A “Call for Events” has been issued for the Fourth Annual Boston Design Week, a 12-day citywide design festival taking place March 29 – April 9, 2017. Non-profit organizations, government agencies, businesses, individuals and designer collaboratives are invited to propose events for Boston Design Week.

In 2016, over 11,000 design enthusiasts attended more than 80 events that took place in nine neighborhoods of Boston and in ten towns in the Greater Boston area. Proclaimed “Boston Design Week” by Mayor Martin J. Walsh, businesses, organizations and individuals opened their doors to the public with exhibitions and programs for families, professionals and students.

All events are open to the public and most are free of charge and include guest speakers, product design, open houses, graphic and web design, behind-the-scenes tours, film screenings, fashion shows, design competitions, museum exhibitions, panel discussions, receptions and more.

A “Call for Events” has been issued, with an initial deadline for registering an event of January 23, 2017. For more information, to download the Participation Guide, or to register an event, visit www.BostonDesignWeek.com or call 617-363-0405.

Kicking off on Wednesday, March 29th with several evening events across the city, Boston Design Week concludes with the 10th Anniversary AD20/21: Art & Design of the 20th & 21st Centuries art and design show and sale at the Cyclorama April 6-9. A Gala Preview to celebrate and support Boston Design Week is planned for Thursday evening, April 6th from 5:30-8:30pm at the AD20/21 show. Other events already scheduled for Design Week include the annual American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Awards Gala on Friday, March 31 to be held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

With 40 years of experience in the art and design fields, Fusco & Four launched the first annual Boston Design Week in March 2014. “Our continuing mission is to increase public awareness and appreciation of all aspects of design and foster recognition of the vital role design and our creative industries play in our lives,” comments Co-Producer Tony Fusco. “Unless you are standing out in the middle of nature, everything around you is consciously designed: from the clothes you wear, to the phone you carry, to your home, workplace and beyond. Good design has the power to touch us, to lift us up, to make our lives better, and impart a profound sense of well-being – bad design can have the opposite effect.”

Fusco notes, “We have already received dozens of inquiries from potential participants as anticipation of the Fourth Annual Boston Design Week builds. Our goal is not only to showcase the wealth of design and creative industries we have in the Boston area, but also to facilitate participation from national and international designers and design-related companies.”

This year Boston Design Week will have three special focus tracks. Events that fall into these tracks will receive a special designation to help audiences find and follow a track of interest. The three tracks for 2017 are Designing Boston, Design and Social Impact, and Professional Focus. Designing Boston will include programs on the future design of our city, urban planning, historic preservation, public art, and Boston’s architecture. Design and Social Impact includes sustainable and renewable design, design with a social purpose, and related areas. Professional Focus incorporates industry-networking events, new product applications, design education and student contests.

“If you need ideas as to the type of event you can offer, just log on to our website and flip through a virtual edition of last year’s 112-page Guidebook,” Fusco notes. “You’ll see an incredibly wide range of events appealing to all audiences.”

For more information, to register an event for Boston Design Week, or to inquire about Sponsorship, visit www.BostonDesignWeek.com or call 617-363-0405.

Editor's Note:                       

• Complete calendar of events by mid February 2017

• Additional background on reques

• Interviews with the organizers and participants encouraged
•  Media coverage of all events is invited