As part of DesignPhiladelphiaFestival 2026, Dina Wind Art Foundation & Johnson Atelier are
proud to present, An Evening with R & Company, an exciting evening of art and design. Meet
gallery co-founder, artistic director and Philadelphia native Evan Snyderman, who will share
his insights about Philadelphia's important role in the world of craft and design, and offer a
behind the scenes look at OBJECTS: USA, the design triennial currently in planning for 2027.
In 1969, a groundbreaking survey of American crafts titled Objects: USA opened at the
Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., before traveling to venues across the country and
abroad. Uniting an impressive range of established and emerging artists who developed
new approaches to object-making, the event cemented a boundary-blurring movement
that continues to influence contemporary practices today. Despite its timely impact,
however, the worlds of art, craft, and design once again stratified in the decades that
followed.

Since its founding in 1997, R & Company has spearheaded a new approach to collecting
objects, helping to once again dismantle the barriers that separated designers,
craftspeople, and fine artists. Questioning where these fields converge today and the
potential of the handmade object, the gallery launched Objects: USA 2020, honoring the
original exhibition and bringing it into the present. The show has become a triennial, with
its second edition in 2024, and the third iteration for 2027 currently under development.
The next edition will examine whether we have reached a point of true post-disciplinarity in
the arts and posit that objects are not passive things but rather active participants in
culture. Within this fluid landscape, more makers are pushing the limits of material, form,
technique, and scale, creating work that redefines even the distinction between object and
space.

This unique collaborative event was brought to life through Philadelphia connections. Not
only is it Snyderman’s hometown, but the gallery also represents one of Philly’s most
relevant contemporary artists - Roberto Lugo. His most recent commission for the Madison
Square Park Conservancy combined the forces of both R & Company and the Johnson
Atelier to create several monumental enlargements, and Lugo’s largest public art exhibition
to date. This synergy led Dina Wind Art Foundation President John Wind (a board member
at the Atelier’s parent organization, Grounds for Sculpture) to reach out to both institutions
to organize this event, with the intention of letting the Philly design community know about
the work going on behind the scenes at these dynamic institutions. We hope you will join us
for this unique opportunity to hear from these experts in design and fabrication.

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
6:00 - 8:00pm
Dina Wind Art Foundation
1610 S. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
This event is free, but advance RSVP is required