Regional Victoria’s largest and leading annual design festival — presents 10 days of 70+ innovative exhibitions, workshops, tours, talks and experiences throughout Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast.
Celebrating Geelong’s status as Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, the program promises to inspire, educate, and push the boundaries of creative innovation. This year’s focus emphasises local designers, Aboriginal designs, and sustainable practices, reflecting a commitment to advancing design excellence.
Highlights in the 2024 program include Tim Ross’ acclaimed live show MOTEL, a guided walk by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners around central Djilang (Geelong), and a series of exhibitions, talks and creative activities at Geelong Gallery, National Wool Museum and Deakin University Waterfront Campus.
Bringing together businesses, designers, creatives, students and the community, Geelong Design Week will showcase and celebrate design projects, stories and talents from across the region and beyond — offering an unparalleled opportunity to network, collaborate, and exchange ideas. Combining a mix of free and ticketed events, this year’s expanded program features both in-person and online experiences, ensuring accessibility for all community members.
Commenting on the launch of the 2024 program, City of Greater Geelong’s Executive Director of Placemaking, Tennille Bradley, said: “We’re thrilled to unveil a program that truly reflects Geelong’s design excellence and innovative spirit. This year’s Geelong Design Week offers an immersive experience in home-grown design, blending new perspectives with time-honoured techniques. It’s an invitation to explore how creative, conscious design can shape our future and rediscover forgotten crafts.”
The full program is now available on the official Geelong Design Week website. Early registration is encouraged for ticketed events.
Geelong Design Week 2023 attracted 17,288 attendances, up 172 per cent from the previous year, and saw attendees from outside of the region inject $1.6 million revenue alone into the local economy.
Architecture and Design program highlights include:
McGlashan Everist Walking Tour
Join us for a guided walking tour through Geelong’s city centre, highlighting iconic projects by McGlashen Everist. Discover architectural landmarks such as the Geelong Carousel, Deakin University, and more. The tour will conclude at Eden Oak, where you can unwind with a drink and engage in a lively discussion about the design legacy of McGlashen Everist. This event offers a unique opportunity to explore the city’s built heritage while celebrating the lasting impact of local design.
Co-designing Geelong Sports Museum – a winning teamHear from members of the design and curation team at Geelong Sports Museum about the power of collaboration. Geelong Sports Museum is a great example of a strong co-design process that harnessed diverse ideas of stakeholders. Learn what collaborative tools helped extract the best storytelling for the museum.
Eden Oak Revitalisation & Adaptive Reuse TalkThis panel discussion will be led by key stakeholders from the Eden Oak project — exploring the challenges and opportunities in preserving mid-century architectural heritage while adapting it for contemporary use.
Ten Years of Dowel JonesJoin Dowel Jones as they transform one of the National Wool Museum’s galleries into a house filled with their collaborative projects, including furniture, lighting, ceramics and textiles. Entirely custom made, this exhibition is designed, developed and manufactured for the space. Discover the Dowel Jones design process in which everyone plays a part to make furniture that is ‘anything but ordinary’.
Urban development and place making
Making Home: Belmont
Presented by Open House Melbourne, Making Home shines a light on the issues that drive homelessness and influence the provision of social and affordable housing in Victoria. This edition of Making Home will provide tours of McKenzie Street, Belmont, a project being developed in partnership with Homes Victoria under the Victorian Government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build.
Nyaal Banyul – A Place of Baierr
Join some of the key design leads in the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre to learn how Wadawurrung Traditional Owner knowledge, values and culture are shaping this exciting project. As the first convention centre in Australia named in a traditional language, Nyaal Banyul recognises and respects the Wadawurrung heritage of the site as a place of baierr or gathering.
Design for Nature – rewild our gardens and urban spaces
A series of outdoor nature events and presentations that will focus on designing for nature to rewild our gardens and urban spaces.
Meeting Geelong’s Housing Challenge: Balancing Growth, Affordability, and Sustainable Design
An expert-led panel discussion that will focus on exploring effective strategies to meet housing demands while ensuring diverse, affordable housing without compromising design and quality. The discussion will also address sustainable development approaches that support Geelong’s growth and contribute to achieving its net-zero targets.
Circular design and sustainability
Circularity and the Future of Geelong
Hear from internationally renowned speaker Ashleigh Morris as she shares her expertise on circularity and its transformative impact in Australia and around the world. Ashleigh will discuss the shift from “silos to systems” thinking, the importance of designing for disassembly, and the benefits of circularity for nature, society, and the economy. Following her talk, a dynamic panel featuring Geelong’s brightest minds in the circular economy will explore innovations in modular housing, battery solutions, and renewable energy. Don’t miss this chance to engage with leaders shaping the future of sustainability!
Do you want to build a fatberg?
A big, disgusting creature may be lurking below our city streets. It’s called a fatberg, and unwittingly, Geelong residents are contributing to its creation. This grotesque phenomenon grows enormous on a diet of items that should never be flushed down the loo or washed down the drain. This hands-on activity will see participants of all ages having fun to create a giant reproduction fatberg.
This exhibition transforms recycled waste into immersive spaces, featuring textiles evolving into living matter and sawdust biomaterials, developed in collaboration with Cultivated, dyed with bacterial and natural dyes derived from food waste, with pH adjustments creating diverse hues.
The “Circle of Thread Activation” features a striking installation—a towering mountain of unsellable clothing that invites the public to engage in hands-on, creative repair. This interactive event encourages participants to take garments from the pile and work alongside designers to mend and repurpose them, breathing new life into discarded textiles.
Threads of change – weaving sustainability into fashion
Australian fashion leaders share how they are reshaping the industry through sustainable practices and circular economy principles. Moderated by Communications Collective Director Genevieve Brannigan, this engaging session brings together pioneering voices who are challenging traditional fashion models and championing environmental responsibility in design, production, and consumption.