Melbourne Design Week to highlight how powerful design can "shape the way we live"

Promotion: Melbourne Design Week returns for its tenth edition, spotlighting how the latest in design innovations impacts contemporary life in Australia and internationally.

Organised and curated by National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne Design Week is the largest design event in Australia. It runs from 14 to 24 May and includes over 400 exhibitions, talks and workshops at various venues across Melbourne.

"Melbourne Design Week is a powerful demonstration of how design can be used to shape the way we live – from the interior of our homes, to the way we eat," said Tony Ellwood, director of NGV.

"In 2026, the programme is an expression of the thoughts, concerns and ideas powering the industry – and it's our privilege to be able to share the talents of our Australian design community with audiences."

Dean Norton will present his solo exhibition Between Planes at Hotel House. Image credit: Dean Norton

The 2026 programme will cover diverse disciplines spanning architecture, industrial and interior design, to dining, fitness, technology and products.

It will also spotlight Australian-made products by presenting a series of exhibitions from designers who craft works using locally sourced materials.

100 Chairs exhibition, curated by Friends and Associates, will present locally-made chairs, including WAKA by Isabel Avendano-Hazbun. Photo credit: Claire Armstrong

These include 100 Chairs, an exhibition featuring one hundred chairs designed and made locally, as well as new project launches from designers Danielle Brustman, Studio Shields, Cult, Thomas Maxam, Dean Norton, Tom Fereday and SKUPA in collaboration with artist Elliat Rich.

Across the city, brands, galleries and showrooms will stage various events, including Muji Made, an exhibition presented by Japanese lifestyle brand Muji Australia, which will spotlight the brand's iconic products alongside new interpretations by Australian designers.

Lucy McRae will present transformed Bianca Spender garments at the Transformative Repair exhibition at Useful Objects. Photo credit: Traianos Pakioufakis

Skincare brand Aesop will celebrate the interior architecture of some of Australia's beauty brands' most notable Melbourne storefronts.

This includes hosting a conversation with Clare Cousins, director at Clare Cousins Architects, and Rodney Eggleston, director at March Studio, the architects behind some of the brand's most enduring store designs.

Local gallery Useful Objects will bring together emerging and established Australian artists, designers and craftspeople, such as Lucy McRae, Trent Jansen and Johnny Nargoodah. The Transformative Repair exhibition reinterprets broken objects through innovative approaches to repair and reuse.

Leading design figures from both home and abroad will be invited to deliver keynote lectures during Melbourne Design Week. Shunji Yamanaka, one of Japan's most influential industrial designers, will share his vision on prosthetics, robotics and product design at the National Communication Museum.

Alison Page, a descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin people, will share her twenty-five-year career exploring how Black design can inform and enrich everyday Australian life at a keynote held at Melbourne School of Design.

American architect Tom Kundig will appear in a talk at NGV, presenting how his well-known residential design projects connect inhabitants to their environment.

To acknowledge Melbourne as a food and sporting destination, this year's Melbourne Design Week will also feature dining and fitness-oriented events.

Yiaga-Wardle_Anson Smart — Local restaurant Yiaga will hold a conversation on designing a dining experience. Photo credit: Anson Smart

At Melbourne's newest fine dining restaurant Yiaga, a conversation event between executive chef Hugh Allen and architect John Wardle will explore how design and craft can help create a dining experience.

The week will also include the While Nothing New Tournament, a one-day five-a-side soccer tournament that challenges designers and the public to create soccer kits made from materials recycled from the 2026 Asia Cup.

To learn more about Melbourne Design Week 2026, visit its website.

Melbourne Design Week takes place from 14 to 24 May 2026 at venues across Victoria. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Melbourne Design Week as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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