Venice Design Week 2023

Presenting ideas and projects from all around the world while cultivating local crafts and culture, Venice Design Week (VDW) has reached its fourteenth edition! The theme of this year, introducing visitors to the universe of possibilities in which all senses come together, is Synesthesia, introduced through the projects by designers who will play with our senses and delve deep in our emotions.

The week will be divided into thematic exhibitions, talks, guided tours and workshops.
The Path of Light, featuring Leo de Carlo with Multiforme lighting, will consist of lighting installations all around the city.
The Path of the Jewel will guide the visitor through a synesthetic path made of jewels and gemstones, building a dialogue between designers from outside Venice and local craftsmen and goldsmiths.
The routes will be available to the public and described through a guide and online map, as well as a paper version, all of which will be found in hotels and tourist offices.

Synaesthesia will be explored in a series of conferences, like “Synesthesia and design. Beyond the visual”, “The color in interior design”, “Synesthesia and soundscapes” and “The color as a strategy in design”, in collaboration with experts, scholars and academic (scientific side), designers and businesses (practical side) and journalists (moderators). Workshops to build upon the theme will be held: “Mechanisms of Creativity”, directed by the coordinator of Design Network North, Terry McStea; “Generative artificial intelligence in the creative journey”, told by Flora Marcella Cusi, Adobe Community Expert, and the sensory laboratory “Synesthetic L(a)unch”, curated by Ivana Carmen Mottola, founder of DesignFood.house and the innovative startup Eating Studio,

The Outdoor Design section, this year’s novelty, will be dedicated to outdoor furniture through a new path between the hidden gardens and public spaces of Venice.

The selected projects will include the new outdoor collection “Urbana, need for design”, signed by Bagattini and the project by Bigrocks and Magogà Bags, who reuse kitesurfing sails for a collection of fresh and dynamic furniture.
“The importance of detail in interior design” exhibition is instead part of the cycle of show dedicated to the Biennale of Architecture, based on the “100 projects x 100 identities” theme. Among the participants, the visitor will be able to find: the New York collective Fefostudio, Reform Design Lab from Sweden, Adj Style, and many others from all around the world.
“VDW Design Market” will be held in the cloister of the Jesuits, home of COMBO Venice. The event will feature works presented by skilled craftsmen from all over the European continent.

“VDW Jewelry Tour” will start from the exhibition dedicated to the VDW Jewelry Selection international competition, now in its tenth edition, featuring many designers: Ylenia Deriu, Yasuko Kanno, Xinyi Chen, Verde Alfieri and many others.
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.

Moreover, Venice Design Week has the patronage of 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.

Finally, read more on architecture events.