For the first time in over ten years, the Conference will move to a theatrical stage to dramatise the creative ideas of the world's leading change makers at the Artscape Theatre from 17-19 February 2016. The event will be simultaneously broadcast to venues in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Potchefstroom.
One of the biggest changes to the Festival is the removal of the Expo, in its trade show format at CTICC. This decision, while difficult, is entirely appropriate as Cape Town now has well-established design hubs and retail nodes, most of which arose in the last five years.
So rather than ask designers to aggregate in one venue, traffic will be driven to where they are, so design can be celebrated in situ, without the additional expenses of an exhibition stand. The entire advertising budget of R30m will be given away to drive this creative exploration.
The campaign will launch at Design Indaba and will feature a curated selection of the best in new local design. All items featured must be new and launched since the last Expo at the end of February 2015.
The Expo was a major driver of small businesses, contributing R2bn to the South African GDP over the past seven years. We hope, by continuing to promote our creative community in a countrywide and international media campaign, we can continue to grow both local design buying habits as well as facilitate international export.
The art or design must be primarily rooted in South Africa - the designer can be foreign, but the work itself needs to have local impact
The creation must be a brand new design, which must date back no further than 1 March 2015.
The design may be based on an existing design, if it is made with new materials
We love products made sustainably in an eco-friendly way
The products/work/projects must be of a high, export-quality standard in terms of production and design
For more information go to www.designindaba.com/conference or call +27 (0) 21 465 9966.