DESIGN Canberra welcomes ACT Government commitment to support the festival with $100,000 for each of the next three years

Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre welcomes today’s announcement from Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA and Arts Minister Gordon Ramsay MLA to fund DESIGN Canberra $100,000 each year for the next three years.

‘DESIGN Canberra is our city’s fastest growing festival, celebrating and promoting Canberra as a global city of design. Today’s commitment puts Craft ACT’s major outreach program, DESIGN Canberra, in an unprecedented position to build awareness in new markets and encourage buy-in from business and tourism sectors. Most importantly, we can now introduce inspiring and ambitious legacy projects with longer term benefits for Canberra and the design sector’, said CEO and Artistic Director, Rachael Coghlan.

In 2016, DESIGN Canberra attracted a record 69,000 people to the festival – a substantial increase from 26,000 in the year before. To date, the festival has been largely supported by businesses, individuals and organisations who believe in great design, including 2016 platinum sponsors Rolfe Classic BMW and home.by holly. In total, over 100 sponsors and supporters from the broader Canberra community help make the festival a success.

From 7-26 November 2017, over 100 events, exhibitions, talks, tours, activations, markets, collaborations, artist studios and open homes will be showcased as DESIGN Canberra, transforming the nation’s capital into a new platform for the best in design. The festival is for all interests and ages and most events are free.

Now in its fourth year, DESIGN Canberra 2017 is heading in a new strategic direction, led by the idea of Canberra as a living design laboratory, a global city of design.

‘Design is in Canberra’s DNA. From the time of Walter and Marion Griffin's visionary design a century ago, to iconic experimental modernist architecture of the 1950s and 60s, and contemporary and sustainable design developments today, Canberra has been — and will always be — a living design laboratory’, said Rachael Coghlan.

DESIGN Canberra is the major outreach activity of Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre, a not-for-profit membership based organisation which supports artists, craft practitioners, designers and makers at every stage of their careers. We promote and celebrate excellence and innovation in contemporary craft in everything we do – in our shop, exhibitions, events and membership program. Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre is supported by the ACT Government; the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments; and the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body.

DESIGN Canberra 2017 sponsors:

Platinum: Rolfe Classic BMW, home.by holly, University of Canberra
Government partner: ACT Government/Events ACT
Accommodation partner: Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport
Design partner: Cre8ive
Gold Partners: Australian Institute of Architects, Australian National University (College of Arts and Social Sciences and Research School of Humanities and the Arts)

For more information, visit the DESIGN Canberra website or connect with us via social media on Facebook and Instagram.