Melbourne Design Week 2025 has kicked off, with more than 350 events including talks, tours, exhibitions, launches, installations, workshops and more.
Running from 15 to 25 May, the festival celebrates the depth and richness of design talent in the region, from emerging to established designers.
A Victorian Government initiative delivered by the NGV, Melbourne Design Week is a vital platform for creatives to showcase boundary-pushing work and test new ideas, and demonstrates Victoria’s reputation as a national and international design leader.
The reoccurring theme of ‘Design the world you want’ invites designers showing in the festival to consider how their creative output shapes the future.
Highlights in the 2025 program include an exhibition of designs to make Melbourne a self-sufficient city by 2030, a retrospective exhibition of lighting designer Volker Haug marking 20 years of designing and making in Australia, plus presentations by the country’s leading showrooms, studios and makers.
Further highlights include a showcase of 100 contemporary lighting designs by 100 artists, designers and makers, and an exhibition of furniture designed for neurodivergent audiences.
The festival offers a number of free and family-friendly events, including an interactive design and music workshop for kids, and a storytime session lead by local children’s book authors as part of the Melbourne Art Book Fair.
Melbourne Design Week welcomed more than 100,000 visitors to the 2024 festival, making it Australia’s largest design event.
Victoria’s design economy contributes more than $6 billion annually and employs more than 200,000 people.
Explore the program https://designweek.melbourne/.