Image by: Design Week Melbourne
Design
Week.
Design the World You Want
Melbourne Design Week 2023 celebrates design through talks, tours, exhibitions, launches, installations, and workshops. The program chooses three pillars each year to address the ever-changing opportunities and challenges that designers face.
This year’s theme revolves around ‘Design the World You Want’, with the three pillars being transparency, currency and legacy, asking participants to think about time and scale to design the world they want.
Read on to view some of the amazing exhibitions we are looking forward to this year, or head to the NGV to view the full program for 2023.
1. WASTE DREAM by Mater x Cult
“A circular design exhibition exploring how waste can be made into furniture.”
The exhibition explores how different waste streams from industrial production can be turned into new materials in the furniture industry.
Visitors can view circular waste installations and discover the design and production behind Mater’s ‘Conscious Collection’ – a series of products by Børge Mogensen, Space Copenhagen, Eva Harlou and Nanna Ditzel, with each product made with Matek® – a revolutionary new material that uses waste products such as coffee bean shells and fishing nets and up-cycles it into a unique composite material that is made into new furniture.
Learn more about the installations here.
Location
Enter via 137 Berkeley Street, Carlton VIC 3053
2. Designing an Australian Garden
Professional garden design has a short but rich history in Australia, dominated by the influence of 20th-century luminaries such as Edna Walling, Ellis Stones and Gordon Ford.
Australia has changed significantly since the close of the last century, both climatically and culturally. What makes for a successful garden in Australia now? What characterises contemporary Australian garden design, distinct from the legacy of these 20th-century greats?
“Join garden designer Fiona Brockhoff and landscape architect Kate Cullity in a conversation considering these questions and how these two renowned experts approach the design of their own gardens.”
Click here to learn more about the upcoming exhibition.
Time and location
Wed 24 May6:00pm – 7:00 pm
A bookshop by Uro at Collingwood Yards, Johnston Street, Collingwood VIC, Australia
3. Melbourne Now: No House Style
Assembling leading and emerging Melbourne-based furniture designers and architects, No House Style views contrasting styles that are emblematic of Melbourne’s creative spirit.
Going against mainstream trends, the designers and architects are assisting to establish a picture of Melbourne’s design that is expressive of contemporary issues and values.
Location
Ground Level, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
View more about the exhibition here.
4. Origin To Object Presented by CERES Fair Wood
The question of the origin of timber is becoming increasingly difficult to answer. CERES Fair Wood has collaborated with a number of local furniture makers on sustainable timber journeys to create a truly local piece of furniture.
The process involves sharing the timber’s origin and journey from a standing tree with the makers.
“The exhibition seeks to highlight the connection made when carrying forward the story and knowledge of a tree and caring for it through responsible material selection. The final pieces tell the story of the tree, the grower, the miller, and the maker, connecting people to their place.”
Location
Industrial School, Abbotsford Convent
Click here for more information about the exhibition.
5. Room For Everyone: Designing For Inclusivity
The exhibition discusses how inclusive design can right past wrongs and create more welcoming public spaces in the future and examines the vital role of design in creating a more inclusive society.
“Join an informative and exploratory discussion as a panel of design experts examines the crucial role of design in breaking down barriers to social inclusion.”
Location
The Wheeler Centre 176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000
