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Design Indaba News


Design Indaba Conference, a multi-sensory event

The Design Indaba Conference, which will be held from 21-23 February 2018, is going beyond design to create a multi-sensory event where you can hear, see, learn and experience the future of creative thinking and design activism.
Design Indaba 2016.
Design Indaba 2016.

Awarded as the Best Conference in the World, Design Indaba aims to make a positive impact on society by building a movement that attracts producers of meaningful culture and business, regardless of sector or industry.

First three speakers confirmed

The first three confirmed speakers of the substantial 2018 panel include celebrated and prolific spatial designer Morag Myerscough who most recently reimagined the interior of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre cafe in London. The second confirmed speaker is Cannes Lions award-winning filmmaker Sunu Gonera who hails from Zimbabwe and whose work tells authentic African stories, as seen in the music video he created for Khuli Chana. Third is poet, performer, actress, presenter and producer Lebogang Mashile. This year, Mashile has developed an original theatre piece that interrogates aspects of black feminine identity through the exploration of the experiences of Sarah Baartman for Design Indaba 2018.

Annual Design Indaba Festival

Taking place in conjunction with the world-renowned Design Indaba Conference, the annual Design Indaba Festival 2018 will run from 21 - 24 February 2018 at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town. With three full days of engaging speakers, exhibitions and a film- and music festival, the 2018 conference is set to amaze, uplift and motivate delegates to find new ways in which to design a better world.

An experiential wonderland of live music, films, Chefs Table dinners, performances and exhibitions, the Design Indaba Festival encompasses the Design Indaba’s longstanding annual Film Festival, Nightscape Music Festival, and exhibitions such as the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa (MBOISA) and the Emerging Creatives Programme. New to the festival in 2018 are pop-up restaurants featuring renowned chefs and stand-alone performances by headline acts.

The Design Indaba Conference and Festival 2018 will take place at the Artscape Theatre Complex in Cape Town. Simulcast versions of the conference will take place in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom and Namibia. Tickets are available from Webtickets and can be booked as 1-day, 2-day or 3-day packages.

Key dates to diarise:

  • Design Indaba Conference and Simulcast: 21-23 February 2018
  • Most Beautiful Object in South Africa exhibition: 21 – 24 February 2018
  • Emerging Creatives exhibition: 21 – 24 February 2018
  • Film Festival: 22 – 24 February 2018
  • Nightscape Music Festival: 22 – 24 February 2018
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