Melbourne Design Week has announced its largest program to date. This year’s program includes more than 200 events comprising 47 exhibitions, 14 film screenings, 77 talks, 22 tours and 18 workshops across Melbourne and for the first time, Geelong.

The program will explore the central theme of design experiments, which asks the question, ‘How can design shape the future?’

It has been curated under five thematic pillars:

  • Reconnecting with Birrarung, a series presented by Open House Melbourne that explores how we can reconnect with the Yarra River
  • The War on Waste, which reveals the ways in which design can impact the environment
  • Materials, which looks at how designers are thinking about where materials come from and where they will end up
  • Possible Futures, which explores the ways in which design informs our quality of life - from products and services to transport and health
  • Inclusive Cities, a series that interrogates the role of design in redressing the problems of the city and proposing new ways to realise our urban realm

Here are some of the highlights of this year’s program:

Waterfront

Melbourne Design Week celebrates the Birrarung (Yarra River) and asks Melbournians to reconsider and reconnect with the river that runs through the city. Offering unique experiences and insights into this winding watercourse, Open House Melbourne presents Waterfront – a program of conversations, boat tours and special events that deep dive into the role design plays in reframing Melbourne’s relationship with water.

Victorian Design Challenge: Waste challenge live pitch final

The Victorian Design Challenge invites design professionals and students to tackle one of the great challenges of our time – waste. The challenge aims to inspire impactful and implementable solutions that demonstrate the value of design and creativity to the creation of a better future. Craig Reucassel from ABC’s War on Waste leads this year’s challenge jury that will determine who will be crowned Waste Challenge Champions.

Welcome to Wasteland

Plates made from lettuce, jewellery boxes from blood or furniture made from coffee? Welcome to Wasteland is an exhibition that asks if you can see these items, created from everyday waste, in your everyday life.

 

Click here for more information about Melbourne Design Week 2019.

Image: Supplied