The Cardiff Design Festival is returning to venues throughout the city this week (10 to 13 October 2019) after a nine-year hiatus.
With the aim of celebrating and showcasing Cardiff’s thriving creative scene, 32 events are planned across the capital.
The festival programme was developed after a call out earlier this year for the local creative community to submit ideas for potential events, speakers and collaborations.
The programme of events, which include exhibitions, talks, socials and workshops, has been curated and hosted by the local design community to reflect all aspects of design.
The festival’s headline event – It Will Glow – will be hosted by Blue Stag at the Depot on Thursday 10th October. As well as creative talks from design agencies Smörgåsbord and the Yarza Twins and award-winning director and artist Greg Barth, guests will be able to enjoy street food, music and a marketplace showcasing the work of local creatives.
During the festival, Rabble Studio is collaborating with The Little Man Coffee Company to host a Hub which will act as a central information point for the festival. It will be a spot for hanging out, drinking coffee and attending workshops plus being able to collect programmes and merchandise.
Festival organiser, Melin Edomwonyi, said
“This October we want to challenge and broaden the definition of design in Cardiff. We want to celebrate its wealth of design talent whilst experimenting and collaborating with designers of all kinds. We want to share the great work produced in this city and beyond to help inspire our creative community.
“The festival is put together to reflect the true spirit of Cardiff’s creative community. It is collaborative in its widest sense. We’ve had so many businesses donating their time and services to make this as well as some Cardiff's finest creatives.”
Dan Spain, festival organiser, added:
“We want to reflect design and all its changing forms. Design is affected by everything from technology, social change and fashion to necessity. We want to illustrate how design can make life better and ultimately more beautiful.”
The festival first ran for nearly a decade from 2005 to 2013 and was successful in gelling together the design community in the city.
With guidance from the current Dean of Cardiff School of Art and Design, Olwen Moseley, who was a founding member of the original festival, this year’s event is being brought together by an even bigger team of fresh and enthusiastic local creative individuals and agencies.
Olwen Moseley, Dean of the Cardiff School of Art and Design, said:
“Things have moved on, there’s a more vibrant creative community than ever before and we see an opportunity to celebrate and focus on Cardiff’s design talent. The community has become more diverse and boundaries between traditional definitions of design and other creative endeavours have continued to become even harder to define. We believe design is central to creating happy and sustainable communities and creating beautiful experiences in our daily lives. We’re really looking forward to the celebration.”
Cardiff Design Festival is supported by Blue Stag, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Illustrate Digital, jamjar, John & Jane, Lexon, Proper Design, Orangebox, Rabble Studio and Storm & Shelter.
