Perth Design Week kicks off next week with a huge program of tours, talks and pop-up dinners

Celebrate all things design and our vibrant creative community with the upcoming Perth Design Week, kicking off on March 14.

Co-created by architect Sandy Anghie and designer David Smith, the festival’s second ever program features over 80 events that explore a huge range of design disciplines, all vital to our day-to-day life: from architecture, interiors, landscape and planning to fashion, graphic design, service design and product design.

Based around a central hub at the State Buildings (as well as events at WA Museum Boola Bardip, Art Gallery of WA and more) you’ll be able to hear from the state’s best in each discipline as well as the next wave of design masterminds.

We’ve put together a few top picks from the program – but check out the full program on the Perth Design Week website!

SHINE – ART AND DESIGN GRADUATE EXHIBITION

Check out the newest wave of emerging creatives at SHINE, a showcase of excellence from the 2023 Creative Industries Graduates at North Metropolitan TAFE.

Featuring works from students in Animation and Game Art, Screen and Media, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Jewellery Design, Product Design and Visual Arts, the exhibition is a unique insight into where the next generation of design talent will steer the industry.

MY HOME

With over 9,000 people experiencing homelessness on any night in WA, there’s an urgent need for permanent, low-cost housing to enable homeless people to get back on their feet and establish a decent quality of life – and “My Home”, founded by architect Michelle Blakeley, seeks to solve this issue by bringing together stakeholders, sourcing funding, land and then managing each project.

BACK TO MEMPHIS MILANO: A DESIGN REVOLUTION

The inaugural exhibition at OFFMARKET Gallery, an art space inside an architecturally designed house by renowned architect, Richard Reilly, will showcase iconic works by members of the Memphis Group. A groundbreaking artistic movement that redefined the boundaries of contemporary design, the exhibition will feature an exclusive display of original artworks, vintage posters, jewellery and visionary furniture provided by MOBILIA from figures including Ettore Sottsass, George Sowden, Nathalie du Pasquier, Marco Zanini and Michele de Lucchi.

HOME INSPIRATION MARATHON

Get ready for a marathon of home inspo! In a whole day marathon on Sunday, March 17, you’ll be able to hear from a huge slew of Perth’s most celebrated architects on the topic of sustainable home design, with opportunities for questions from the audience.

Split across five sessions, architects and designers include from Monique Woodward (WOWOWA), Nic Brunsdon (Nic Brunsdon), Kate Fitzgerald (Whispering Smith), Dimmity Walker (Space Agency), Jimmy Thompson (MJA Studio), Philip Stejskal (Philip Stejskal Architecture), Simon Pendal (Simon Pendal Architect), Justin Carrier and Steven Postmus (CAPA Studio), Emily Van Eyk (Mt Eyk Architects), Andrew Boyne (Western Architecture Studio), Matt Delroy-Carr (MDC Architects), Orielle Pearce (Orielle Pearce Design), Adrian Iredale and Caroline Di Costa (Caroline Di Costa Architect), Marco Vittino and Katherine Ashe (vittinoAshe) and Drew Penhale and Shane Winter (Penhale & Winter).

DESIGN DINNER

This one-night-only dinner brings together local designer DUZI OBJECTS, the lush surrounds of Lawson Flats’ restaurant Luis, plus the delectable dishes of pop-up restauranteur OFF_LICENCE by chef Drew Dawson.

The dinner will feature four courses of Drew’s favourite dishes prepared with local, seasonal produce – amongst the sculptural objects, vessels and serveware created by DUZI OBJECTS’ Douglas Powell, all available to purchase or pre-order on the night.

Cover image credit: Kelly Pilgrim Byrne