Bill Carroll pieces together a chair with wood chips + saw dust and the School of Visual Arts puts on an interactive, 5-part exhibition at WantedDesign Manhattan 2022!

Closing out the WantedDesign Manhattan 2022 Launch Pad program, we?re excited to share the final winners, this time for the Best of Students and Schools, a showcase that was sponsored by Alessi and presented with Design Milk this year. 

Taking home the Best of Schools prize, the School of Visual Arts MFA in Products of Design (PoD) wowed the jury with RE-ACTORS, a series of five installations designed to create ?re-physicalizing? and ?re-socializing? experiences that trigger specific emotional reactions from its visitors. The interactive exhibition is also the annual showing of Design Performance, SVA PoD?s course that explores how design influences our daily lives. 
RE-ACTORS is made of five separate parts. Eye2Eye pairs two guests together to stare into each other?s eyes; the 20 seconds of extended eye contact leads to feelings of calm and love triggered by the release of oxycontin.

Hugg brings back the lost sensation of an embrace, which was a common gesture pre-pandemic. Guests are embraced by a contraption where inflating pumps gradually apply pressure, recreating the feeling of a hug, releasing mood-boosting chemicals like serotonin and oxytocin, and reducing stress hormones like cortisol.

The Lean structure lets visitors relax into postures that feel safe and predictable even alongside ...