Festival Area is open
Mon 17:00–21:00
Tue–Sun 12:00–20:00
The largest design festival in the Baltics opens its doors in the industrially infused
Krulli Quarter (Volta 1c, 10411 Tallinn). Attracting over 10,000 visitors from Estonia and abroad, the week-long Tallinn Design Festival showcases the achievements of Estonian and international designers and initiates discussions on design’s position in today's society. For the first time, the main programme reaches beyond the borders of the capital to Kärdla in Hiiumaa and to the village of Joaveski.First of all, everyone is welcome to the opening night, where the biggest design festival in the Baltics will be opened by musician and poet EiK with the opening show "TAKE SPACE, MAKE SPACE, BAKE SPACE", dedicated to barren industrial space. 2024 will again feature design industry’s top event: the Estonian Design Awards Gala, where the winners of the best product design BRUNO will be announced. Among the many other exhibitions
(Italian "Carissimo Pinocchio"; Evi Tihemets x Kaupo Kikkas; Tarmo & Ivika Luisk)
and events, the festival program includes the international design forum, PechaKucha lectures, children's programme and several workshops, including ones lead by Anthony Luciano and Riina Õun.
Many visitors will be attracted by the Estonian design and architecture schools showcase, the Arts Thread Global Design Graduate Show (where also the festival's collaboration with Mexican design students continues), Haapsalu Graphic Design Festival's poster exhibition, and the product and material-focused exhibitions.One of the main events of the festival, the DOM sustainable fashion and clothing design show will bring the story of local brands to the stage in the form of a conceptual performance. The festival weekend will see the opening of the hugely popular Design Street design market, and from Monday there will be the chance to visit the INTERIOR+ mini-fair, this year also exhibiting outdoors. The festival will have over 25 satellites - museums, galleries and design studios - which will host tours, talks, masterclasses and other exciting events across the city.
The aim this year is to demonstrate how creativity can be employed to create a better physical and social environment. The focus is on small places that have been revitalised via creative design thinking. A dedicated international design forum will bring together architects, urban planners, designers and enthusiasts who share a common interest in creating sustainable, liveable and aesthetically pleasing environments. Inspiring presentations will be given by Cameron Sinclair (USA), Stephan Clambaneva (USA), Spyros Bofylatos
(Greece) and
Kitti Butter (Hungary).
Delegations of designers, urbanists, researchers from nine countries will visit Tallinn to present examples of transformations that have been implemented in peripheries thanks to the four-year EU project ("SMOTIES - Creative Works for Small and Remote Places"). The results
and methodology
of the project will be published in a book, which will be presented at the festival. In addition, one of the festival satellites in Joaveski – where the Estonian design team has carried out a series of innovations on the site of an old paper mill – will be visited.
Most of the events are free of charge for visitors. In case of a fee or a requirement for registration, the information is available online for each event, ticket information is available few lines below. The festival area is wheelchair accessible. Festival activities take place both indoors and outdoors!
The festival week falls in mid-September: therefore, when dressing, please note that the weather can be quite inconstant. Also be sure to respect other visitors, the environment, and the work of the designers and the organisers.
