Melbourne Design Week 2020 is back on from 12-22 March and this year, it’s programme and reach is bigger than ever before.
Presented by Creative Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria, the festival programme has been officially released, and within it, are more than 300 events including exhibitions, talks, tours, films, workshops and boat rides spread across greater Melbourne – more than earning the design week its title as Australia’s largest international design festival.
As avid attendees over the years, Habitus is thrilled to announce that this year, we a major media partner of the eagerly anticipated annual Melbourne Design Week. We’ve enjoyed watching the design week grow and it’s an honour now to be involved.
Melbourne Design Week is an opportunity for meaningful engagement within the design industry and between creators and consumers of art and design. This year, the programme has been curated around the provocation: How can design shape life? Within that, there are five essential pillars identified, Design Cultures, Waste, Healthy Cities, Design Evolution, Waterfront.
“From tackling e-waste to creating healthy cities and driving sustainability, design has the capacity to improve the way we live and address the challenges of our times,” said Martin Foley, Minister for Creative Industries. “This year’s action-packed programme extends across greater Melbourne, and to Geelong, celebrating design in all its facets and shining a light on the designers who are shaping our lives – now and into the future.”
Stay tuned for more information on the release of The Guide to Collectable Design at Melbourne Design Week 2020. Presented by Habitus Magazine and how you can join me on a Habitus walking tour.
In the meantime, here is a brief overview of some of the key events around each pillar, informing how design can shape life.
To see the full programme and design your own itinerary over 12-22 March, 2020, visit the Melbourne Design Week website here.
Design Cultures
FRANCIS KÉRÉ: ARCHITECTURE SHAPES LIFE
Presented by NGV with Architecture Foundation Australia and the Futuna Lecture Series
Gando Primary School by Kéré Architecture
Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
ROBIN BOYD ANNUAL KEYNOTE LECTURE: NMBW | OBSERVATION MATTERS
Wed 18 Mar, 6.30pm–7.30pm
Founding Directors of NMBW Marika Neustupny, Lucinda McLean and Nigel Bertram re-visit the studio’s body of work to discuss how architectural processes create the time and space to engage meaningfully with local traditions and enrich the culture of the everyday.
FRANCIS KÉRÉ: ARCHITECTURE SHAPES LIFE
Tue 17 Mar, 6.30pm–7.30pm
African-born, German-trained architect Francis Kéré looks at his personal and professional experience with architecture in relation to the central theme: How can design shape life?
Waste
RE-MAKING E-WASTE
Presented by RMIT School of Design and Monash Design
Image Courtesy Remaking E-Waste
9 HOUR FACTOR
Sat 21 Mar, 10am–7pm
Dowel Jones is hosting a workshop – free to attend, but costs apply to participate – in partnership with Kvadrat Maharam in a bid to playfully educate consumers and creators alike on the capacity to re-cycle material offcuts. In this case, the much sought after Kvadrat Maharam fabrics.
E-WASTE CHALLENGE LIVE PITCH FINALVICTORIAN DESIGN CHALLENGE 2020
Wed 18 Mar, 10am–3.30pm
The E-Waste challenge is educating designers and consumers about the surmounting levels of e-waste product. The challenge is for participants to pitch their design-led idea to tackle the 40 million tons of e-waste produced globally every year.
Creative Victoria and NGV are offering a $20,000 major prize for the best design idea in the Professional category.
Healthy Cities
TRANSFORMATIVE LANDSCAPES: RESHAPING THE CITY THAT SHAPES US
Presented by Foreground
Victorian Health and Human Services Building Authority (VHHSBA). Image courtesy of Foreground
GOOD DESIGN AND HERITAGE: WHEN NEW MEETS OLD
Wed 18 Mar, 6.15pm–7.15pm
The Heritage Council of Victoria and Office of the Victorian Government Architect bring together a panel of experts in the fields of heritage architecture, urban planning, and community to discuss how modern projects in heritage settings can simultaneously respect the past and well equipped for the future.
WALKSCAPES: TREEGAZING, FITZROY GARDENS
Fri 13 Mar, 7.30–8.45am
Sun 22 Mar, 10.30–11.45am
Echoing the concept of forest therapy, this event will encourage participants to slow down and appreciate their time in the present and their fauna of Melbourne’s oldest city parks, Fitzroy Gardens. It’s worth noting, this event will proceed rain, hail or shine – so check the weather in advance and dress accordingly!
Design Evolution
PARTU (SKIN) BY JOHNNY NARGOODAH AND TRENT JANSEN
Presented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert and Arc One
Caption: Johnny Nargoodah and Trent Jansen, Ngumu Jangka Warnti Chair.
Photo: Abraham Markos
IN CONVERSATION: DR VICKI COUZENS WITH MYLES RUSSELL-COOK
Wed 18 Mar, 6.30pm–7.30pm
Join multi-media artist and Senior Knowledge Holder of Language and Possum Cloak Story, Dr Vicki Couzens in conversation with NGV’s Curator of Indigenous Art, Myles Russel-Cook in the NGV International Members Lounge for a conversation about the reclamation and revival of Possum Skin Cloaks in the South East.
ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH
Sat 14 & Fri 20 Mar, 7pm
Sun 15 & Thu 19 Mar, 7pm
“Magnificent in scope and frightening in subject”, Anthropocene is third in Baichwal and Burtynsky’s environmental trilogy of films that forces rather than invites its viewers to consider the impact of the human race on earth.
Waterfront
DEEP DIVE: SEA URCHIN SNORKEL TOUR
Presented by Open House Melbourne
Photo: Pirjo Haikola
GREENING SEAWALLS
Saturday 21 March, 10am
Reef Design Lab has been working with Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) since 2015 on the Living Seawalls research project investigating how 3D printed geometry can be used to create habitat for native intertidal species that live on seawalls. This boat tour features a discussion with Alex Goad from Reef Design Lab and Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) researchers about the Living Seawalls Project and possibilities for Victoria’s waterways.
