Barcelona Design Week 2024

Barcelona Design Week this year - the nineteenth - has set itself the goal of exploring the role of design in offering sustainable solutions for the planet and society, with a special focus on water, a topic of great relevance due to the recent water crisis in Spain. For ten days, from 16 to 26 October, Barcelona becomes a vibrant hub of creativity, hosting a wide variety of events: exhibitions and installations, conferences and round tables, workshops, participatory activities and immersive experiences.

Alessandro Manetti, curator of BDW 2024, explained that this year's theme, Design for Human Future, highlights the ability of design to find solutions that restore the balance between man and the environment: Manetti emphasized the importance of offering solutions for the conservation of water, an increasingly scarce resource.

Among the notable novelties of this edition is the installation of Cervezas Alhambra, Les Totes de Totes, an upcycling challenge with the participation of students from Brother Barcelona and LCI Barcelona. In addition, five exhibitions are planned at Disseny Hub Barcelona, ​​including the main one, Inspired in Barcelona: Terra Rossa, which explores the relationship between design and territory. This exhibition is a collective inspired by the use of clay as a primary element in the creation of the first design artefacts, especially in the Mediterranean region. Curated by Júlia Esqué with the concept of Apartamento Studios, the centrepiece is a monumental pyramid composed of 80 jugs created by 16 creatives. The artistic "modifications" were made in collaboration with ceramist Eloi Bonadona. Half of the creatives worked on their jugs before firing, while the other half worked on the surface without altering the original structure. The exhibition was presented for the first time in April at the Fuorisalone during Milan Design Week.

Another important exhibition, which will remain visible until February 2025, is The Ocean Speaks: New Ecologies and New Economies of the Sea, curated by José Luis de Vicente. Examining the effects of human activity on marine ecosystems, it reflects on how the city can redesign its relationship with the sea through innovation. Barcelona underwent a profound transformation in the 1990s with its opening to the sea, but the climate crisis forces a reconsideration of this relationship. The exhibition addresses this issue from an interdisciplinary perspective, including architecture, fashion, technology, speculative design and urban planning. It starts with Barcelona's relationship with its coast and delves into the conflicts of coastal communities around the world.

BDW 2024 also hosts numerous activities in the Associated Venues, which this year have doubled compared to the previous edition, reaching 15. Among the events that stand out are First AI Art in Space/Human Cell Atlas at Roca Barcelona Gallery, an exhibition by the Ouchhh studio that explores art created by artificial intelligence in space, and Beyond the Surface at Casa de la Llum - Simon, an immersive experience that addresses the theme of water through a dialogue between food designer Nicole Vindel and Marquise Stillwell, co-founder of Deem Journal.

Here is the full program.