Why we love some objects in particular, how design can help us live together and protect the planet, and what is always beautiful about the work of designers – the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK has made it its business to explore the role of design in society. And it does so throughout the city, with just as much fun as seriousness, with free admission and plenty of exciting programming for everyone from kids to design professionals.
Austria’s largest curated design festival has been taking place since 2007, with around 200 events and 40,000 visitors* at last count. Over ten autumn days, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK shows year after year that Vienna is a “City Full of Design”. To this end, the festival goes where the people are: into public spaces and places that are not considered design hotspots. There, critical as well as playful examination, low-threshold mediation and professional and professional discourse discover new perspectives on things, contexts and production processes. production processes.
Product, furniture and industrial design, architecture, graphic design, circular design and social design as well as experimental and digital approaches are the focus of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK. The festival is a platform for designers and companies to present themselves and network locally and internationally. At the same time, the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK specifically commissions experimental projects and initiates topics in order to not only show what already exists, but to broaden our horizons.
The focus is always on one thing: celebrating the joy of design together!
FESTIVAL HEADQUARTERS
Annually changing main event location in an architecturally and urbanistically outstanding interim use in the focus district: gateway to the festival, info point, location for selected contributions and program points, pop-up café and store.
FOCUS DISTRICT
District on which an edition of VDW is particularly focused; often outside the city center; density of venues and interventions in public space around the festival headquarters; in addition, program points throughout the city.
PLATFORM
Independent program contributions by external exhibitors* within the framework of VDW: brands, manufacturers, design studios, universities, cultural institutes, galleries, museums, collectives, …
PASSIONSWEGE
Dialogue between design and craft: series of projects commissioned by the VDW, free space for designers and craftsmen to work together on an equal footing and with an open mind, beyond commercial restrictions.
URBAN FOOD & DESIGN
Series of challenges in collaboration with the Vienna Business Agency aiming to bring creative economic input to the food sector, ranging from urban farming and circular logistics to speculative table culture and experimental gastronomy.
DEBÜT
At the invitation of VDW, domestic and international educational institutions participate in the festival: specially developed content; topics that go beyond the usual horizon of education and the festival.
DESIGN EVERYDAY
Annual exhibition of outstanding product design from Austria, collects best practice examples of functionality, aesthetics and sustainability in a growing database, curation and exhibition design by Studio Vandasye.
FOCUS
Group exhibition format for conceptual, experimental and sculptural design approaches, annual theme (2022: Ornament, 2023: Serials), compiled by a guest curator and framed by a specially commissioned scenography.
RE:FORM
New format with the support of Ökobusiness Wien, bringing together design, consultancy and industry. Common question: How can sustainable design, strategic thinking and the leverage of economic implementation together make the city fit for the future?
COMMUNICATION
Tours, talks, workshops, offerings for schools – VDW communicates its programming to as many different people as possible, from low-threshold entry to complex specialized discourse.
VDW APP
The digital festival companion for your pocket: overview of venues and dates, route planner, save favorite program points, exclusive access to augmented reality installations.
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Photocredits: Apollonia Theresa Bitzan