This November, Geelong Design Week, Regional Victoria’s largest and leading annual design festival – presents 10 days of 70+ innovative exhibitions, workshops, tours, talks and experiences throughout Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast.
Celebrating Geelong’s status as Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, the program promises to inspire, educate, and push the boundaries of creative innovation. This year’s focus emphasises local designers, Aboriginal designs, and sustainable practices, reflecting a commitment to advancing design excellence.
Bringing together businesses, designers, creatives, students and the community, Geelong Design Week will showcase and celebrate design projects, stories and talents from across the region and beyond – offering an unparalleled opportunity to network, collaborate, and exchange ideas.
“This year’s Geelong Design Week offers an immersive experience in home-grown design, blending new perspectives with time-honoured techniques,” said City of Greater Geelong’s Executive Director of Placemaking, Tennille Bradley. “It’s an invitation to explore how creative, conscious design can shape our future and rediscover forgotten crafts.”
Combining a mix of free and ticketed events, this year’s expanded program features both in-person and online experiences, ensuring accessibility for all community members. Highlights in the 2024 program include:
MOTEL
Take a spin through Aussie holidays of the past with MOTEL, the acclaimed live show from comedian and self proclaimed design nerd Tim Ross and musician Kit Warhurst. Sentimental, nostalgic and of course hilarious, this is a must for anyone who has checked in and helped themselves to a twin pack of biscuits in a classic motel.
Ten Years of Dowel Jones
Join Dowel Jones as they transform one of the National Wool Museum’s galleries into a house filled with their collaborative projects, including furniture, lighting, ceramics and textiles. Entirely custom made, this exhibition is designed, developed and manufactured for the space. Discover the Dowel Jones design process in which everyone plays a part to make furniture that is anything but ordinary.
The Sweet Spot – Between Art & Design
A diverse selection of works comprising recent acquisitions to Geelong Gallery’s collection. Testing the nexus between art and design, they reflect the Gallery’s evolving strategy and growing commitment to exhibit and collect the works of key practitioners working at the tantalising and experimental intersection of art and design.
Arch Hive
This project celebrates Geelong’s rich culture of design, art, architecture, and industry from past to present through an exhibition and workshop of new creative works created using scans and photographs of artefacts from The Geelong Heritage Centre Archives coupled with contemporary design ephemera.
Kip&Co Jenny Kee + Ken Done Collaborations
Kip&Co present their first collection with Jenny Kee – a homewares and apparel collaboration. A celebration of both Jenny and the unique and wondrous Australian environment her art has championed for over fifty years. They will also present their third collection with Ken Done. The godfather of Australian style, it will feature all new prints and products for the whole family – luminous, vibrant colours, with an intangible feeling of bright crisp sunshine and a sense of optimism and irreverence.
McGlashan Everist Walking Tour
Join a guided walking tour through Geelong’s city centre, highlighting iconic projects by McGlashen Everist. Discover architectural landmarks such as the Geelong Carousel, Deakin University, and more. The tour will conclude at Eden Oak, where you can unwind with a drink and engage in a lively discussion about the design legacy of McGlashen Everist. This event offers a unique opportunity to explore the city’s built heritage while celebrating the lasting impact of local design.
Matter(s) of Time
This exhibition transforms recycled waste into immersive spaces, featuring textiles evolving into living matter and sawdust biomaterials, developed in collaboration with Cultivated, dyed with bacterial and natural dyes derived from food waste, with pH adjustments creating diverse hues.
Circle of Thread – Pop Up
The “Circle of Thread Activation” features a striking installation – a towering mountain of unsellable clothing that invites the public to engage in hands-on, creative repair. This interactive event encourages participants to take garments from the pile and work alongside designers to mend and repurpose them, breathing new life into discarded textiles.
Nyaal Banyul – A Place of Baierr
Join some of the key design leads in the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre to learn how Wadawurrung Traditional Owner knowledge, values and culture are shaping this exciting project. As the first convention centre in Australia named in a traditional language, Nyaal Banyul recognises and respects the Wadawurrung heritage of the site as a place of baierr or gathering.
Geelong Design Week continues to 30 November 2024. For more information and full program, visit: www.geelongdesignweek.com.au for details.
Images: Ten Years of Dowel Jones (supplied) | Kit Warhurst and Tim Ross feature in MOTEL (supplied) | The Carousel at Geelong Waterfront (supplied)