Geelong Design Week returns from 1–11 October 2026 with its largest program to date, bringing more than 100 exhibitions, talks, tours, workshops, performances and public activations to Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design.
At the centre of this year’s program is the inaugural Victorian Regional Design Fair, a new four-day event at the recently opened Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre. More than 50 designers, studios, manufacturers, researchers and creative businesses from Greater Geelong and regional Victoria will come together this week from 1–4 October, spanning architecture, furniture, product design, textiles, ceramics, environmental design and advanced manufacturing.
Architecture has a particularly strong presence. IS Architecture, Cooper Scaife Architects, Stonehouse + Irons Architecture, Studio 101 Architects, 3iD Architecture, PLOT Architecture & Urbanism and Tsai Design are among the built-environment practices exhibiting at the Fair. Alongside the exhibition is a three-day program of 14 talks exploring subjects including housing, sustainability, First Nations knowledge, Country-centred design, inclusive practice and artificial intelligence.
The venue itself will become part of the discussion. Nyaal Banyul: Designing a New Landmark for Geelong, presented by Open House Melbourne on 2 October, brings together representatives from Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Woods Bagot, Plenary and the Victorian Convention and Event Trust to discuss the cultural vision, design and delivery of the new waterfront building, including the process of embedding Wadawurrung culture, language and stories within the project.
Elsewhere, architecture extends across the city. Built Legacies marks the donation of McGlashan Everist’s 70-year archive to Deakin University through historic drawings, photography, project records and contemporary student responses, while The Architecture of Wellbeing sees Andrew Maynard of Austin Maynard Architects consider how adaptable and sustainable housing might respond to the climate and housing crises while supporting wellbeing and community.
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Beyond architecture, the program moves through furniture, fashion, materials, technology and Australian design history. Tim Ross will return with What A Ripper! Live, while the National Wool Museum, Geelong Gallery, Platform Arts and Deakin University are among the institutions hosting exhibitions, conversations and interactive experiences. The week concludes on 11 October with a free community fashion runway and block party alongside the Geelong Design Market.
With the new Regional Design Fair providing a focal point, the 2026 program places particular emphasis on design happening beyond metropolitan centres – and the practices, makers and ideas emerging from regional Victoria.
The Victorian Regional Design Fair runs from 1–4 October, with free entry, while Geelong Design Week runs from 1–11 October 2026 across Greater Geelong.
Geelong Design Week
geelongdesignweek.com.au
