Applications are now open for those looking to participate at Melbourne Design Week in March 2022.
A series of talks, tours, workshops and exhibitions across 11 days will discuss the theme of ‘Design the world you want’. Designers, galleries, retailers, institutions, innovators, and individuals invited to consider how design can shape our lives.
The $20,000 Australian Furniture Design Award presented by the NGV and Stylecraft returns once more, along with the Melbourne Design Week Film Festival and Melbourne Art Book Fair.
Tony Ellwood AM, Director at NGV, says the event seeks to connect various members of the design industry through a range of exhibits.
“Melbourne Design Week is an event that brings together design practitioners, advocates, educators and industry. It’s a platform for robust dialogue imperative not only to creative practice, but to all aspects of society. There’s never been a more important time to reunite as a community to shape our future and shape a better world,” he says.
The ‘Design you world you want’ theme is bolstered by two new pillars, Civic Good and Making Good, that will be interrogated by an eclectic range of design disciplines including communication design, industrial design, service design, gaming, architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, fashion, craft and functional art.
Participation in the event is free. With the Melbourne Design Week Award presented by Mercedes-Benz already confirmed, and exhibitions of collectible and limited-edition design by Sydney-based Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur at Tolarno Galleries, and by Adelaide duo Daniel Emma at Sophie Gannon Gallery.
Since its inception in 2017, Melbourne Design Week has drawn exhibitors and visitors from around the country. 2022 will be no stranger to this premise, with major group shows by Sydney collectible design gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert and Adelaide’s Jam Factory confirmed for the program, alongside presentations conducted by a range of leading Melbourne design studios. Several works exhibited during the week have been acquired for the NGV permanent collection in past years.
The week will also include programming by Open House Melbourne (Centre for Architecture Victoria), the NGV Architecture Commission by Taylor Knights with James Carey, an exhibition celebrating 25 years of the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards, and a new program of design showroom activations set to bring the design industry together, including presentations by Cult, Living Edge and Mobilia among others.
“Design is an important and growing part of Victoria’s dynamic creative industries, it’s a major creator of jobs and a strong contributor to our state economy. But more than that, design shapes how we live, the way we experience our environment and how we connect with each other,” says Victorian Minister for Creative Industries, Danny Pearson MP.
“Melbourne Design Week celebrates the power of design, showcases local and international design innovators, and explores how we can design the world we want – a better, fairer more sustainable world.”
Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian Government, delivered by Creative Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria, and is proudly supported by Major Partners Mercedes-Benz and Telstra, and Design Partner RMIT University.
Melbourne Design Week’s 2022 program will run from Thursday 17 to Sunday 27 March. Applications to participate are now open via designweek.melbourne.
