DESIGN Canberra brings art and architecture to the capital

DESIGN Canberra is now officially underway, with five new exhibitions added for the ninth edition of the nation’s capital’s design festival.

Running until Sunday 20 November, over 250 events will respond to the 2022 theme of Transformation. The extensive program comprises talks, tours, exhibitions, art installations, workshops and symposiums covering topics from architecture and interior design to public art and 'Nurture' workshops, promoting the benefits of art for mental well-being.

“We are so excited to expand the festival this year by partnering with The Forage to celebrate Canberra as a creative capital and city of design - in all aspects, arts, culture, food and beverages. Design is in everything, including food and music and good design is so abundant in Canberra,” says Craft ACT CEO + Artistic Director, Jodie Cunningham.

Craft ACT will present the inaugural Robert Foster F!nk National Metal Prize, which recognises outstanding work in the field of contemporary metal working. The prize recognises exceptional skill and innovative design, with ten finalists’ works displayed at the exhibition, with a total prize pool of $18,000.

Craft’s Design Centre will additionally present Home Life, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy. The exhibition will showcase the best in contemporary interior design, and has been curated by Elisabetta Pisu.

More than 80 Canberra photographers will have their snaps on show at the Seeing Seventies: Photography Competition, located at the Craft ACT Craft and Design Centre. The best of Canberra’s iconic design and architecture from the 1970s will be on show, with awards given to the best photos taken by both amateur and professional photographers.

Shadow Lines, located at the Canberra Centre, showcases work from OAT Studio’s Sarah Annand. Encompassing photography, painting and textile design, Annand looks to capture the essence of Canberra’s defining 1970’s architectural masterpieces. Annand’s work will present the viewer with a deconstructed urban landscape, inviting observation and analysis of the raw elements that comprise our world.

CTRL.ALT.DESIGN puts the next generation of creative professionals on display. The exhibition will feature University of Canberra students’ works from the disciplines of Architecture, Digital Media, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Visual Communication. The works on show will explore the capacity of digital tools and how the digitally enabled creative can offer new solutions, opportunities and experiences that improve and enrich our daily lives.

For the entire program of exhibitions running at DESIGN Canberra, click here.