Melbourne Design Week (MDW) is calling on the Australian design community to reunite by once again welcoming applications from designers, galleries, retailers, and more for its 2022 event. 

“Melbourne Design Week is an event that brings together design practitioners, advocates, educators and industry. It’s a platform for robust dialogue imperative not only to creative practice, but to all aspects of society. There’s never been a more important time to reunite as a community to shape our future and shape a better world,” says National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) director, Tony Ellwood AM.

Community storefront exhibition by alt. material for Melbourne Design Week 2021

MDW is approaching its sixth consecutive year, and although it’s somewhat dire to think that the next design week will be the third year that the program has contended with COVID-19, the organisers aren’t worried. The 2021 event came together as an incredible success, with more than 300 events taking place over one week.

Kristin Burgham collection in the Preliminary Structures exhibition at Melbourne Design Week 2021, photography by Thomas Lentini

Next year’s event will follow suit, hosting an 11-day program of talks, tours, workshops and exhibitions, alongside the coveted $20,000 Australian Furniture Design Award presented by the NGV and Stylecraft.

Early confirmations already indicate a major ideas led 2022 program, that continues to explore the theme ‘Design the world you want’.  

The Nature Of An Island exhibition by Dale Hardiman and James Lemon at Melbourne Design Week 2021, photography by Sean Fennessy

Presentations from Cult Design, Living Edge and Mobilia will feature along with a range of presentations from leading Melbourne design studios. There will be exhibitions from the likes of Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur, Adelaide duo Daniel Emma, and group shows from Sydney design gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert and Adelaide’s Jam Factory.

“Design is an important and growing part of Victoria’s dynamic creative industries, it’s a major creator of jobs and a strong contributor to our state economy. But more than that, design shapes how we live, the way we experience our environment and how we connect with each other,” says minister for creative industries, Danny Pearson MP.

Drift by Tom Fereday Melbourne Design Week 2021, photography by Kristoffer Paulson

“Melbourne Design Week celebrates the power of design, showcases local and international design innovators, and explores how we can design the world we want – a better, fairer more sustainable world,” he says.

The program will run from Thursday 17 – Sunday 27 March, 2022. Submissions close on 23 September and it’s free to participate – so get moving!

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