DEDICATED TO LOCAL DESIGN

Design Week South Africa is a platform dedicated to celebrating design as an expression of creative thinking and making, jumpstarting collaboration, encouraging informative dialogue and open-source knowledge share, while cultivating the next generation of creative leaders through inclusivity and support. Our mission is to create South Africa’s leading design platform.

For decades, the incredible economic, educational, creative and cultural benefits of dedicated, city-wide, design weeks have been witnessed the world over, from Milan to Melbourne. A creative space where designers and makers can express themselves, the trade and public can engage with the local design sector, while the next generation of designers, artists and makers can be inspired to continue a legacy – in our case, the legacy of South African design.

Through year-round activations and two city wide design weeks, we aim to boost the local creative economy with an approach that is industry-led, increasing the public’s knowledge; awareness and appreciation of design, while generating and collecting open-source data around local design sectors.

‘City design week, by building a creative platform and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations, is now recognised as one of the important mechanisms in the development of creative cities, in providing emerging strong support for the construction of innovative models that promote sustainable urban development.’ – Han, H. The Design Engins – Sustainable Development of City Design Weeks

Our mission is to create South Africa’s leading design platform that :

  • Celebrates design as a multi-disciplinary expression of creative thinking and making
  • Creates connections
  • Jumpstarts collaborations 
  • Cultivates the next generation of creative leaders
  • Boosts the local creative economy
  • Is industry-led 
  • Increases the public’s knowledge, awareness and appreciation of design, and its role in creating a sustainable, inclusive future
  • Generates and collects open source data around the local design sectors for research and growth purposes

With activations focused in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Design Week South Africa gathers local designers, makers, artists and brands from the fields of :

  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Craft
  • Dance
  • Fashion
  • Film
  • Food
  • Furniture
  • Graphic Design
  • Industrial
  • Interior
  • Jewellery
  • Music
  • Product Design
  • Urban Planning

Year-long activations, as well as a dedicated, curated four-day calendar of events will showcase Joburg and Cape Town’s incredible design community through :

  • Collaborations
  • Engaging discussions
  • Exhibitions
  • Food and drinks activations
  • Interactive installations
  • Open studios
  • Performances
  • Product launches
  • Showroom experiences
  • Walkabout tours
  • Workshops

Space Sharing

Through discussion, understanding, participation and collaboration we engage with the idea of making and sharing space within the South African creative industries and the urban landscape around us. Studio visits, and the creative use of space for exhibitions and activations – both indoor and outdoor – expose the availability and use of physical space within these two cities.

Collaborative Growth

By working together across sectors and disciplines within the creative industries, designers and makers are able to share knowledge, give time to create something new and learn and Grow Collectively in an environment of inclusivity and support.

Future Archives

Marking a timestamp on what our local creative industries have experienced and achieved, we look back at legacy design and creative practice, and forward towards where we’re headed, what we want to say to the world, and how we’ll get there. We highlight design that’s relevant for our future.

Game Changing

Moulding the future of our local creative industries by uplifting and inspiring the next generation of designers and makers. Be a part of the change through workshops, discussions and innovative exhibitions, and by giving time, knowledge, resources and support.

Having spent 10 years building her namesake clothing studio, Margot Molyneux, a manufacturer and retailer of boutique collections of mens and womenswear, Margot more recently turned her attention to the world of media, specifically focusing on interiors, architecture and decor, fulfilling the role of Managing Editor of House and Leisure publication and General Manager at independent publisher LOOKBOOK Studio. 2024 has brought the launch of a new initiative, Design Week South Africa, a seemingly natural career transition as she combines her love of design and storytelling with her enthusiasm for the local creative industry and its growth and development.

Since joining the biggest Sunday newspaper and working in various roles at the top lifestyle publications in the country, Zanele Kumalo continues to partner with premium brands to create and lead communities built around the creative economy – art, culture, design, food and wellness. With a twenty-year career in media, marketing and communications that sees her growing the now five-year-old boutique content studio whatzandidnext, she works as the Johannesburg liaison for Soho House Cities Without Houses, a global membership club; the associate director for Kalashnikovv Gallery and on other projects.  

Roland Postma believes that building people-first cities is a necessity, not an idealistic goal. With a first class Honours in Urban and Regional Planning from RMIT in Melbourne, he is currently the Managing Director at Young Urbanists NPC, where he aims to inspire a new generation of thinkers and doers around city design and management. Through co-founding the Active Mobility Forum and the public-private partnership Safe Passage Programme with the SDI Trust, he wants to prove that change is possible by providing solutions to local governments around the areas of housing, urban design and transportation.

Email us

[email protected]

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@designweeksouthafrica

JHB 10 – 13 . 10
CPT 24 – 27 . 10