9 must-see melbourne design week events
Book fairs, crafty workshops and a crapload of free exhibitions.
Calling all design-y folk in Melbourne/Naarm! Melbourne Design Week is back for another year of top-notch visuals and clever conversations this May 14th to 24th. Featuring over 400 events across the city and the state, we’ve narrowed it down to a wee nine to check out across the 10 days of arty festivities. Spy our picks below.
NATURAL DYE WORKSHOP WITH ATW We’re big ol’ fans of the Australian Tapestry Workshop – heck, we even chatted to their co-CEO about biz stuff! This hands-on workshop invites artists and design professionals to explore the possibilities of botanical dyeing, happening one-day-only on May 9th (you can snag tickets here).
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BUILT CHARACTER: A SHARED EXPLORATION OF FURNITURE, OBJECTS AND ILLUSTRATION WITH KA RA STUDIO AND SAMANTHA CURCIO frankie favourite Samantha Curcio (you can spy some snaps of her snazzy abode in issue 130) is joining forces with furniture designer Katrina Ramm of Ka Ra Studio to bring us this free exhibition at Abbottsford Convent. Built Character will breathe life into Samantha’s digital illustrations thanks to Katrina’s timber forms. It’s running from May 13th to 16th.
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TREADING LIGHTLY Taking place at Koorie Heritage Trust from May 14th to 17th, Treading Lightly is a fashion and textiles exhibition that will showcase over 38 bits crafted by six First Peoples artists and designers based in Victoria. You’ll get a sneak peek at lovely garments, textile works and accessories, all grounded in Country, culture and sustainability.
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A DECADE OF MENUS WITH LONG PRAWN Who better to showcase an exhibit of menus than the cool folk behind Long Prawn? (The answer is no one.) This free exhibition in Melbourne’s CBD – happening from May 14th to 18th – is a walk down memory lane of menus. Trust us, that’s all you need to know – eat up.
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KEEP UP WITH MEG KOLAC Melbourne-based illustrator and designer Meg Kolac is showcasing her playful work in this free exhibition from May 14th to 21st in Collingwood. If you’re a fan of design work that leans into the absurdity of life and the endless checklists intertwined within it, this honest and deeply human exhibition is the one for you.
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LA GRANDE FÊTE (THE GRAND FEAST) Another snazzy free exhibition in the CBD, La Grande Fête (The Grand Feast) is a curated jewellery exhibition that sees food-inspired objects being transformed into sculptural pieces to wear. Clever designers DANIEL + EMMA are inviting a slew of rad artists to join them to interpret the work, as well you too of course, from May 14th to 23rd.
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MELBOURNE ART BOOK FAIR Unfolding inside the NGV’s Great Hall from May 15th to 17th, the iconic Melbourne Art Book Fair is a top-notch choice of event this Design Week. Featuring a slew of stalls that cover everything from artist books and zines to small press publishing and experimental formats, you'll be sure to get your mitts on some goodies here.
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BLAK: DEFINING AN AUSTRALIAN FUTURE This free lecture presented by Melbourne School of Design on Saturday May 16th will feature award-winning design whizz and descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin people Alison Page as she explores BLAK as a powerful reassertion of Indigenous identity and creative sovereignty with contemporary practice.
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DESIGNED BY HUMAN, CUT BY MACHINE WITH CONRAD-S This free pop-up showroom in Brunswick will see brand-new furniture label Conrad-S present furniture as an art collection, journeying viewers from prototypes and sketches to rad finished pieces. Happening across the course of Design Week, the exhibition is perfect for furniture-lovers and design nerds alike.
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Spy the entire Melbourne Design Week program on their website. For more design-y goodness, check out this vintage stamp collection or have a squiz at these crafty bits and bobs. Plus, sign up to our newsletter to stay in the loop.
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