DESIGN Canberra Festival announces 2022 program with most ambitious line-up to date.
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The annual DESIGN Canberra Festival has unveiled an expansive program featuring more than 200 events that will be presented over two weeks in November and which will celebrate Canberra as a global city of design.
Running from 2-20 November and presented by Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, DESIGN Canberra 2022 explores the theme of Transformation, inviting audiences to speculate on how we might transform our city, our community and our world through design and creative practice.
With a program comprising talks, tours, exhibitions, public art installations, workshops and symposiums, DESIGN Canberra highlights in 2022 include keynote speeches by authors Elizabeth Farrelly and Tony Fry, as well as by artists Blanche Tilden and Tom Moore.
Jodie Cunningham, CEO and Artistic Director, said “With a much anticipated return to a full physical festival edition, this year’s festival will appeal to audiences of all ages inviting them to explore Canberra as a creative capital and city of design”.
The 2022 Robert Foster F!NK National Metal Prize at Craft ACT will be launched this year.
“After postponing the festival in 2021 due to the pandemic, we are excited to once again present the work of Canberra’s talented artists and designers; engage our community in important dialogue about design futures and give them the opportunity to participate in programs that connect us.”
Showcasing much of Australia’s greatest creative talent and attracting as many as 112,000 attendees in previous years, DESIGN Canberra holds a significant place in the cultural identity of the region, with the 2022 line-up being no exception.
Upcoming highlights include:
- Architecture talks through DESIGN Canberra’s Design Revisited series, supported by the Alastair Swayn Foundation is a unique opportunity to celebrate architectural history and design excellence in a city of design.
- The Homelife Exhibition, supported by the Embassy of Italy, the IIC and the Prosecco Consortium, celebrates contemporary Italian design and reveals how houses will evolve in the future.
- Architecture tours will provide an opportunity to explore some of Canberra’s modernist architectural homes including Karma House by Derek Wrigley and Little Loft House being renovated by Lighthouse Architecture and Science.
Edition fashion label’s Alice Sutton and jewellery designer Phoebe Porter joined forces for an open studio in 2020 as part of the festival. Image by 5 Foot Photography
- More than 77 of Canberra’s best makers and designers are opening their studios during the Festival to give the public an opportunity to gain an insight into their practice, philosophy and techniques; and purchase contemporary handmade ceramics, furniture, textiles, glass, jewellery.
- Hear from the artists responsible for the Festival’s public art installations as they talk about their concepts and processes.
- Exhibitions will be held at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, including Aurora by New Zealand Artist Tyler Jackson, a collection of light work designed with influence from the Bauhaus.
- Nurture workshops from ceramics to textiles will provide a rewarding hands-on experience.
- The DESIGN Canberra Creative Journaling Challenge, supported by Eckersley’s Art & Craft, aims to foster daily creative practice, enhancing wellbeing and connection. Each day from 2-20 November signed up participants will receive a prompt word to respond to in their journal and become eligible to win a cash prize of $2000 and Eckersley’s Art & Craft gift vouchers. Sunday Sessions at Commonwealth Place will take place each Sunday afternoon during the festival to enjoy art installations, exhibitions at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, live music, workshops and the Pop Inn Bar.
Girl Nomad Ceramics Pinch Pots. Image by 5 Foot Photography
- The Festival Hub Shop – a dedicated festival shop on Civic Square, supported by the Cultural Facilities Corporation, gives audiences access to unique, affordable objects – jewellery, textiles, ceramics, glass and wood homewares made by local artists and designers.
- The 2022 Robert Foster F!NK National Metal Prize at Craft ACT — the inaugural award celebrating outstanding work in the field of contemporary metal working by designers and craftspeople.
- Craft + Design Public Art Trail, supported by the City Renewal Authority, encourages visitors to explore City West and discover the delights of the public art works. This project has given local craftspeople and designers the opportunity to be mentored by senior Canberra makers and explore the potential of making art for public spaces. Featuring artworks by Fran Romano, Hannah Quinlivan, Lan Nguyen Hoan, Rosie Armstrong, Sally Adair, Dam Sheppard, and Tony Burke.
Kayannie Denigan and Estelle Briedis screenprinting. Image by 5 Foot Photography
- Design Canberra Dairy Road Market will present an enhanced selection of art and crafts by CraftACT members in bespoke environments, wine tastings by Cellar Door, artworks from the Molonglo Art and Object Collection, freshly prepared food, live jazz and all-ages play activities by Green Hat Workshop. Many of the businesses at Dairy Road will be open and the Jerrabomberra Wetlands offer wonderful nature walks nearby.
- Creative Kids—this year, for the first time DESIGN Canberra includes programs for the whole family. Join with local artists to weave a bush animal, create with clay or imagine your future Canberra in our kids design thinking workshops.
- Exhibitions at the Canberra Centre Monaro Mall, showcasing the best in contemporary woodwork, textiles and digital fabrication.
Lucy Irvine The Stills work-in-progress. DESIGN Canberra 2022 signature artwork. Image by Lean Timms
- Craft + Design Auction and Festival Closing Party is an opportunity to bid on unique objects by Canberra’s best makers. DESIGN Canberra invited Canberra sculptor Lucy Irvine to be the 2022 designer-in-residence, helping to create the look and feel of the festival aligning with the annual theme of Transformation. Irvine’s work transforms the traditional craft practice of weaving into sculptural installations and for the festival she crafted ‘The Stills’ by revisiting two small sections of weaving, casting them in bronze, and employing repetition and pattern.
Tickets are available for sale from 6pm Wednesday 17 August at designcanberrafestival.com.au
