September 16–18, 2026 | Dallas Market Center | Dallas, Texas

Interior designers and design leaders from across the country will gather in Dallas this September as the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) presents GATHER: Catalyst 2026, its national leadership conference.

The three-day event brings together design practitioners, ASID leaders and volunteers, students, educators, and industry partners for professional development, education, networking, and conversations about the future of the interior design profession.

Programming includes a keynote, continuing education opportunities, interactive workshops, leadership development, exhibitor engagement, and networking. Sessions will address areas including career development, business fundamentals, design expertise, and leadership.

The conference opens with keynote speaker Ron Tite, a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and creative director, who will explore how storytelling can help design professionals communicate value, support decision-making, and navigate complex client and project challenges.

Three Design Events Converge in Dallas

One of the most interesting aspects of GATHER: Catalyst 2026 is what’s happening around it.

The conference coincides with Dallas Design Week, September 15–17, and ArchLIGHT Summit, September 15–16, creating several days of overlapping programming at Dallas Market Center.

GATHER attendees receive complimentary access to Dallas Design Week programming on September 16. Dallas Design Week brings together residential, commercial, and hospitality designers, architects, brands, and other design professionals for showroom experiences, conversations, and CEU-accredited programs exploring design innovation, creative materials, and trends influencing interiors.

ArchLIGHT Summit adds another dimension by focusing on architectural and commercial lighting. Lighting designers, specifiers, interior designers, architects, manufacturers, and other professionals will explore emerging lighting technologies, products, design intent, performance, and real-world applications.

For professionals working with living plants indoors, that lighting conversation is particularly relevant. Light is one of the fundamental environmental conditions that determines whether plants can thrive within a space, making collaboration among lighting, interior design, architecture, and interiorscape professionals an important part of successfully integrating living plants into buildings.

An Opportunity to Influence the Future of Interiors

GATHER: Catalyst isn’t specifically a conference about biophilic design or interior plants. Its significance lies in who will be in the room.

Interior designers make decisions every day about materials, lighting, space planning, occupant experience, wellbeing, and the elements that shape interior environments. These are also the professionals who can help determine whether nature and living plants are considered early in a project’s design or introduced only after many of the conditions affecting them have already been established.

As conversations about healthier, more human-centered interiors continue to evolve, gatherings like GATHER provide opportunities for different parts of the design community to exchange ideas, develop new expertise, and strengthen the collaborations that ultimately shape the spaces where people live, work, learn, heal, and gather.

GATHER: Catalyst 2026
September 16–18, 2026
Dallas Market Center | Dallas, Texas