Melbourne Design Week 2026 leans into this shift, offering a huge program of events that explore where design is heading.

Among them, two stand out for anyone interested in how First Nations knowledge is reshaping design in Australia: Alison Page: Creative Shape Shifter and BLAK Chat: First Nation Creative Futures. Seen together, they offer both context and a look ahead.

Alison Page: Creative Shape Shifter

This exhibition is the first major solo show of designer, filmmaker and artist Alison Page, whose work has influenced Australian design for decades.

Covering more than 25 years, it brings together projects across interiors, landscapes, public art and objects. What ties it all together is storytelling, Page’s work connects people to Country through layered narratives that are both ancient and contemporary.

For architects and designers, her idea of “Designing with Country” is the key takeaway. It asks the cohort to rethink site entirely, not as empty ground to build on, but as something alive, with its own history, meaning and responsibilities. It’s a shift away from taking, and toward working in relationship.

The exhibition also highlights her broader impact, including her work with the Merrima Aboriginal Design Unit and the founding of the National Aboriginal Design Agency (NADA).

More than a retrospective, it’s a prompt: to rethink authorship, to design with story, and to treat Country as a collaborator, not just a backdrop.

Don't miss out.

BLAK Chat: First Nation Creative Futures

This talk brings together First Nations voices, including Brad Webb, Evelyn Araluen, James Gililand, Alison Page and David Parkin, to discuss where design is heading and who gets to shape it.

“BLAK” signals a reclaiming of identity, but the conversation goes beyond that. It’s about a broader shift where First Nations perspectives are central, not added on.

For designers, the value here is simple: listening. Hearing directly from people who are actively redefining how design connects to culture, sovereignty and community.

Alongside Page’s exhibition, the talk feels like a live extension—less about what has been done, more about what’s possible.

It raises big questions: Who designs? Whose knowledge matters? And what might architecture look like if First Nations thinking truly leads the way?

Join the conversation here.

Image: Alison Page / supplied

Clémence Carayol

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