With government backing and a sharpened focus on design with purpose, Perth Design Week unveils a bold new structure for its fourth edition, expanding its reach across architecture, interiors and the wider creative industries.

Perth Design Week (PDW) has unveiled the program for its 2026 edition, marking a significant evolution in the festival’s format and ambition. Now in its fourth year, the event will shift from an open-call model to a curated program of larger-scale events and exhibitions, positioning design as both cultural catalyst and civic instrument across Western Australia.

Since its inception in 2022, PDW has built momentum as a platform for design thinking, collaboration and public dialogue. Inspired by international counterparts in London, Vienna and Melbourne, the festival has consistently foregrounded issues of sustainability, housing, urban density and social wellbeing. In 2026, that agenda becomes more focused and more visible.

Backed by $100,000 in funding from the Western Australian Government, alongside support from new and returning partners, PDW 2026 aims to consolidate its role as a fixture on the national design calendar. The festival spans architecture, landscape and planning, through to interiors, furniture, fashion and graphic design, underscoring what founder and chair Sandy Anghie describes as design’s everyday impact.

“Perth Design Week has evolved into a platform where meaningful conversations about design, place and the future can happen at scale, championing Western Australian creativity and innovation,” Anghie says. “Design is everywhere and for everyone, from the cities we navigate and the buildings we live in to the objects we use every day, yet its influence often goes unnoticed. Perth Design Week exists to make design visible and accessible, and to show how design can help shape a more sustainable, equitable and connected future.”

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At the centre of the 2026 program is The Liberty Theatre, supported by the Humich Group, which becomes the festival’s primary venue. Four major evening talks anchor the schedule, including the opening conversation Designing the Future on Wednesday 18th March, featuring an address by Hon. Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Creative Industries. Other headline sessions include Designing a 24 Hour City (20th March), Living Large in Small Spaces (24th March) and Designing with Purpose (26th March), each sponsored by leading industry partners.

Expanding on the interiors showcase introduced in 2025, PDW Local HQ will occupy the hidden backrooms of The Liberty Theatre throughout the festival. Curated by Eugene Hooks, the space brings together Western Australian furniture and interiors manufacturers and suppliers, creating a dedicated meeting place for industry and community.

“The PDW Local HQ will bring designers, makers and industry into closer relationship, creating a unique space for knowledge-sharing, and highlighting stewardship and long-term capability across Western Australia’s local design economy,” says Hooks. “It’s about celebrating the strength and diversity of WA’s interiors industry.”

The WA Museum Boola Bardip remains a central partner, hosting the annual Perth Design Week exhibition. Opening on 11th February 2026, Chirriger Moort: A 30 Year Retrospective of the Work of Peter Farmer celebrates the three-decade practice of the leading Noongar artist and designer. Spanning painting, sculpture, public art, fashion, interiors and the built environment, the free exhibition situates cultural continuity within contemporary design discourse.

Hackett Hall will also host the conversation Designing Spaces for Culture on 25th March, featuring Geoff Warn, Helen Curtis, Leah Bennet, Randal Humich and Steve Woodland.

Meanwhile, The Mark at the State Buildings returns as a PDW hub, with Ligne Roset Perth creating a lounge environment that hosts evening events and Perth Design Week’s first Digital Detox Lounge during the day. “Design isn’t just about productivity and progress, it’s also about wellbeing,” Anghie notes. “The Digital Detox Lounge invites people to slow down, disconnect and engage with design in a more reflective way.”

Partner events with FORM and the Property Council of Australia further broaden the program. FORM’s Momentum: Shaping Our World explores art, place and narrative, while the Property Council’s Designing Value: Where Beauty Meets the Bottom Line examines the intersection of architectural ambition and commercial viability.

Running from 18th–26th March 2026, Perth Design Week’s fourth edition signals a maturing festival with sharpened intent. By consolidating its program into curated hubs and headline conversations, PDW aims to deepen engagement, strengthen industry networks and continue making design visible as a force for purposeful change.

Perth Design Week 2026
perthdesignweek.com