It’s no secret we love design in Melbourne. We’re city people who love sleek interiors and we’re obsessed with that old-meets-new, industrial-chic aesthetic—give us some exposed brick and a vertical garden any day. So with that in mind, it’s no surprise that Melbourne Design Week is packed with over 300 events and exhibitions in the program. It all kicks off this Friday 26 March, but don’t stress if you haven’t had time to comb through the program because we’ve done it for you. These are the highlights for you to check out this Melbourne Design Week.
The Art of Distraction
Particularly relevant after the year we’ve just had, this exhibition explores and celebrates the ways art and design can bring joy in hospital settings. Featuring original, nature-inspired work by award-winning illustrator Jane Reseiger, the exhibition explores how her illustrations for the Royal Children’s Hospital developed into their eight themes. The exhibition is available in the Bates Smart gallery space and online over the course of the week.
The Details
Where: Bates Smart Gallery, 1 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne
When: Multiple sessions across the duration of Melbourne Design Week
For more details, click here
MPavilion X Melbourne Design Week
Melbourne’s thinktank for all things design, MPavilion, will be hosting ten events for Melbourne Design Week. They’ll be looking at new forms of community housing in Melbourne with panel guests from the likes of the Nightingale Project. Our favourite bathhouse, Sense Of Self, will also be speaking to MPavilion on the significance of bringing back communal bathing. There will also be film screenings of design documentaries White Cube and Making a Mountain. Check out the MPavilion site for the full line up.
The Details
Where: Mpavilion, Kings Domain, Melbourne
When: Multiple times and sessions during Melbourne Design Week
For more details, click here
Brave Blooms
This immersive exhibition is all about holistic, sustainable design. Among the 29 local designers featured in Brave Blooms, they’ve got furniture designers, artists and ceramicists who are all committed to mindful and sustainable design principles—and their creations are also just, well, cool. Come and see for yourself the furniture you never knew you needed, with a flower-themed cocktail in your hand and plenty of floral installations to snap while you’re there.
The Details
Where: Glow Studios, 12 Ireland Street, West Melbourne
When: 10am until 4pm, Saturday 27 March and Sunday 28 March
For more details, click here
LCI Melbourne Innovation Lab Workshops
Design institute LCI Melbourne will be hosting a range of workshops to help you get creative and find resources in some unexpected places. Share plant clippings and create living art in the Grow to Give workshop, re-work your pre-loved clothes in the Ways to Wear workshop, and reduce waste by repurposing discarded objects in the Scavenge and Salvage workshop. Check out the full list of activities here.
The Details
Where: LCI Melbourne, 150 Oxford Street, Collingwood
When: 11:30am to 5:30pm, Saturday 27 March
For more details, click here
Wisdom of Objects
Step inside a bougie private home in Fitzroy to view this intimate collection of objects, designed by some of Melbourne’s top independent designers. Responding to the Design Week theme of ‘design the world you want’, these designers are influenced by the concept that design is intrinsically linked to wellbeing. Discover the Wisdom of Objects at this boutique exhibition.
The Details
Where: House of Moor, 166 Moor Street, Fitzroy
When: Various sessions across Melbourne Design Week
For more details, click here
Repairing Southbank Walking Tour
Go on a walking tour in Southbank with Melbourne’s own ArchiTours and explore how urban landscapes meet high-density living in this waterside suburb. What was once a swampland is now one of Melbourne’s densest areas, with flooding expected if sea levels continue to rise. This tour will take you through the open spaces of Southbank and teach you about the potential for urban living repairs in the area, guided by leading Melbourne urban designers.
The Details
Where: Beginning at Hamer Hall, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
When: 10am to 11:30am, Sunday 28 March
For more details, click here.
Making Tight
This gallery space has been filled with ideas for future-proofing city living, taking Melbourne, Brisbane and Seoul as case studies for the Making Tight exhibition. In response to the impact of COVID-19 on apartment living, these visions for the future incorporate production, agriculture, education, recreation and living all within tight communities. We’re all for city living, so this one is up there on our Design Week itinerary.
The Details
Where: RMIT Design Hub Gallery, Building 100, Carlton
When: Multiple dates across Melbourne Design Week
For more information, click here.
Melbourne Glassworks Open Studio, Workshops and Dinners
Have you been binging Blown Away on Netflix? Ever wanted to dine in a working glass studio? Well this is your chance to get up close to one of Australia’s biggest glassblowing studios and enjoy one of the most unique dining experiences of your life. Melbourne Glassworks is opening its doors to the public for the first time and hosting workshops and an exclusive three-course meal. Book your session here.
The Details
Where: Melbourne Glassworks Studio, 76 Smith Street, Kensington
When: Multiple sessions across Melbourne Design Week
For more details, click here
Melbourne Art Book Fair
Over one long weekend from Friday 26 March to Sunday 28 March, bookshops and venues across Melbourne and Victoria will be taking part in the Melbourne Art Book Fair. Some of the best design books in the world from over 80 publishers and artists will be available to browse and buy. The book fair spans rooftops, galleries and bookstores—duh—and includes rare editions and new book launches.
The Details
Where: Various locations across Melbourne
When: Now until Sunday 28 March
For more information, click here
Check out everything you need to know for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival which is also kicking off this week.