Making Now: Sydney Design Week 2022 Celebrates Designers Defining the Cultural Moment.

Sydney Design Week returns in person for the first time in three years with seven mega days of exhibitions, talks, film screenings and workshops all across the city’s design hubs. Curated by writer, editor and creative director Stephen Todd, the 2022 program celebrates designers who are defining the cultural moment in Sydney and around the world.

This year’s theme Making Now examines the role of design across a range of disciplines, from industrial and interior design to graphics, scenography, restaurant design and more. Presented by Powerhouse with the support of Principal Partner Holdmark, the program runs  15-22 September.

Visionary Canadian designer, author and CEO of Massive Change Network, Bruce Mau, will present a keynote in partnership with the UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, drawing on 40 years of design innovation and collaboration with leading brands, heads of state and renowned artists.

Nipa Doshi, the co-founder of design studio Doshi Levien, will bring her unique and astute eye for visual culture to our shores with a talk on the importance of cross-cultural perspectives when designing for leading manufacturers and cultural institutions.

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Ace Hotel in Surry Hills will host a series of talks during the week as the venue partner for Sydney Design Week 2022. 

Other 2022 program highlights include a lineup of talks and workshops at the newly opened Ace Hotel from the likes of Other Architects Director Grace Mortlock and Powerhouse Director, First Nations Emily McDaniel; the team behind Ace Hotel’s rooftop restaurant Kiln, Fiona Lynch and Mitch Orr; interior designer David Flack, Powerhouse Creative Industries Resident Nell, designer Elliat Rich and sculptor Sanné Mestrom. In Western Sydney, a series of public talks from the flourishing local design community will be held including a live stream direct from Paris with Architects Moreau Kusunoki (Paris) and Genton (Sydney) to discuss their designs for Powerhouse Parramatta.

In a combined open house event, Smart Design Studio and DesignByThem invite the public into their studios and present an exhibition of new work to launch DesignByThem’s new gallery space. At Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert, Don Cameron will unveil his first signature range of furniture and lighting inspired by the Brutalist architecture of post-WWII Europe. At the hand’s-on workshop Making Paper Planes, design enthusiasts are invited to upholster miniature Doshi Levien ‘Paper Planes’ armchairs. In a series of four double-height, interconnected galleries at Eddy Avenue, Emma Elizabeth of Local Design will curate a joint exhibition with Melbourne gallery Oigall Projects and Kate Banazi.

Below is our ultimate guide to all the not-to-be-missed shows at Sydney Design Week 2022. To see the full program, click here.

Bruce Mau will present a Keynote Address at Powerhouse in collaboration with UNSW.

Keynote by Bruce Mau (18th September)

Visionary designer, author, educator and artist Bruce Mau is a brilliantly creative optimist whose love of thorny problems led him to create a methodology for life-centred design. Across forty years of practice, Mau has collaborated on a broad spectrum of projects with the world’s leading brands, organisations, universities, governments, entrepreneurs, renowned artists, and fellow optimists. The designer will present a keynote in partnership with UNSW at the Powerhouse in Ultimo moderated by Keinton Butler Powerhouse Senior Curator of Design and Architecture.

To register for the event, click here.

Nipa Doshi of Doshi Levien joins Sydney Design Week as a Keynote speaker.

Keynote by Nipa Doshi (18th September)

Internationally renowned designer Nipa Doshi, the co-founder of Doshi Levien, joins Sydney Design Week 2022 as a keynote speaker. Nipa will discuss the importance of cross-cultural perspectives in Doshi Levien’s work for leading manufacturers such as B&B Italia, Moroso, Kvadrat, Kettal and Cappellini, as well as cultural institutions such as Sevres – Cité de la Céramique and for Paris-based Gallery Kreo.

To register for the event, click here.

Photo by Zan Wimberley.

Powerhouse Late (15th September)

Sydney Design Week opens with Powerhouse Late, an inclusive industry event featuring talks with Emma Elizabeth and Curious Practice, the launch of Penny Craswell’s latest book Reclaimed: New homes from old materials and music from DJ Charlie Villas.

For more information, click here.

Fiona Lynch and Mitch Orr, pictured at Ace Hotel’s soon-to-be-opened Kiln restaurant, will join local designers at Ace for Taste Makers.

Making Sydney at Ace will explore the dynamics of Greater Sydney.

Design Makers will present a discussion between makers on the evolving nature of design.

Events at the Ace Hotel (16th to 18th September)

The newly opened Ace Hotel Sydney is the venue partner of Sydney Design Week 2022. A program of events and talks will take place around the hotel, in spaces designed by Flack Studio and Fiona Lynch Office.

Three events of note include Designer Makers — a discussion about the evolving nature of design and consideration of pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial creativity with David Flack, Nell, Elliat Rich and Sanné Mestrom, hosted by Karen McCartney. Taste Makers — a panel discussion with local designers leading the charge in creating uniquely memorable dining experiences, featuring Fiona Lynch, George Livissianis, Mitch Orr, Alex Kelly and Stuart Couzens, hosted by Jill Dupleix. Finally, Making Sydney — a panel discussion focusing on the dynamics of Greater Sydney with leaders from the fields of urban planning, public policy, landscape design, First Nations curatorship and sustainability. The panel will feature Grace Mortlock, Jess Miller and Emily McDaniel, hosted by Stephen Todd.

Tickets can be purchased for individual events or to the whole Friday program. By selecting a ticket to all three panels, you’ll receive a complimentary drink and be among the first to visit Ace Hotel’s Kiln in the evening.

To register for the events, click here.

Making Paper Planes workshop at the Powerhouse.

Making Paper Planes Chairs (17th & 18th September)

This hands-on workshop gives enthusiasts the opportunity to put their mark on Doshi Levien’s Paper Planes armchair. Participants are invited to creatively upholster a miniature ‘Paper Planes’ armchair from Moroso using Kvadrat Maharam fabrics.

To register for the event, click here.

Four Eddy Avenue Galleries act as a Mondrian backdrop for the joint show Eddy Multi Space.

Eddy Multi Space (12th to 19th September)

Four Eddy Avenue galleries retain their Mondrian-style paintwork as the backdrop of their individual yet interrelated installations. Curated by Emma Elizabeth of Local Design, the galleries feature works by Den Holm, Brud Studia, Andrew Hustwaite, Cordon Salon, Michael Gittings Studio and Brahman Perera and leading Australian design studios include Sarah King, Richard Stanich, Marcus Piper, Charles Wilson, Annalisa Ferraris.

To register for the event, click here.

Established and emerging designers respond to the theme Making Now in the show New Australian Design.

New Australian Design (15th Sept 2022 to 23rd April 2023)

Established and emerging designers working across disciplines spanning industrial, limited-edition, graphic, sound and spatial design have been invited by Emma Elizabeth to create new work responding to the theme ‘Making Now’, taking place at the Powerhouse in Ultimo.

For more information, click here.

Above is the University of Western Sydney Innovation Hub, designed by Tzannes & Blight Rayner Architects and built by Richard Crookes Construction. Photography by The Guthrie Project. 

Making Greater Sydney will explore what makes Western Sydney today.

Local designers and makers across all disciplines come together in Made in Western Sydney.

Making Western Sydney Talks & Tours (17th September)

A program of talks explores the newest architectural developments in Parramatta. Make a day of it to hear from the trailblazing Western Sydney design community.

Making Greater Sydney panel explores the conditions that make Western Sydney the place it is today. Panellists include Rae Dufty Jones, Marni Reti, Mark Tyrrell and Dr Rhonda Itaoui, hosted by Jessica Olivieri. A Seat at the Table explores the role of food as the cornerstone of a multicultural society. Panellists include Dr Sukhmani Khorana, Lina Jebeile, Marjorie Tenchavez, hosted by Sheila Ngọc Phạm. Made in Western Sydney will bring together some of western Sydney’s ground-breaking and cutting-edge designers and makers from photography, video, new media, urban art and fashion design to discuss the specificity and universality of their perspectives. Live streamed from Paris, Nicholas Moreau, Hiroko Kusunoki and Steven Toia join host Stephen Todd for From Paris to Parramatta to present the design principles and progress of Powerhouse Parramatta.
For those keen for more, join Hills Thalis, Fender Katsalidis, JPW, Blight Rayner and Tzannes on an architectural tour of the Parramatta CBD.

To register for the events, click here.

Smart Design Studio and DesignByThem will open their doors to the public for tours.

Making Home Work (18th September)

Smart Design Studio and DesignByThem invite the public to visit their studio spaces within the award-winning Stokes Avenue building designed by William Smart. Tours of Smart Design Studio will run at 4.15 pm, 5.15 pm and 6.15 pm. Tickets are limited.

To register for the event, click here.

External Review, an exhibition on the design process by Tom Fereday.

External Review by Tom Fereday with AHEC, presented by Australian Design Centre (14th to 24th September)

An exhibition by Australian designer Tom Fereday, External Review follows and celebrates the entire design process of bringing a product to life — from raw material source to manufacture and final presentation, with the purpose of shared learnings.

To register for the event, click here.

Don Cameron will unveil his first furniture and lighting collection inspired by Post WWII European Brutalist architecture.

Translations by Don Cameron (1st September to 2nd October)

Filmmaker, photographer and interior designer Don Cameron unveils his first complete furniture and lighting collection inspired by the Brutalist architecture of post-WWII Europe. Presented by Gallery Sally Dan-Cuthbert.

For more information, click here.

Catch a design-centric film at Golden Age.

Making Movies (17th to 21st September)

The Sydney Design Week film program explores a range of notable designers across disciplines and how they’ve shaped the global design landscape. Presented in partnership with Golden Age.

To register for the event, click here.

Overdue Studio and BTWNLNS present Thirst.

Contemporary Asian Craftmanship — Thirst (16th to 30th September)

Overdue Studio and independent Newtown bookstore BTWNLNS present Thirst, an exhibition of over 100 handcrafted wares by Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean craftspeople to highlight contemporary Asian craftsmanship and culture.

To register for the event, click here.

[Images courtesy of the Powerhouse Museum.]