Opening this Saturday and continuing through this weekend is Model Citizens NYC.  Our friend Charles Constantine has some great pieces in it, we stopped by his studio a couple days ago to see what he was working on.  (uncomfortable picture after the jump!)

The First Annual Independent Design Exhibition: Model Citizens NYC 2009.

Model Citizens is a newly formed organization committed to:

Celebrating and connecting an International community of independent designers.

Fostering relationships between local manufacturers, fabricators, and suppliers.

Engaging designers through dialogue of how good design becomes good business.

Encouraging the collaborative spirit by sharing the stories of the people involved.

Made up of independent designers as well as design related business partners, Model Citizens includes all of the individuals who, together, represent a sustained model of productivity within the design industries. We recognize that without risk there is no innovation, without trust there are no new relationships or opportunities, and without a commitment to new approaches to design practices we create nothing.  Model Citizens takes a community-based approach to creating opportunities for the independent designers and their business partners to generate viable economic solutions.

Model Citizens encourages talented people to explore, share and market creative innovation. By organizing gallery venues and presentation events, our goal is to bring creatively motivated people together. Our events are intended to highlight the designers that generate original ideas but also the skilled individuals behind the process that produces them. Whether it means a designer learning from a new technology, a small manufacturer energizing their business with fresh thinking, or potential buyers discovering something outrageous, Model Citizens is dedicated to unleashing the excitement that occurs when inspired individuals come together to create the extraordinary.