Boston, MA – This year’s Boston Design Week Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Roger Thomas, Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design & Development, and Principal at The Roger Thomas Collection. He is currently directing the design of the Encore Boston Harbor.
The Design Week Awards take place Friday, April 5, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Artists for Humanity Epicenter in South Boston. The awards are the culminating event of the 6th Annual Boston Design Week. Tickets to the awards are: $250 for 5:30 p.m. VIP admission, or $50 for the Awards Celebration Party at 6:30 p.m. The presentations and brief speaking program take place at 6:00 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.BostonDesignWeek.com/awards.
Boston Design Week was launched in March 2014. The 12-day citywide festival in 2019 will feature 80+ events in every Boston neighborhood and in numerous suburbs throughout greater Boston. All programs and events are Open to the Public, and most are Free with RSVP.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an outstanding individual in the world of design whose work has spanned both the 20th and 21st centuries. Past Lifetime Achievement Award recipients include: Vladimir Kagan, Dakota Jackson, Massimo and Leila Vignelli, Vicente Wolf, John P. Axelrod, Robert Campbell, Maurice N. Finegold and others.
Roger Thomas created the interiors of Wynn Resorts worldwide including the new opulent Wynn Palace in Cotai, China. While a recognized leader in interior design for the hospitality industry, Thomas has also designed corporate offices and aircraft interiors, as well as private residences and yachts.
The Roger Thomas Collection includes signature designs and products for APF Master Framemakers, Boyd Lighting, Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman, Fromental, More and Giles Leather, and Rocky Mountain Hardware, among many others.
Thomas was elected to the Hospitality Design Platinum Circle in 2005 and was named “Designer of the Year” at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show® (IH/M&RS) in New York. Thomas is a five-time member of Architectural Digest’s A.D.100 and, in 2015, was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame.
He graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He received a BFA in Art History from Tufts University and an honorary master’s degree from the Interior Design Institute. His work appears in leading journals like Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Interiors and Hospitality Design.
“We are thrilled to welcome Roger back to Boston for this award,” said Boston Design Week Co-Producer Tony Fusco. “The Award is a testament to a stunning career, whose seeds were planted here at the SMFA and Tufts, and which continues now with design of the Encore Boston Harbor.”
The other 2019 awards to be announced and presented at the event include the Mentor of the Year, co-sponsored by The Over My Shoulder Foundation, which has a long history of fostering and recognizing the role of mentors in the design industries. The Artists for Humanity, a fitting location for this award ceremony, is all about training and opportunities for teen apprentices and mentors in art and design. Other awards are: Newcomer of the Year, the Social Impact Award, and Producer’s Choice: Outstanding 2019 Design Week Event.