Now in its tenth iteration, this year’s Melbourne Design Week program might just be the best one yet.
Presented by the NGV, the stacked program features more than 400 events over 11 days, bringing together leading emerging and established creatives from across Australia’s diverse design industry.
With so much to see and do we’ve put together a guide to some of the free highlights below, which range from a showcase of 100 one-of-a-kind chairs to experimental exhibitions at the Abbotsford Convent.
Don’t miss this world-class celebration of local talent — on now until May 24!
Installation view of 100 Chairs, presented by Friends & Associates, on display 14 May – 24 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of 100 Chairs, presented by Friends & Associates, on display 14 May – 24 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of 100 Chairs, presented by Friends & Associates, on display 14 May – 24 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Chair by Studio Eclect, fabricated by Barnabas Dean. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of 100 Chairs, presented by Friends & Associates, on display 14 May – 24 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of 100 Chairs, presented by Friends & Associates, on display 14 May – 24 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Last year, Dale Hardiman and Tom Skeehan from Friends & Associates got everyone talking with their landmark 100 Lamps exhibition at MDW. Somehow, they’ve managed to top that buzz with their new event: 100 Chairs.
Each piece in the collection has been designed and made here in Australia, and you’ll leave feeling inspired by the scale and imagination of just how many ways there are to craft a chair.
Installation of Work Shop: On Permanence in Contemporary Practice at Fiona Lynch Office. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
The showcase runs during bothMelbourne Design Week. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Fiona Lynch Office continues its experimental design project Work Shop, this time in partnership with Melbourne and Tasmanian-based design studio Fomu Studio and heritage Australian wool brand, Waverley Mills.
You can take a peek into the creative process of Fomu Studio with new pieces alongside prototypes and sketches, as the adjacent room showcases Fiona Lynch’s bold Waverley Mills textiles in an immersive setting.
RE:BORN is open until May 23 at Artbank Melbourne in Collingwood. Photo – Gavin Green
Photo – Gavin Green
Photo – Gavin Green
RE:BORN is an epic collaboration between sustainable design project Cultivated and Romance Was Born that transforms overlooked furniture into new awe-inspiring forms.
The Australian fashion house brings its signature imaginative vision and textile artistry to restore second-hand pieces that are now on display in an immersive and bold curation within Artbank in Collingwood.
Installation view of Synthesis by Studio Shields. On display 14 May – 22 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of Synthesis by Studio Shields. On display 14 May – 22 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of Synthesis by Studio Shields. On display 14 May – 22 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
Installation view of Synthesis by Studio Shields. On display 14 May – 22 May at Abbotsford Convent, as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026. Photo – Tom Ross
This ambitious showcase by Ruby Shields’ eponymous design studio brings together more than 40 Australian artists, makers and designers to create an enchanting interior setting inside what was once the Bishop’s Parlour at the Abbotsford Convent.
Hero pieces range from the bespoke sofa by Culture Cush, to Mood Workshop’s sculptural timber furniture and lighting by Marlo Lyda — just to name a few. The exhibition will make you want to linger and take in every curious corner.
Installation view of Table Manners, presented by Union Magazine & Object Massive & Streifen, on display 14 May – 24 May at Florian Home. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Cutlery is somewhat the unsung hero of any tablescape, but Table Manners shines a spotlight on the nature of these all-important utensils.
A line-up of clever creatives, including artist Belle Thierry, Melbourne jewellery designer Hamish Munro, glassblower Hamish Donaldson, and many more, have each created their own distinct set of cutlery especially for the exhibition at Florian Home.
Installation view of The Sheepskin Suite by Wilson & Dorset. On show at the Abbotsford Convent until May 24. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Lamp by Tantri Mustika. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Work by Beci Orpin. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Imagine a living room where sheepskin takes centre stage, and you might get a visual close to the Sheepskin Suite by New Zealand design house Wilson & Dorset, curated by Kelly Thompson.
From shaggy floor-to-ceiling layers to soft shortwool couches, and even a sheepskin-covered lamp by Tantri Mustika, this cosy group exhibition invites you to experience the warmth of this natural material in novel and playful ways.
Installation view, All Heaven Broke Loose, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne Design Week, 2026. Photo – Tom Ross.
Lighting work by 1000 Realms. Chair by Zachary Frankel. All Heaven Broke Loose, Melbourne Design Week, 2026. Photo – Tom Ross.
Installation view, All Heaven Broke Loose, Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne Design Week, 2026. Photo – Tom Ross.
Set inside an industrial-esque room of the Abbotsford Convent, All Heaven Broke Loose reveals a mix of contemporary objects that speak to the theme of ‘gentleness’.
Get up close and personal with intricate works like an enchanting steel light by 1000 Realms (marking the Melbourne design duo’s first public showing), dainty glassworks by Studio Dokola, and plenty more.
Felled at Craft. May 2 – June 27. Photo – Claire Armstrong
The Omi Vessel by Bolaji Teniola. Felled at Craft. May 2 – June 27. Photo – Claire Armstrong
Banksia Grandis series by Mark Lilly. Felled at Craft. May 2 – June 27. Photo – Claire Armstrong
Wandin by Craig Murphy. Felled at Craft. May 2 – June 27. Photo – Claire Armstrong
Felled explores the possibilities of timber in the hands of six different makers. It’s all about highlighting how specialist craftspeople can minimise waste by embracing traditionally disregarded materials.
It proves what happens when you dare to think outside the box; featuring a collection of impeccable furniture crafted using banksia pods and timber shavings, or invasive trees destined for pulping.
Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Photo – Matthew McQuiggan
Multidisciplinary designer Dean Norton reveals a new series of reflective works in Between Planes.
Combining mirror and glass, Dean’s ethereal pieces are suspended or positioned throughout Hotel House in Fitzroy like otherworldly portals. Visitors will experience how these striking creations shift in real time depending on light, interaction, and movement.
Lightly is marking its 20th anniversary with a showcase of new work at Melbourne Design Week. Photo – Pier Carthew
Installation view of Twenty Years: The Making of a Symbol. Photo – Supplied
Photo – Supplied
In this exhibition at Collingwood Yards, Melbourne design brand Lightly celebrates its 20-year anniversary with a new collection of new works developed through in-house collaborations with local creatives.
See theatrical steel works, resin pieces that honour the studio’s beginnings in acrylic, and wool designs inspired by folklore and tradition.
Installation view of Lustre Photo – Dijana Risteska
Photo – Dijana Risteska
Tait is known for championing the beauty of stainless steel in its outdoor furniture designs, but Lustre takes this to the next level.
Using a creative laboratory approach, the brand has reimagined its Swing Collection, by designer Adam Goodrum, in a multitude of different, boundary-pushing finishes unearthed by Tait’s in-house research and development team.
A Sense of Occasion invites designers to create their own version of a champagne bucket. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan.
Muselet by Thomas Maxam Studio. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan.
Celebrating with (only) you by Space-man Studio. Photo – Matthew McQuiggan.
Ever wondered what a champagne bucket would look like if designed by some of Australia’s best studios and designers? Well, this was exactly the thinking behind THOMAS MAXAM Studio’s A Sense of Occasion.
Featuring names like Adriana Hanna, Brahman Perera and Jordan Fleming, each designer was encouraged to reflect on personal moments of celebration from their own lives, and channel these memories into their work, approaching the task with curiosity and play. And the results are guaranteed to spark joy!
