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Save the Date:
Dundee Design Festival to return from 23 – 29 September 2024
- 2024 Festival to celebrate the city’s 10th anniversary of UNESCO City of Design designation working with local and international partners to present an ambitious and optimistic programme of design-centred exhibitions, events and projects
- Festival to take place from 23 – 29 September 2024 in a dedicated space at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc which will be transformed into a national hub of design during a week of design-led exhibitions, events and experiences
- 2024 will be the Festival’s fifth edition showcasing the work of local and national designers and raising the profile of contemporary design in Scotland
- A new evergreen brand identity for Dundee Design Festival has been created by Martin Baillie Studio. It has been designed to act as a blank canvas – allowing designers to produce a bespoke creative concept for the marketing of each iteration of the festival.
- For the 2024 edition, a competition with the 2024 final year Graphic Design cohort at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design will see the winning students’ design writ large across the city and the Festival branding, staff uniforms and marketing materials
From the 23rd of September 2024, Dundee Design Festival will activate a former factory space with work by over 100 designers, exploring a multiplicity of contemporary design ideas and practice. As Scotland’s National Design Festival, the programme will further anchor Dundee’s identity as a city of design.
UNESCO City of Design Dundee are poised to celebrate their 10th year as the city’s design champions in an iconic venue that has rarely been accessible to the public. Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc will become Scotland’s biggest design event with a week-long celebration featuring an exciting line-up of design-led exhibitions, events and experiences.
Curated by Local Heroes founder Dr Stacey Hunter, the 5th Festival embraces Multiplicity as its theme. The programme will feature local, national and international elements showcasing the diversity of design, recognising the multiplicity of ways that designers and makers contribute to our world from design and craft to art and architecture.
Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc sits on the site of the former Michelin Tire factory. Powered by a mixture of sustainable and clean energy, the venue is the perfect festival partner with over 10,000 square metres of space that allows DDF to bring the work of over 100 designers together under one roof.
Annie Marrs, Lead Officer, UNESCO City of Design Dundee, said:
“We’re so excited that through the festival, we can help shine a light under the incredible facilities for innovation and technology businesses that are a key part of Dundee’s sustainable future.”
Ahead of a full programme launch in early 2024, Dundee Design Festival confirmed details of one of the many exhibitions taking place next year. Hyper-Local: Objects from the UNESCO Design Cities Network will be an international exhibition of design objects that embody specific qualities about the place that it comes from. The inspiring designs have been selected from the global network of UNESCO Cities Of Design. Participating cities include; Bilbao, Detroit and Nagoya. The exhibition will tell a city-specific story about design spanning materials and craftsmanship, industrial innovation, technology and culture.
Speaking ahead of the festival its Creative Director Dr Stacey Hunter said:
“Our UNESCO Design Cities exhibition will reveal a multiplicity of ways of thinking about design. Whether made by hand or rapidly-prototyped, the objects will offer audiences a unique snapshot of international design solutions and a hyper-local insight into a diversity of cultures. It’s our anniversary present to the city and I look forward to sharing this expanded understanding of design and its contribution to everyday life, society and culture with Festival audiences.”
“We’re delighted to reveal Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) as our venue partner. This venue allows us so much flexibility and really encourages an approach that’s generous and expansive. The Festival will harness the cultural power of design to explore a sustainable vision of Scoland’s post-industrial future – one that reflects the creativity and innovation being pioneered by designers and makers at home and internationally.”
Annie Marrs, Lead Officer, UNESCO City of Design Dundee, said:
“The countdown is on for next year’s festival and Dundee’s 10th anniversary as the UK’s first and only UNESCO City of Design. Much like the city, the festival will embrace an international outlook that includes and values local projects and people, as well as celebrating national and international achievements. Design is for everybody and as we confirm more elements of the programme for the amazing space at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc we’re excited to create a memorable festival where more than 100 designers will be showcased all under one roof.”
“We are learning so much from the dynamic and energetic team at MSIP about sustainability and it really underlines that for us, sustainability, inclusion and community are not themes – they are part of the DNA of the festival. Our shared values have made for a wonderful working relationship as we work together to showcase the potential of the carbon neutral site.”
Greig Coull, Chief Executive Officer at MSIP said:
“We’re incredibly excited to be the venue partner for the fifth Dundee Design Festival. By utilising our unique and flexible industrial units, alongside our green energy from wind power, I’m really pleased we can support the festival to deliver an ambitious programme that is internationally focused, with sustainability in mind. This fits both with the values and themes of the UNESCO City of Design status and with those of MSIP.
“Dundee is a City known for creativity, innovation and thinking big and next years’ festival, hosted at MSIP, will demonstrate all of that and more. It’s a privilege that we can host such an exciting festival at the Innovation Parc.”
The full programme for the festival will be launched in Spring 2024.
Listings Information:
Dundee Design Festival 2024
23 – 29 September 2024
Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, Baldovie Rd, Dundee DD4 8UQ
For further information and updates about the festival go to dundeedesignfestival.com @dnd_designfest
For further information, interview and image requests please contact Owen O’Leary, Oh Really PR on 07815992658 or email owen@ohreally.co.uk
View and download hi res images here: https://app.box.com/s/u41j2uilj0k6znpbu85oyf34op7n27wd
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Notes for Editors
About Dr Stacey Hunter
Stacey Hunter curates, writes and produces within a contemporary design context; her collaborative exhibitions and projects are known and appreciated for their unconventional approach and broad appeal. She is committed to the development of design culture in Scotland and enlivening design and craft discourses. Stacey founded Local Heroes to present the work of outstanding designers working in Scotland and collaborates with a diverse range of organisations from airports and cultural hubs to hotels, hospitals and design-led businesses.
Her PhD was awarded by The University of Edinburgh’s Architecture School in 2015. In 2017 V&A Dundee named her a Design Champion; in 2018 she won Creative Edinburgh’s Leadership Award and in 2019 she was selected by Cove Park; Arts Initiative Tokyo and Creative Residency Arita to visit Japan for two months as design curator in residence. Later that year she was a designer in residence at The Suttie Art Space in Aberdeen. During lockdown Hunter was a curator in virtual-residence at Edinburgh’s Design Informatics / Inspace Gallery. In 2021 she produced the critically acclaimed The Future of Home exhibition in Brompton Design District as part of London Design Festival. In 2022 Craft Scotland commissioned Hunter to produce ‘Sustaining Curatorial Careers’ a research report exploring the key role curators play in sustaining and innovating Scotland’s ecosystem for contemporary craft. In 2023 Hunter launched PROCESS, a professional development programme for a cohort of five designers. www.localheroes.design www.staceyhunter.com
Stacey is on twitter @stacey_hunter_edi and instagram @stacey_hunter_edi
Local Heroes is on twitter @LocalHeroesScot and instagram @localheroesdesign
About UNESCO City of Design Dundee
Dundee Design Festival 2024 will be delivered by UNESCO City of Design Dundee. UNESCO City of Design Dundee is delivered through the Dundee Partnership and hosted by V&A Dundee. Core project partners are Abertay University, Creative Dundee, Dundee City Council, Leisure & Culture Dundee, The University of Dundee and V&A Dundee.
Dundee was designated a UNESCO Creative City in 2014. As the UK’s first and only UNESCO City of Design, Dundee upholds the values of UNESCO and publicly champions our city’s commitment to placing design at the heart of our local development plans and to global cooperation working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Dundee’s title recognises the small yet dynamic city with a strong cultural identity and a history of design, innovation and creativity. The city has time and time again focused on design and creativity to build sustainable economic growth. From the jute industry of the 19th & 20th Century through to post-war electrical and mechanical engineering, the city’s design story includes household favourites the Beano and the Dandy, marmalade and Grand Theft Auto.
Today, Dundee is home to a cutting edge life sciences sector, a dynamic digital media industry, world-renowned higher education institutions and a vibrant creative industries sector. Dundee is a city which is bold, ambitious and committed to using design to help solve the challenges we face – locally and globally.
Currently there are 49 UNESCO Cities of Design, including Bangkok, Bilbao, Detroit, Graz, Helsinki, Kobe, Mexico City, Montreal,Singapore, Seoul and Wuhan.
UNESCO City of Design Dundee: https://cityofdesigndundee.com/
@designdundee
UNESCO Cities of Design Network: https://www.designcities.net/
About Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc
MSIP is a dynamic and creative home for innovators, manufacturers and skills leaders who are actively working towards reducing carbon emissions and fostering a cleaner, more sustainable future. They offer space to manufacture and scale up; business, skills and innovation support; and access to green energy from sustainable sources.
A joint venture with 3 partners: Michelin, Dundee City Council, and Scottish Enterprise. Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) was created to generate economic growth in Scotland and support a fair and just transition to a net zero economy. The 32-hectare site offers excellent physical and digital connectivity, and dynamic space for all sizes of businesses to locate.
Hosting Dundee Design Festival as a venue partner is the organisation’s latest commitment to working in partnership to highlight Dundee as a centre for design and innovation.
About UNESCO Creative Cities
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. It is a global network of cities working towards the joint mission of placing creativity and cultural industries at the core of their urban development to make their cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable.
There are 7 Creative City categories: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music and 13 UNESCO Creative Cities. Their work supports local communities and creates international opportunities, bringing an estimated £2.6 million in economic value to the UK. Recent research by the UK National Commission for UNESCO shows UNESCO projects can help build a greener, more equal and more peaceful world, while also creating financial value.
The cities form part of a larger global network made up of 350 member cities spanning seven artforms, with the city of Edinburgh, UK being the founding member of the Network.
Creative Cities work to strengthen the creation, production, distribution, and enjoyment of cultural goods and services at the local level, to promote creativity and creative expression especially among vulnerable groups, including women and young people, to enhance access to and participation in cultural life as well as enjoyment of cultural goods, and to strengthen the integration of cultural and creative industries and cultural tourism in local development plans.
UNESCO Creative Cities Network: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home
UK National Commission for UNESCO: www.unesco.org.uk
