Highlights announced for Sydney Design Festival

The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) has announced a number of highlights for Sydney Design Festival’s 20^th iteration.

The festival – running between 2 and 11 March – will open with a design exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. Common Good will explore design trends in Australia and neighbouring regions, and the positive design-lead responses to social, ethical and environmental challenges.

Well-known Australian broadcaster and comedian, Tim Ross, will also curate an exhibition as part of Sydney Design Festival. Design Nation will celebrate the ingenuity of Australian design, showcasing Ross’ picks of Australia’s most iconic, everyday inventions from the Museum's collection.

Talks will come from the likes of David Gianotten, managing partner architect of OMA; Eisuke Tachikawa, founder of Japanese design collective NOSIGNER; Zhang Ke, architect and founder of ZAO/standardarchitecture; architect and design researcher Joshua Bolchover; and designer Pamm Hong.

This year’s festival will take on a new format from previous years, and will be a collaborative platform where the majority of the events – exhibitions, installations, talks, workshops and tours – will be presented by practitioners. These events will respond to the theme of ‘Call to Action’, and will consider the role of design in addressing global issues.

The full Sydney Design Festival program will be announced on 29 January.