Geelong Design Week 2024 is being hailed as our most successful ever, attracting a record 40,925 attendances across 86 events spanning 30 locations.
With attendances up from 17,288 in 2023, last month’s festival saw 78.5 per cent of attendees visit from Greater Geelong, 6.5 per cent from the Surf Coast and 10 per cent from Melbourne. We also welcomed attendees from regional Victoria (3.5 per cent) and interstate (1.5 per cent).
It’s estimated that Geelong Design Week 2024 injected $1.4 million in direct and indirect revenue into our local economy.
The highlights were:
- Sell out events, such as MOTEL with Tim Ross & Kit Warhurst, Architects home tours, design films at the Pivotonian Cinema, Human by Nature – Understanding Biophilic Design sessions and the City’s Design for Nature – Rewild our urban public spaces event.
- Thousands attended major design exhibitions at Platform Arts, Geelong Gallery and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Wool Museum.
- Established and up and coming designers front and centre at Boom Gallery, The Project Space, Yarra St Gallery Design Showcase, The Gordon and Deakin University.
- Public art was as popular as ever with Geelong Public Art Health Check and Back to Back Theatre’s Light Letters.
- Family activities that encourage growth and learning were a hit, particularly at Barwon Water’s Pooseum of Modern (f)Art, Deakin’s Radial Recycling: Co-Design and Reuse Through Creative Play and Geelong Gallery’s Learn Space – Design + Play.
- Sustainability in fashion was a hot topic with community members turning a 1.5-metre-high mountain of discarded clothes into new garments, leaving behind just a few pieces at the Circle of Thread – Pop Up.
- Inspiring and critical discussions around heritage, adaptive reuse, circularity and sustainability, and housing challenges including Design Thinking Geelong: Strategic Design for Community Leaders.
- International UNESCO Creative Cities featured, including a partnership between Nagoya and Deakin called Tran2located, and the Geelong Tech School x Kortrijk Wonder Festival Projections.
- Creatives and designers inviting people to participate, meet them and understand their work in Rutland St Design Hub Open Door and Creative Geelong.
Online survey competition winner Mathew Hehir was presented with a 2024 Apple MacBook Air (valued at $1,525) by Mayor Stretch Kontelj. Mathew attended the Design for Nature – Rewild our urban public spaces, The Future isn’t Black & White with Colorplan and Tran2located events.
Mayor Stretch Kontelj
Geelong Design Week has yet again proven to be a leading event for our region.
Geelong Design Week 2024 has shattered records with 40,925 attendances, up from 17,288 in 2023, showcasing the incredible design talent we have in our region.
This event encouraged the exchange of ideas and skills, reinforcing why Geelong is Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design.
Councillor Eddy Kontelj
We thank the community for supporting Geelong Design Week 2024.
We’re thrilled by the overwhelming response to our biggest ever program which has increased exposure of our local design talent.
Local residents and visitors came together to explore pressing issues in design, fostering a deeper understanding and awareness that will lead to better outcomes for our community.
