Design month will see 5 events happening at the same time: València Design Fest, organised by Fundació del Disseny, trade fairs Feria Hábitat València, Textilhogar Home Textiles Premium and Espacio Cocina SICI staged by Feria Valencia , and the 15th Edition of València Diseny Week (VDW-15), organised by the Asociación de Diseñadores de la Comunitat Valenciana.
The presentation event took place last week at CaixaForum Madrid, in the presence and with the support of a broad spectrum of agents in the sphere of design from across the country.
25th JUNE 2024 — València is set to become the international epicentre of design thanks to a month brimming with activities dedicated to this creative and cultural sector of industry. The programme will include exhibitions, fairs, lectures, workshops, presentations, projects being led by emerging talent, and film screenings, amongst many other things. Between 10th September and 10th October, 5 events will be going on at the same time: València Design Fest, organised by Fundació del Disseny, major trade fairs Feria Hábitat València, Textilhogar Home Textiles Premium and Espacio Cocina SICI, and the 15th Edition of València Diseny Week (VDW-15), a trailblazing initiative organised by the Asociación de Diseñadores de la Comunitat Valenciana (ADCV). The programme being put together in association with a number of different industry agents will provide ample opportunities for audience participation. The events will bring Spanish and international professionals, businesses and institutions together in València with all, as well as the city’s residents, having the opportunity to enjoy the local talent, the city’s effervescent creativity and the latest design trends from the Mediterranean region.
València Design Fest
The main aim of the València Design Fest, organized by the Fundació del Disseny (Design Foundation), is to continue to showcase the Comunitat Valenciana to the nation and the world as an area inextricably linked to design. This year, the most notable activities include the second edition of “Tiempo y materia” (“Time and substance”), an exhibition of contemporary crafts curated by Estudio Savage, that seeks to bring contemporary crafts to the general public. The exhibition will give pause for reflection, with visitors able to appreciate how design affords crafts a viable future and, most of all, a permanent outlet for using materials, techniques and methods of production.
The programme wil also include screenings of several documentaries, notably «Mariscal. La alegría de vivir» (“Mariscal. The joy of living”), the story of a man who conquered the world then had to lose it all to find himself again; conversations between creative minds – Erik Harley (an expert in Urban Studies, famous for being the creator of Pormishuevismo), Nuria Moliner (architect and communicator) and Juan Ferrero (partner and CEO at Ramón Esteve Estudio), amongst others; and the launch of publications such as Quadern 02 by Arxiu Valencià del Disseny, which reviews the most emblematic icons of Valencian design, those who built the collective perception of what good design means here, its impact on contemporary culture and how it became known all over the country and internationally. There will also be workshops, including one run by Cuadernos Rubio.
The festival’s satellite events include the TotCor exhibition, a collaborarive project directed by Pepa Rverter that has involved various artists designing pieces based on the figure of the “cor” (‘heart’ in Valencian) as a way of expressing a message of solidarity; a “Square Table”, part of a series being organised by Sergio Membrillas that aims to bring lively discussion to Valencia by inviting remarkable personalities to discuss a topic; plus a series of workshops and activities that are being arranged by Fundació del Disseny partners such as APE Grupo – which will be presenting a report titled «The New Habitat 24-25».
In a major new development, the Fundació del Disseny will be handing out the Distinciones al Diseño Social (Awards for Social Design), along with a series of grants for young professionals, designed to enhance social inclusion in the field of design.
Top level names and brands such as Camper, Álvaro Catalán de Ocón and Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, amongst others, are set to round out the ambitios programme.
Major event at Feria Valencia
Feria Valencia will be one of the major hubs of design month, which runs from 30th September to 30th October. The venue will be hosting the foremost international events for the interiors industry: Feria Hábitat València, Textilhogar Home Textiles Premium and Espacio Cocina SICI. Between them the three fairs are expected to gather together almost a thousand exhibitors, who will be showcasing their offering across more than 90,000 square metres of exhibition space spread across the eight halls on Feria Valencia’s Levels 2 and 3.
Each of this year’s fairs will boast several new features. Feria Hábitat Valencia, for instance, is broadening its scope by involving the hotel industry and has signed a partnership deal with the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (Hotel Technology Institute) whereby a series of lectures about the industry will be delivered, with speakers including interior designers, designers, architects and directors from the leading hotel chains. Also on the hotel front, prestigious designer Héctor Ruiz will be creating a contract space featuring a range of designs geared specifically to hotels. Hábitat will also be adding a new hall this year, dedicated to the Interior Décor sector and featuring the foremost Spanish and international companies specialising in this field. The offering is in addition to the best in avant-garde design, which is once again taking up two entire halls, as well as interior and outdoor furniture, lighting, upholstery and sleep products, and the programme of talks and workshops centred on design and interior design that will be taking place in the Ágora nude.
The best textiles for the home, upholstery and contract work will be complementing Hábitat’s offering in the form of the Textilhogar Home Textiles Premium fair, which will take up part of hall 3 on Level 3 and this year, 2024, will feature an innovative space designed by Sigfrido Serra, in partnership with Interiores magazine. The space will be divided into different areas, including one dedicated to trends, a networking zone and the Manufacturers ‘Boulevard’.
The return of Espacio Cocina SICI, Spain’s only fair specialising 100% in kitchen furniture and equipment, is set to complete the 360-degree insight into the world of interiors. This year, it will be debuting an innovative styling created by designer Ximo Roca, that will turn hall 4 on Level 3 into a stunning showcase with free-flowing routes around the exhibits and displaying the best Spanish and international products, with a particularly high number of manufacturers of kitchen furniture – almost double the number there were last time.
Valencia Disseny Week – 15th Edition (VDW-15)
Staged by the Asociación de Diseñadores de la Comunitat Valenciana (ADCV), València Disseny Week is the industry’s longest-established event and the one that attracts the most engagement. 2024 marks the fifteenth edition of what is the foremost initiative designed to raise awareness of, promote and highlight the importance of design in the Comunitat Valenciana. It takes place from 30th September to 4th October.
The diversity and scope of the VDW programme is founded on an open, participative process involving professionals, studios, education centres and businesses, supported by the ADCV, the trade body for design businesses in the Comunitat Valenciana. Between them they put dozens of proposals forward, all geared to encouraging interaction, communication, a sense of community and mutual understanding between design and the public. The events form the most exciting week for Valencian design and include workshops, exhibitions, trails around open-door studios, and talks and presentations covering different topics and ranging from purely educational to party style.
The common thread running through the VDW programme is highlighting the importance of design as a strategic ally in businesses’ capacity to be innovative and competitive, in the progression towards more sustainable, inclusive and integrated social and economic models and, thereby, improving people’s quality of life and wellbeing. Reflecting this commitment and Valencia’s status as European Green Capital for 2024, VDW has brought the colour back into its imagery, featuring a vibrant green that invites the viewer to share and enjoy the honour.
This 15th edition of VDW will also be featuring an initiative that is something of a milestone: the oficial opening of the Comunitat Valenciana’s new design hub. The new home of the ADCV, now in the centre of the city of Valencia, has been conceived and will be run using sustainable criteria and processes and will feature a broad, diverse programme of events across the year, all centred on design and reflecting ghe spirit of VDW: design for everyone.
Another of the standout events of the 15th VDW is the exhibition of designs that were finalists or won prizes in the 7th edition of our awards. The exhibition is being staged at the Las Naves innovation centre from 19th September to 17th October. Linking in with the Awards, the third ‘Design with a Positive Impact’ will take an in-depth look at the creative processes behind the work recognised by the jury for its contribution to society and the environment.
The programme includes the presentation event for the fifth edition of the design, culture and sustainability festival in the Miradors de l’Horta garden, which is supported by the ADCV. The festival aims to encourage people to reflect on sustainable development, food sufficiency and the relationship between agricultural and urban land. This year’s subtitle is ‘L’Horta, capital de la alimentación sostenible’ (‘The Kitchen Garden, at the heart of sustainable food’).
For 2024, VDW is enhancing one of its longest-established components, which is also one that both studios and the public look forward to the most: the ‘Design Walks’, a set of trails round design studios that are having open-door days. Each of the last three editions of the Walks was fully subscribed.
The call for proposals for activities that will comprise the 15th Edition of VDW will go out in the last week of June.
Industry agents flock to presentation
The presentation event stimulated interest amongst representatives of several leading Spanish design industry bodies, including members of the Colegio de Diseñadores de Interior de la Comunitat Valenciana and representatives of CasaDecor, the Foro de Marcas Renombradas Españolas, Fundación Arquia, the Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Decoradores y Diseñadores de Interior and the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH). Local authority representatives also attended, as did representatives of ICEX, the Ministry of Sport and Culture and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
