2021

Festival Schedule

Distanced and Digital

DesignTO is about creativity, community and experimentation.

There are several events and exhibitions to experience online. Most events are free, but some require a RSVP or purchased tickets. All window installations are viewable from the outdoors at venues across the city. Click on each event to learn more.

COVID protocols are in effect. DesignTO is not recommending unnecessary travel or congregating in groups. Please keep physically distanced from others at all times.

All other events are being adapted to current lockdown conditions.

January 22–31, 2021

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'(WA) Wearable ART' is an extension of Yaw Tony’s Life Liveth in Me (LLiM) in the world of fashion to create an extremely contemporary, modern, and spirited style: an expression of detailed tailoring, exquisite fabrics, and luminous prints.

(WA) – Wearable ART, db Yaw Tony

in-person

window installation

(WA) – Wearable ART, db Yaw Tony

Jan 22

–

Feb 14 2021

This Aadhe event will have a politically driven discussion on the theme of 'The Strength of the BIPOC Communities', an interactive fashion show, and performances.

Aadhe Event: Celebration of the BIPOC

in-person

event

Aadhe Event: Celebration of the BIPOC

Jan 30 2021

DesignTO’s sixth annual symposium brings nine multidisciplinary experts together for an inspiring discussion about Inclusive Design, covering inclusive education, the business case for inclusion, accessible technologies, co-creation, decolonization and other thought-provoking topics.

DesignTO Symposium: Towards Inclusive Design

online

DesignTO projectevent

DesignTO Symposium: Towards Inclusive Design

Jan 27

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Jan 28 2021

Detroit is the first and only UNESCO City of Design in the US. In honor of this designation, Design Core produces the Detroit Month of Design annually in September. This session examines the festival as an example of co-creation.

Detroit: UNESCO City of Design

online

event

Detroit: UNESCO City of Design

Jan 26 2021

'song of the shirt' is an installation that prompts discourse of the ongoing complications with the current manufacturing of the garment industry. Upcycled secondhand garments create a manifestation that carries stories of factory workers.

song of the shirt

in-person

window installation

song of the shirt

Jan 23

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Jan 31 2021

'Volatile Ecology' is a design expedition examining the environmental degradation in the suburban post-industrial waterfront of Buffalo, New York, through the lens of scenario planning and prototype making.

Volatile Ecologies: Architectural Apparatuses for Earthly Survival

online

exhibition

Volatile Ecologies: Architectural Apparatuses for Earthly Survival

Jan 22

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Jan 31 2021

Daily Goods Design LABS hosts what has now become a yearly event featuring women that are changing the landscape of design by intersecting it with fashion, science and technology. The focus for 2021: how has COVID-19 changed what women want and need and why?

Women That Make, Create and Innovate 2021

online

event: talk

Women That Make, Create and Innovate 2021

Jan 28 2021

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