewelry, ceramics, furniture, and textiles. The work proposes a more intimate approach to collectible design — objects that carry the weight of where they come from and what they mean to the people who made them. Read the full Doloni feature.

The Curios program invites designers, architects, curators, and gallerists to present immersive installations — each one a focused narrative, a cabinet of curiosities. Read the full Curios program preview. This year's lineup includes Hagit Pincovici's Shibari Collection, which applies the Japanese rope discipline to furniture in natural rope and travertine, capturing the tension and relaxation at the heart of the practice. HOMA asks whether stone can flow and glass can hold the movement of molten heat. Marcela Cure's Color in Suspension is a new resin collection of seven mirrors, six sculptural vessels, and two tables, each cast individually to explore repetition, translucency, and the tension between intention and material.

Merida Studio's Awaken Rise is an immersive environment of monochromatic yellow textiles by Sylvie Johnson, unfolding as abstract landscapes revealed by the sun's movement. It debuts her Nuance Period, which opens with yellow — humanity's first color. klove brings a sculptural light installation of hand-blown glass mushrooms, buds, and blossoms that creates a warm, dreamlike glow. OMET presents contemporary collectible design handcrafted by master artisans in Mexico. Sten Studio's Mineraxis explores the hidden geometry of the Earth through works inspired by mineral formation and crystalline structures. Tokio. presents a site-specific installation in carbon fibre that explores the relationship between material, structure, and light.

The partner program — Range Rover, Kohler, Gaggenau, Sprayground, CADAR, Maison Perrier-Jouët, and SCAD — runs alongside these works throughout the fair. Read the full partners breakdown. For hours, tickets, and logistics, see the visitor guide.

Design Miami 2026 runs December 1 through 6. Preview days December 1 and 2 are by invitation only. Public hours begin Wednesday, December 2 at 1 PM. Tickets and full programming at designmiami.com.