Makers + Thinkers at CT Stadium

WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo

From Wednesday the 15^th until Sunday the 19^th of October, design will be taking over the Cape Town Stadium. The event, which is a flagship project for World Design Capital 2014, is called Makers + Thinkers.

It’s not just about looking at beautiful things either, although to be honest we never tire of looking at beautiful design here at VISI, but what makes it a must is the variety of design-driven learning opportunities that will be available too.

Firstly there’s the Cape Craft and Design Institute’s Make It New Exhibition, which will be opened by Mayor Patricia De Lille at 10.30am on the 15^th. It will be open daily from 10am to 6pm throughout the week. The free exhibition will showcase work by a variety of designers, producers and crafters from all over the Western Cape. It promises to take attendees on a trip through the Cape’s craft and design heritage, all while displaying how the past and geography have influenced the province’s design output.

The WDC team will also be hosting the Design House Exhibition: Transforming Cities, which will showcase international examples of design’s transformative power, as well as showcase the best design practices across a variety of areas, including sustainable housing, community building, urban planning and social cohesion.

One of the key events during the week will be the WDC Design Policy Conference, which runs from the 17^th to the 18^th. Working under the theme “Make a Plan”, its main aim is to develop a policy that guides design for the entire African continent. “As a developing country and continent, our design journey does not have to replicate what has been done by other, more developed countries. We will make a plan with the context, skills and resources that we have,” says WDC 2014 Programme Director Nicky Swartz.

Speakers at the conference will include Gisele Raulik-Murphy, who is widely regarded as the “guru of design policy”, as well as Srini Srinivasan, CEO of award-winning creative design company LUMIUM in India and a member of the WDC 2014 International Advisory Council. Tickets cost R2000.

Alongside the conference, Between 10and5 will be hosting “Show & Tell”, a series of free talks with a line-up of local and international speakers on Friday the 17^th. Click here to sign up.

Visit wdccapetown2014.com to find out more about Makers+Thinkers.