Geelong Design Week will present its biggest program yet with more than 100 exhibitions, workshops, talks, tours, performances and public activations from October 1-11.

Staged across Australia's only UNESCO City of Design, the biennial event will showcase the people, projects and ideas shaping the region.

The flagship event of the 2026 program will be the inaugural Victorian Regional Design Fair at the newly opened Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre.

The Fair will bring together more than 50 designers, studios and creative businesses from Greater Geelong and regional Victoria.

One of the program's key First Nations-led conversations is Country as Client: Decolonising Design, presented by Regional Arts Victoria on Saturday the 3rd of October.

The event will feature First Nations (Wailwan and Kamilaroi architect Jefa Greenaway and ask a powerful question: What needs to change when Country is placed at the centre of design thinking and decision-making?

The conversation will examine the structural changes required when Country is understood as a living system that design must respond to and be accountable to.

It will draw on two regional First Nations co-design projects, the Murruk Ngubitj Yarram Yaluk (Bellarine Basin) project and the Deakin Hycel Architecture Co-design Project in Warrnambool, to explore how First Nations knowledge, cultural practice and relationships to Country can shape design processes and outcomes.

Greenaway is director of Greenaway Architects, a nationally recognised advocate for Indigenous-led design thinking and co-author of the International Indigenous Design Charter. The discussion will consider how the industry can move beyond consultation towards genuine collaboration, reciprocity and cultural accountability.

Visitors to the Fair will encounter work ranging from furniture, fashion and ceramics to landscape design, advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.

A dedicated timeline will place this contemporary work within more than 60,000 years of design and innovation in Djilang. A comprehensive talks series will reveal the ideas behind the work, while a pop-up shop will feature over 100 locally designed and manufactured products.

Two Geelong-based First Nations designers, Michelle Searle and Jasmine-Skye Marinos, will also present work at the inaugural Victorian Regional Design Fair during Geelong Design Week.

Michelle Searle is an Awabakal woman who grew up in Geelong on Wadawurrung Country. She uses feathers, fur and leather to create complete outfits, including dresses, necklaces and earrings.

Jasmine-Skye Marinos, founder of JazzySkye Designs, makes contemporary fashion and wearable art exploring identity, culture and Country.

Her work uses natural and ethically sourced materials, including plant fibres and natural pigments.

She was selected for the Koorie Heritage Trust's Blak Design Program, with work shown in its Treading Lightly exhibition this year.

"My passion is to share my culture and pass our traditions onto my family and our future generation," she said in a statement on her website.

"Each creation is to pay respect to my elders and culture, using traditional Aboriginal artwork and weaving in my designs."

Highlights from across the wider Geelong Design Week program will include What A Ripper!, Tim Ross' live celebration of Australian design icons. The National Wool Museum will host On the Move, an interactive family exhibition created with illustrator James Gulliver Hancock. At Platform Arts, Extra Lives will combine a live band, comedy and gaming in an adventure controlled by audience votes.

The program will conclude on Sunday October 11 with a free community runway and block party celebrating Geelong's independent fashion scene, alongside the Geelong Design Market at the historic Mills building in Newtown.

Greater Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM said it's an unmissable event.

"Geelong Design Week continues to demonstrate why our region is recognised as Australia's only UNESCO City of Design," Major Kontelj said.

"It showcases the creativity, innovation and talent that shape Geelong's design culture and provides a platform for designers to make their mark in the industry.

"The previous Geelong Design Week in 2024 attracted over 40,000 people across 86 events, with visitors travelling from regional Victoria, Melbourne and interstate.

"Bringing together designers, industry leaders and design enthusiasts strengthens Greater Geelong's reputation as a global leader in creativity and design excellence."

City of Greater Geelong chief executive officer Ali Wastie said the 2026 program would showcase Geelong's creative strengths and expand opportunities for designers across regional Victoria.

"We're proud to present our biggest Geelong Design Week yet and invite people to discover the ideas, places and creative talent that make our region distinctive," Ms Wastie said.

"The inaugural Fair will connect regional designers with industry and new audiences, helping turn four days in Geelong into relationships and opportunities that last.

"As Australia's only UNESCO City of Design, we want visitors to see why design matters here and feel part of what comes next."

The Victorian Regional Design Fair is a new flagship event celebrating the depth, diversity and excellence of design across regional Victoria.

Presented by the City of Greater Geelong, the Fair brings together designers, makers, manufacturers, creative businesses and industry leaders, the Fair is a vibrant showcase of innovation, creativity and collaboration.

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