New website coming soon!

Festival of Design Aotearoa is a national festival celebrating how design shapes life in New Zealand and beyond, from the streets we walk to the products we use to the systems we rely on and the stories we tell. Launching in October 2026 and anchored in Whanganui, Aotearoa’s UNESCO City of Design, with events across Whanganui-Manawatū, the festival will bring together designers, technologists, businesses, and communities. Festival of Design Aotearoa is where big ideas meet everyday life, inviting everyone, from practising designers to the simply curious, to see, test, and co-create the future of design in Aotearoa.

What to expect

• Exhibitions and installations

• Talks, panels and labs

• Workshops and live performances

• Public activations across the city

Who it’s for

Designers, makers, artists, businesses, educators, students, iwi partners, public sector – and anyone curious about how design can shape better futures.