Main photo: Jonathan VDK
Adelaide Design Week returns this October, platforming the people, relationships and exchanges that shape design culture.
From Wednesday 14 October to Sunday 18 October, more than 80 events unfold across Adelaide, with exhibitions, installations, talks, tours, workshops and parties inviting people to experience design in new ways.
Following a successful debut in 2025, Bronwyn Marshall, who co-directs Adelaide Design Week alongside Lara Merrington and Hannah White, says the focus has shifted for this year’s program.
“Last year the theme was every*where, which was generated around opening Adelaide’s design culture to the city. This year we’re turning our attention to the people within it. every*one recognises that design is fundamentally human,” Bronwyn explains.
“Nothing happens in isolation: every building, object or idea is shaped through conversations, disagreements, collaborations and the knowledge of many people. The program reflects that.
“It’s less about standing back and looking at design, and more about getting closer to the people and processes behind it. Design might be attributed to individuals, but it is rarely made alone.”
Lara says the festival uses Adelaide’s size to its advantage.
“Adelaide has an unusual proximity between people, disciplines and making. The interesting thing is understanding what our scale allows us to do differently,” she says.
“Architects know makers; designers know manufacturers; teachers become collaborators; people move easily between practices and communities. There are fewer degrees of separation here. That gives the week an intimacy and accessibility that feels very Adelaide.”
The program provokes a willingness to experiment, which Hannah says both those within and outside the design industry can feel inspired by.
“There are people stepping outside the usual boundaries of their practice. Some of the most interesting work is happening in the gaps between disciplines, and Adelaide feels increasingly comfortable occupying those gaps,” Hannah says.
“Adelaide Design Week is really an invitation to become more curious about the things around you: why something works, how it was made, who made it, and why it matters.
“It feels less about proving what Adelaide can produce, and more about giving people the freedom to ask what might be possible next.”
Here are ten events to check out >>
ADW OPENING EVENT x SHORT NOTICE
Exhibition: Wed 14.10
The Meeting Hall, Paul Kelly Lane, 25 Pirie Street, Adelaide
Concept by Michael Kutschbach
Adelaide Design Week officially launches with Short Notice, a three-hour exhibition featuring 50 creatives from across disciplines and stages of practice. The installation takes shape over the evening as people arrive, forming a temporary, self-organising landscape of objects and ideas, alongside drinks, burgers and music.
YOKE: OBJECTS FOR HUMAN CONNECTION
Exhibition: Wed 14.10 – Sun 18.10
Michi, 223 Pulteney Street, Adelaide
Curated by Joslin Koolen and Sam Agostino
The group exhibition explores how design connects people through the objects we use every day. Bringing together furniture, ceramics, lighting, plants and sculptural works, Yoke considers how the things we surround ourselves with can tell a greater story.
SUPER PARTY
Party: Thurs 15.10
Sans-Arc Studio, 3A Malcolm Street, West Croydon
Curated by Sans-Arc Studio and Bankston Architectural
Architectural hardware brand Bankston and design studio Sans-Arc are finally throwing a party to celebrate their Super Collection, launched during lockdown in 2020. Drawing on the Radical Design Movement, the night is part exhibition, part installation and part party, taking place inside Sans-Arc’s new West Croydon studio. Food by Sofia, drinks, music and design.
SHOP GENERATOR
Exhibition: Thurs 15.10 – Sun 18.10 // Opening night: Thurs 15.10
Common Uncommon, 100 Gilbert Street, Adelaide
Curated by Drew Martin
Approaching the gallery experience from a retail perspective, Shop Generator presents a temporary shop for permanent objects. Featuring work by independent artists, ceramicists, glassblowers, metalworkers, clothing and jewellery designers, photographers, florists and sculptors, the pop-up recognises that buying an object can be a meaningful continuation of the creative process.
STARRY STARRY NIGHT
Exhibition: Thurs 15.10 – Sat 17.10 // Opening + Nearly party: Fri 16.10
Liverpool Street Gallery, 39 Liverpool Street, Adelaide
Curated by Stephen Roy
Starry Starry Night considers the role and romance of candlelight. Featuring works across a range of materials and disciplines, the exhibition explores soft deliberate lighting and the ways it can shape sensory experiences. Nearly will be behind the bar for Friday’s opening event, before taking the party back to its West End home for afters.
SLOT
Opening: Thurs 15.10 // Exhibition: Fri 16.10 – Sat 17.10
Soda Objects + Studios, 1 Rosetta Street, West Croydon
Curated by Bronwyn Marshall
No screws, nails or glue allowed. Slot challenges designers to create furniture and objects without traditional fixings. The resulting exhibition explores inventive ways of joining materials through interlocking forms and clever construction techniques.
AT THE TABLE
Immersive dining: Fri 16.10 + Sun 18.10
Reform Distilling, 91 Little Rundle Street, Kent Town
Curated by Alexis Mason and Eden Wellings
Food meets design for an immersive dining experience. Across a three-hour lunch or dinner, cook Will Burden serves a curated 7-course menu, with each course paired with bespoke tableware, furniture and artworks by Australian designers and makers. Hosts Alexis Mason and Eden Wellings share the stories behind the pieces, exploring the relationship between food, design and community.
UNBUILT
Launch Party: Fri 16.10 // Symposiums: Sun 18.10
Hebart Hall, 104 Jeffcott Street, North Adelaide
Inside a heritage-listed former school, Unbuilt explores architectural ideas that never came to life. The exhibition features abandoned commissions, competition entries and speculative proposals by emerging architects, designers and artists. Explore the exhibition after dark at Friday’s launch party, with music by Gencia and drinks on the house. Sunday brings a series of symposiums exploring unrealised ideas and the obstacles of building projects.
BENCHED (+ ADW CLOSING PARTY)
Exhibition: Fri 16.10 – Sun 18.10 // Idle Hands pop up: Fri 16.10 // Celebration & closing party: Sat 17.10
Queen’s Theatre, corner Playhouse Lane and Gilles Arcade, Adelaide
// Curated by Maddi Lewis of Public Private
Benched challenges 40 creatives with a playful brief to reimagine the humble bench within a $450 budget and set dimensions. Visitors are invited to sit on and test the designs, so don’t be shy. Grab a baked good from the Idle Hands pop up on Friday morning while you browse, or head along on Saturday from 6pm to 8pm for wine, records and pizza by Sunny’s. Saturday night ramps up from 8pm as Company Works takes over, hosting Adelaide Design Week’s official closing party.
SHOPFRONT DESIGN CIRCUIT
Exhibition: Wed 14.10 – Sun 18.10 // Tour: Sun 18.10
Various shopfronts, East End, Adelaide
Curated by Lara Merrington, Dre fuzz and Holly Ashworth
East End shopfronts become a canvas for local architects and designers, with businesses handing over their windows for a series of creative installations. Shop Pond / Filter Store x Moraene Architecture & Design Collective, Miss Gladys Sym Choon x Claire Markwick-Smith and Aesop x Andrew Carvolth are just a few of the creative pairings. Explore the works at your own pace, or join Sunday’s guided walking tour, finishing at Honeydripper for a final Adelaide Design Week farewell.
Adelaide Design Week: every*one: Wednesday 14 October to Sunday 18 October
