The New Edition of València Design Fest Begins

• Design will dominate the cultural and professional agenda of the city throughout September and extend until mid-October, in a year where València stands out as the European Green Capital and has been designated by UNESCO as a City of Design.
• The program, which includes exhibitions, conferences, editorial presentations, workshops, audiovisual screenings, and more, will coincide with major events such as Feria Hábitat, Abierto València, or Valencia Disseny Week.
• The festival, promoted by the Fundació del Disseny, aims to continue projecting the Valencian Community on a national and international scale as a territory indisputably linked to creativity and design.

València Design Fest, driven by the Fundació del Disseny, solidifies in its second edition with a program that covers multiple creative disciplines and invites the public to engage with culture and design.

«Time and Matter»

One of the program’s most notable initiatives is the second edition of «Time and Matter», a project curated by Estudio Savage. This year, it collaborates with the Museu Valencià de la Il·lustració i de la Modernitat (MuVIM) and the Irthi Contemporary Craft Council. «Time and Matter» seeks to bring contemporary craftsmanship closer to the general public and reflects on how, alongside design, craftsmanship offers a valid path for development, particularly in the preservation of materials, techniques, and manufacturing processes. The exhibition, titled «Crafting Connections: Exploring Collaborations in Contemporary Crafts», will open at the MuVIM on September 13, coinciding with the festival’s opening event.

Parallel to the exhibition, a series of activities curated by Estudio Savage in collaboration with Camper, Fundación Loewe, and Domaine de Boisbuchet will take place. These include a talk with Barreira A+D (September 9) and a workshop with a multidisciplinary group of creatives, culminating in a presentation on September 13, which aims to consider design as a cultural influence. Additionally, Fundación Loewe will present its Loewe Craft Prize through a talk with two Spanish finalists from the recent editions of these awards (September 17). The extensive program related to «Time and Matter» will also feature meetings with artists and entities such as Domaine de Boisbuchet, Inma Bermúdez, Regina Dejiménez, and Sergio Mendoza at Feria Hàbitat’s nude space (October 1) and a discussion led by Valencian designer Manu Bañó from Mexico City, along with other young designers and artisans (September 24).

«The New Habitat»

On September 18, the study «The New Habitat 25-26: How the Spaces We Inhabit are Changing», conducted by APE Grupo in collaboration with Futurea, the General Council of Official Associations of Interior Decorators and Designers of Spain, Bernadí, and the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana, will be presented. This research aims to demonstrate how interior design, product design, and architecture deeply and meaningfully connect with sociocultural trends. The presentation will be followed by a roundtable discussion with Ángela Montagut (Clap Studio), Fran Sabater (Samaruc Studio), and Alberto Eltini (El Departamento).

Talks

To generate debate and reflection on design, architecture, and urbanism, the festival will include a series of talks (September 19, 26, and October 3) open to the public, featuring professionals such as Erik Harley (expert in Urban Studies), Nuria Moliner (architect and communicator), Nuria Matarredona (architect, researcher, and educator), Beatriz Jacoste (director of KM ZERO), and Juan Ferrero (managing partner of Ramón Esteve), among others.

The Braun Case and Sustainability as a Focus

On October 8, Benjamin Wilson, Global Technology & Design Communications Lead at Braun, will present the book «Braun: Designed to Keep», which outlines the company’s defining moments, main identities, and key figures, providing the most comprehensive history of the German company ever published.

On the same day, Andreu World CEO Jesús Llinares will engage in a discussion with Wilson about the need for a new industrial revolution in design, manufacturing, and global distribution, culminating in a day focused on responsible innovation, circular economy, and sustainability in product design.

The afternoon will close with a roundtable emphasizing the importance of collective change toward more responsible and environmentally respectful practices, aiming to inspire the adoption of more ecological approaches in the industry and promoting innovation and progress toward a positive impact on the planet.

«In this second edition of València Design Fest, we align particularly with the year of the European Green Capital and highlight our recent designation as a UNESCO City of Design, two very complementary milestones that underscore the social role of design and its cross-cutting importance for the development of our society», says Xavi Calvo, director of the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana.

«Night at the Museum»

In the exhibition «Night at the Museum. When Nature Awakens the Senses» at the Museum of Fine Arts (starting October 2), vegetation will take over the museum’s interior, creating a series of scenes based on biophilic design: a movement that proposes emulating and integrating natural elements into architecture and interior design for their positive impact on people’s well-being. LZF Lamps and Gandía Blasco Group have jointly conceptualized and designed this intervention, with the participation of another Valencian firm, Greenarea, specialized in creating spaces and vertical gardens with preserved vegetation.

When the Local Meets the Global and Design as Everyday Life

IKEA València will be featured in two activities during València Design Fest. One will be an expert panel where Almudena Cano, Country Home Furnishing & Retail Design Manager at IKEA Spain, and Manuel Delgado, Home Furnishing Direction Leader at IKEA Spain, alongside the IKEA Valencia team, will share IKEA’s creative process, from analyzing macro trends to developing local solutions. This will be an opportunity for professionals and future talent to come together and inspire designs that improve daily life at home.

Additionally, IKEA will present the exhibition «I Can’t Live Without You», where ten renowned Valencian creators will choose two household items they can’t live without.

Editorial Projects, Exhibitions, Cinema, Family Workshops, Talks, and Even a Square Table

València Design Fest aims to leave no one behind and understands design from all possible perspectives. Therefore, the program will also offer:

• Activities for children in collaboration with Cuadernos Rubio (September 17 and 20)
• The «TotCor» exhibition (available at the National Museum of Ceramics and Sumptuary Arts), a collaborative project by Pepa Reverter, in which several artists have designed pieces around the concept of the “cor” (heart in Valencian) to send a message of solidarity.
• The presentation of «Quaderns 2» by the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny (September 23) – an edition that offers an academic perspective on some of the emblematic icons of Valencian design.
• A day focused on cinema and architecture at the Filmoteca (September 25) – with a discussion featuring Vicent Molins (journalist and director of Agència Districte), Carlos Salazar (architect and culture manager at CTAV), and Sara Mansanet (cultural manager and director of La Cabina), followed by the screening of «Mon Oncle».
• A creative gathering around art and craftsmanship (September 24), Mesa Cuadrada #4: «Artistes y/o Artesanes, esa **** movida de siempre», signed by Cuaderno Blablabla and moderated by its founder Sergio Membrillas.
• The talk «City of Design» (September 13): CEI – Centro de Estudios de Innovación Diseño y Marketing – will open its doors to celebrate local talent together with València Design Fest. Xavi Calvo (Director of the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana) will discuss how València has become a global reference for design, from its historical roots to its recent recognition as World Design Capital and City of Design.

«València Design Fest 2024 is an invitation to learn and enjoy design. The program is designed to cover many of the disciplines related to design in its mission to foster debate on how to improve and enrich people’s lives through art, culture, and sustainability», says Roberto Heredia, project director of the Fundació del Disseny de la Comunitat Valenciana.

Partner Programs

During «the month of design», València Design Fest will coincide with the Feria Hábitat, Textilhogar Home Textiles Premium, and Espacio Cocina SICI by Feria Valencia, and the 15th Edition of Valencia Disseny Week (VDW-15), organized by the Association of Designers of the Valencian Community. Another partner program is the XIII Valencia Comic Conference, which will be held at the Centre Cultural La Nau (September 20-22). Lastly, «Abierto València 2024», the contemporary art gallery festival of the Valencian Community (September 27 – October 4), organized by LAVAC, the Association of Contemporary Art Galleries, will take place.

You can find all the festival information at https://valenciadesignfest.com / Facebook / X / Instagram / Linkedin 

The Museu Valencià de la Il·lustració i de la Modernitat (MuVIM) will be the nerve center for many of the festival’s activities this year. However, València Design Fest will take place across many locations in the city, filling València with design and creativity.

The festival is supported by the València City Council, the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Commerce, and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana, the Coordination Center for Cultural Industries of the Ministry of Culture, Visit València, Feria Valencia, and València Sustainable European Green Capital 2024.

Additionally, València Design Fest’s main sponsor is the furniture company Andreu World, with additional sponsorship from APE Grupo, Padima, Actiu, Material Bank, Teika, LZF Lamps, Punt, Rolser, Newlyn, and Turia.

The collaborating entities include ADCV, the Interior Designers Association of the Valencian Community (CDICV), the Museu Valencià de la Il·lustració i de la Modernitat (MuVIM), the College of Architects of València (CTAV), LAVAC, the Valencian Comic Association, Pocket Design Magazine, the Nude Show of Feria Hábitat Valencia, the Valencian Design Archive, CEU Cardenal Herrera University, EASD (Valencia School of Art and Design), Barreira Arte+Diseño, LABA València, CEI Design School, Las Naves, La Filmoteca (Institut Valencià de Cultura of the Generalitat Valenciana), IRTHI, Rubio, Camper, IKEA València, and Loewe Foundation.