Geelong Design Week will return from 1 to 11 October 2026 with more than 100 exhibitions, workshops, talks, tours, performances and public activations staged across Australia's only UNESCO City of Design.

The flagship event of the 2026 program is the inaugural Victorian Regional Design Fair, running from 1 to 4 October at the newly opened Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre, 80 Western Beach Rd, Geelong, Victoria. Free to attend, the Fair will bring together more than 50 designers, studios and creative businesses from Greater Geelong and regional Victoria, presenting work spanning furniture, fashion, ceramics, landscape design, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.

A dedicated timeline will situate this contemporary work within more than 60,000 years of design and innovation in Djilang. A comprehensive talks series will run alongside the exhibitions, and a pop-up shop will feature more than 100 locally designed and manufactured products. The Fair opens with an invitation-only industry launch on Thursday 1 October at 4.30pm, before opening to the public from Friday 2 October through to Sunday 4 October.

Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM says the event is unmissable. “Geelong Design Week continues to demonstrate why our region is recognised as Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design,” says Mayor Kontelj. “It showcases the creativity, innovation and talent that shape Geelong’s design culture and provides a platform for designers to make their mark in the industry.” The 2024 edition attracted more than 40,000 visitors across 86 events, drawing audiences from regional Victoria, Melbourne and interstate.

City of Greater Geelong CEO Ali Wastie says the 2026 program will expand opportunities for designers across regional Victoria. “We’re proud to present our biggest Geelong Design Week yet and invite people to discover the ideas, places and creative talent that make our region distinctive,” says Wastie. “The inaugural Fair will connect regional designers with industry and new audiences, helping turn four days in Geelong into relationships and opportunities that last. As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, we want visitors to see why design matters here and feel part of what comes next.”

Architecture, heritage and place

The wider 11-day program spans architecture, heritage, culture and materials. On 2 October at Nyaal Banyul, Open House Melbourne, Woods Bagot, Plenary and the Victorian Convention and Event Trust will reveal the design thinking, cultural influences and collaborative process behind Geelong’s newly opened convention and event centre.

At Deakin University’s Waterfront Gallery, Built Legacies runs from 1 to 11 October — historic drawings, photographs and project records from McGlashan Everist’s 70-year archive alongside contemporary student responses, marking the archive’s donation to Deakin. The university’s ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres will also host talks and facility tours exploring textile circularity and sustainable materials. On 6 October, Architecture Film Nights presents The Promise at The Pivotonian Cinema. At the Geelong Botanic Gardens on 3 October, Gardens by Design offers three curator-led talks examining 175 years of design, horticulture and conservation decisions.

Art, culture and experience

On 9 October at Crowne Plaza Geelong, exhibition designer Peter King and Design Institute of Australia chief executive officer Simone LeAmon will discuss how space, lighting and storytelling shaped the design of the Discovering the Impressionists exhibition at the Geelong Gallery.

Interior of the H.F. Richardson Gallery at Geelong Gallery, showing visitors with Impressionist paintings — Geelong Design Week 2026

Above: Peter King and Design Institute of Australia chief executive officer Simone LeAmon, Discovering the Impressionists exhibition at the Geelong Gallery / Supplied.

At Platform Arts, What A Ripper! Live on 10 October sees Tim Ross turn his attention to the Stackhat, Splayd, Speedo and other home-grown Australian inventions in a live, nostalgic account of local design ingenuity. Also on 10 October, Extra Lives combines a live band, comedy and gaming in a performance where the audience directs the story in real time.

The National Wool Museum will host On the Move for the full 11 days — an interactive family exhibition created with illustrator James Gulliver Hancock exploring transport design through hands-on activities and Australian innovations. A nightly digital projection, Third Nature, will illuminate Shorts Place throughout the event.

The program concludes on Sunday 11 October with a free community runway and block party celebrating Geelong’s independent fashion scene, alongside the Geelong Design Market at the historic Mills building in Newtown.

The full Geelong Design Week 2026 program is at geelongdesignweek.com.au. Early registration is encouraged for ticketed and capacity-limited events.

Images: Grant Featherston, Design for life 2 / Supplied

Architecture & Design Team

Let’s connect!