❋Design
✴Events
EXPLORING CREATIVITY: OPEN JOURNAL’S MUST-SEE EVENTS AT MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK 2025
As Melbourne Design Week (MDW) 2025 approaches, from May 15 to 25, the city is poised to burst with creativity, innovation, and inspiration, inviting attendees to delve into the theme "Design The World You Want." Among the myriad exhibitions, installations, and discussions, we’ve curated a selection of standout events that embody the essence of design’s potential in shaping a better future. Below is an exploration of our recommended highlights, each offering a unique lens on how design can address contemporary challenges while fostering community engagement and reflection.
Kicking off the exploration is the "Comfort Zone" exhibit (sponsored by Neometro), a collaborative project featuring the innovative works of Beci Orpin and Softer Studio, led by Dustin Fritsche. This exhibition draws upon the unexpected intersections of craft, materiality, and technology, showcasing a series of striking furniture pieces that challenge traditional notions of design. Through a blend of soft textiles and hard timber, the artists explore themes of duality—hard versus soft, digital versus handmade—inviting viewers to reconsider the dialogue between these contrasts. Their utilisation of techniques like cross-stitching alongside cutting-edge digital processes highlights the continuity and interplay of past and present, ultimately demonstrating how design can bridge generations and mediums. The vibrance of their creations promises to evoke joy while provoking thought about the underlying principles of craftsmanship.
Another highlight on Open Journal’s list is “Design House Vol. II,” an inclusive exhibition by Oigall Projects to amplify female voices within the design community. In a world where talented female designers have often been overlooked, this event transforms a private residence into a showcase for a host of accomplished women designers, including Adriana Hanna, Marsha Golemac, Studio Tali Roth and Sarah I’Anson. Each participant brings their own distinctive style and philosophy, weaving a rich tapestry of design that is both diverse and cohesive. This event supports the recognition of female talent in design and serves as a clarion call for equality in design spaces. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a home transformed by creativity, with every corner revealing the immense capability of women to shape the world of design.
3. The Birds
At the intersection of art and environmental consciousness lies “The Birds,” a collaborative initiative led by artists Jen Berean, Callum Morton, and Linda Tegg, presented by the Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA). The project's thematic focus on enhancing local ecosystems through public art offers a poignant reminder of design's role in fostering biodiversity. By reimagining the humble birdbath as functional sculptures crafted from local rock types, the artists create spaces that attract birds and encourage community interaction and appreciation of urban wildlife. Their inventive approach underscores the potential for public art to transcend aesthetic boundaries and address pressing ecological challenges, inviting participants to witness firsthand the subtle coexistence of art and nature in urban settings.
Home. Women. Housing., presented by mitte.studio, provides a thought-provoking exploration of women’s experiences with housing in contemporary society. Through comics and illustrations that portray diverse stories revolving around home, this exhibition highlights the complexities of identity, safety, and societal structures in relation to housing. As the influential voice of women, including trans and gender-diverse individuals, is often marginalised, this event seeks to cultivate a deeper understanding of housing justice and inclusivity in design. Engaging panels will enable artists and visitors to discuss their personal narratives while promoting broader conversations around the need for gender-sensitive housing policies. This exhibition poignantly emphasises how design can shape community dynamics, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard and valued.
Celebrating 20 years of creativity, the Volker Haug Studio exhibition showcases a curated selection of its distinctive lighting designs, reflecting the studio's evolution from early pieces to contemporary works. This retrospective highlights the studio's unique design philosophy, blending simplicity, craftsmanship, and functionality, while inviting guests to appreciate the meticulous artistry and innovation that characterise its approach. Based in Melbourne, Volker Haug Studio is celebrated for its elegant, customisable lighting solutions that resonate with individuality and timelessness, frequently featured in projects by prominent architects and designers.
The "Goodbye London Plane" exhibition, presented by MA House Supply Store, showcases the artistic repurposing of the often-maligned London plane tree through the works of various Melbourne-based makers, including furniture designers and craftsmen like Andy Ward and curator Ben Mooney. As Melbourne seeks to diversify its tree population, the exhibition aims to foster conversations around the significance of these trees in urban ecology and design, emphasising the creativity and craftsmanship involved in transforming fallen trees into unique, meaningful objects.
Offering a glimpse into future-oriented design practices, “Designing Futures” invites attendees to participate in a guided walking tour of the Brunswick Design District. Led by local creatives, this tour showcases innovative approaches to sustainability in various disciplines, including landscape architecture and community-centric design. Notable stops include the newly inaugurated Michelle Guglielmo Park, where local flora is integrated into urban spaces, and the $30 million Balam Balam Place, a hub supporting artistic enterprise. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to engage with the designers behind these initiatives, discovering how collectively they are redefining urban living. This event embodies the potential of design to create inclusive and responsive spaces that embrace ecological consciousness and community connectivity.
In an era increasingly dominated by a throwaway culture, the “Melbourne Demolition Atlas Workshop” presents a radical rethinking of our built environment, encouraging attendees to envision resilience through refurbishment rather than demolition. Hosted in the Old Microbiology Building at the University of Melbourne—the very space designated for demolition—this workshop combines scholarly discourse with interactive exhibitions, highlighting the environmental and social value of preserving architectural heritage. Inviting participants to contribute to an ongoing demolition atlas fosters a collective narrative that emphasises the importance of history and context in urban design.
The inventive “Dancer Editions,” an exhibition presented by Coco Flip that celebrates play and movement through lighting design. Inspired by Oskar Schlemmer’s Triadic Ballet, this collection unites various designers and architects who contribute to designs that evoke a sense of dynamic motion. Beyond mere aesthetic appeal, these works nurture a dialogue on the intersection of form, function, and playfulness. With proceeds going towards Seed Mob, a group committed to advocacy for indigenous rights, the exhibition is a feast for the eyes and a platform for social impact.
10. A New Normal
Lastly, rounding off Open Journal's selection is ‘A New Normal’, which returns to the Boyd Baker House in Long Forest for a five-day celebration featuring leading Australian architects and creative practitioners, showcasing twelve transformative projects to enhance urban sustainability in Greater Melbourne by 2030. The event includes guided tours, talks, and exhibitions centred around themes such as Built Projects, Landscape and Biodiversity, Energy, Net Zero Architecture, and the Circular Economy. Following its successful debut during Melbourne Design Week 2021, the initiative has expanded to other cities, with many original projects now in development. Collaborators include prominent firms such as Public Realm Lab , Kosloff, and NH Architecture, the Robin Boyd Foundation, and Hope Street Radio.
As Melbourne Design Week 2025 unfolds, we encourage you to immerse yourself in these carefully curated events that highlight design's transformative potential. Each exhibition serves not just as a display of creativity but as a reminder of the shared responsibility designers have in addressing the complexities of our world. By engaging with these narratives, participants can contribute to a broader dialogue about how design can actively shape a more inclusive, sustainable, and inspiring future.
Also, be sure to check out the MABF Stallholder Fair at the NGV’s Great Hall, where you can pick up a much-anticipated copy of the City Living: Neometro Residents and Works at the Bookshop by URO stand.
See the full program for Melbourne Design Week 2025 here. Words by Tiffany Jade.
