VENICE DESIGN WEEK 2023 - Design Festival from 7 to 15 October

Venice Design Week (VDW) has reached its fourteenth edition! Dedicated to design and innovation, it presents ideas and projects from around the world while cultivataing local crafts and culture. The theme for 2023 is Synaesthesia which introduces visitors to a universe of the possible in which all sensory stimuli come together, intertwine, and overlap, giving an all-encoumpassing perception experience. The 2023 edition presents projects by designers who play with our senses, and lead us to explore unexpected emotions.

The week will be divided into thematic exhibitions, talks, guided tours and workshops. The Path of the Light, present again this year, highlights proposals for lighting and special lighting installations in the city including the projects of Leo de Carlo with Multiforme lighting. The Path of the Jewel will lead us through the different exhibitions dedicated to the theme as well as inviting us to a dialogue with Venetian artisans and goldsmiths, and this year also the synaesthetic path that will surprise visitors. The routes will be available to the public and described in the guide that will be distributed by tourist offices and in the online map, as well as the paperversion that will be available in various locations and hotels in Venice.

The week will be divided into thematic exhibitions, talks, guided tours and workshops. The Path of the Light, present again this year, highlights proposals for lighting and special lighting installations in the city including the projects of Leo de Carlo with Multiforme lighting. The Path of the Jewel will lead us through the different exhibitions dedicated to the theme as well as inviting us to a dialogue with Venetian artisans and goldsmiths, and this year also the synaesthetic path that will surprise visitors. The routes will be available to the public and described in the guide that will be distributed by tourist offices and in the online map, as well as the paperversion that will be available in various locations and hotels in Venice.

The theme Synaesthesia is explored in a series of conferences ranging from "synesthesia and design. Beyond the visual", "the color in interior design", "synesthesia and soundscapes" to "the color as a strategy in design". Experts will discuss the topic synesthesia, academics examine the scientific side and designers and businesses will cover the practical side; all sessions moderated by journalists and public presenters. There will be workshops and training sessions dedicated to designers including "Mechanisms of Creativity" directed by Terry McStea coordinator of Design Network North and “Generative artificial intelligence in the creative journey” told by Flora Marcella Cusi, Adobe Community Expert. The sensory laboratory curated by Ivana Carmen Mottola founder of DesignFood.house and Eating Studio innovative startup.

New for 2023 is the section "outdoor design" for outdoor furniture that will create a dedicated path between hidden gardens of Venice and public places. The selected projects include the new outdoor collection "Urbana, need for design" by Bagattini, the project of bigrocks and magogà bags that reuse the sails of kitesurfing for a collection of young and dynamic furniture. "The importance of detail in interior design" exhibition is part of the cycle of shows dedicated to the Biennale of Architecture on the theme "100 projects x 100 identities". The New York collective Fefostudio, Reform Design Lab from Sweden, Adj Style, Massimiliano Mandarini and Placida Lettis from Italy, mind Design from England, Softicated from Swiss, Vivolli and Saudade collective from The Netherlands, Bozzetti from Poland, and Jahani ceramic studio from Iran, Zhao Zihan and Yang Song from China are among the participants.

"VDW Design Market" will be held in the cloister of the Jesuits, home of COMBO Venice on 14 and 15 October 2023 where skilled craftsmen from all over Europe will present their works: Ineke van der Werff, Di Barone ceramiche, Vitrum in Fabula, Verba, it'slighting among the participants. "VDW Jewelry Tour" starts from the exhibition dedicated to the VDW Jewelry Selection international competition, now in its tenth edition, where we will encounter jewelry designers: Ylenia Deriu, Yasuko Kanno, Xinyi Chen, Verde Alfieri, Mette Olsen and Tinne Delfs, Sita Pagehgiri, Roberta Consalvo Salces, Maria Viggiani, Lital Mendel, Laura Zecchini, Julie Usel, Giorgia Pisciutti, Giorgia Montanari, Gianluca Staffolani, Federico Severini, Dasom Lee, Costanza D'Alpaos, Alice Biolo, and Alessia Prati. The competition was attended by 120 designers from around the world. Then we continue with "I don’t shine but I have something to say" the exhibition dedicated to jewelry in collaboration with Gallery Admore and the Nani Mocenigo Palace.

Venice Design Week is sponsored by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, the Veneto Region, the City of Venice, Chamber of Commerce and it is part of the network of Italian design weeks and the worldwide network of design weeks.

Venice Design Week is organized by the cultural association Arte e Design Venezia in collaboration with Venetian institutions.