Since 2017 Melbourne Design Week has been showcasing the best, boldest and most innovative local designers, with 2024 set to be the biggest year yet celebrating the themes of ethics, energy and ecology. Support local talent and expand your creative horizons at talks, performances and exhibitions by local LGBTQIA+ design talent with this selection of the wide range of events on offer:
Queer-Ways: From Archive to Artwork will see Rik and Ralph founder Gayathri Wijesekera in conversation with multidisciplinary artist and Queer-ways co-creator LUCIANO, exploring how they bring archive materials to life, creating art by uniting history and design through records of community.
When: 24 May, 2024, 6–7pm
Where: Victorian Archives Centre, 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne
Tickets: $5
Accessibility: The Victorian Archives Centre is wheelchair accessible, with gender-neutral and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.
Queer Storytelling and Publishing will see a panel of industry professionals discussing the role of storytelling in queer communities and the power of representation and empowerment, hosted by theDepartment of Design, Monash Art, Design and Architecture.
When: 30 May, 2024, 2.30–4pm
Where: Victorian Pride Centre, 79-81 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Tickets: Free! Booking Essential
Accessibility: The Victorian Pride Centre is Wheelchair Accessible, full accessibility information here.
On the visual art front there’s almost too much to list, but definitely not to be missed are Toilet Stories, a student interior design exhibition subverting the heterosexist bineries of bathroom design, All You Do, an exhibition of queer and POC artists’ work reflecting on sustainability and the power of queer expression at beloved local independent Unassigned Gallery and Spiros Panigirakis’ Variables and Settings, a two-part exhibition of sculpture and design about masculinity, fashion, furniture and queer desire. Why not learn about Designing for Inclusion? Or go to a workshop about cozy games that remind us that It’s All About Play? There’s a wealth of inspiring, illuminating and educational opportunities on offer, in a city bursting at the seams with queer talent!
Leave a Reply