By Noam Mānuka Lazarus, Whanganui Chronicle, 26 Sep 2026
Main image: Director Sam Ryan says more than 50 events are planned for the 10-day Festival of Design Aotearoa across Whanganui and Palmerston North. Photo / Alanah Brown
The art of design will finally get a festival in Aotearoa next month, with more than 50 events planned.
Whanganui will be the heart of the new 10-day Festival of Design Aotearoa on October 16-25, offering exhibitions, talks, workshops, public activations and markets.
Te Papaioea Palmerston North will host about a quarter of the events.
Festival director and Whanganui District Council visitor experiences manager Sam Ryan said enthusiasm for the festival had “blown us away”.
Ryan moved to the district a year ago from Taranaki, where he led the TSB Showplace with New Plymouth District Council.
“It’s such a rich history here. One thing that attracted me to the role was the proximity of all of our venues,” he said.
Director Sam Ryan says more than 50 events are planned for the 10-day Festival of Design Aotearoa across Whanganui and Palmerston North. Photo / Noam Mānuka Lazarus
Whanganui became a Unesco City of Design in 2021. There are 53 cities recognised worldwide.
“The biggest challenge has been trying to translate what a festival of design actually is,” Ryan said.
“I think it’s always been an intention since the Unesco City of Design delegation.
“You absolutely don’t need to work in design to enjoy this festival. It’s really how design shapes life in Aotearoa and beyond.”
Most events were created for the festival, but some were pre-existing.
Programme co-director Emma Bugden said the event built on decades of creative achievement in the region.
“Together, Whanganui and Palmerston North have extraordinary design credentials, creative communities and cultural institutions.”
Pukenamu Queen’s Park will be illuminated with projection mapping throughout the festival, from sunset to 11pm.
“People need a bit of joy in their lives in this world at the moment; that’s the main thing is joy,” Ryan said.
More than 150 alumni and staff of the former Whanganui School of Design will return for a reunion.
Former educator and award-winning designer Professor Tom Eslinger will travel from Chicago.
“Twenty-plus years of global creative direction, and now my warehouse studio in the heart of Chicago, making art and advertising,” he said.
“I taught at Whanganui School of Design before any of that.”
Organisers aimed to support Whanganui artists and businesses by driving evening visits to the CBD.
Whanganui designer At Home With Rose designed the festival programme; digital marketer Artura Studio helped with social media content; Tanker Creative was commissioned for digital marketing; and INC Creative for its website.
A taste of events
A paid two-day design summit will take place at the festival hub, Whanganui War Memorial Centre, from 8am to 5pm on October 16-17.
Ryan said it included most of the festival’s international guests and would be “quite industry-focused”.
Finalists for The Designers Institute of New Zealand’s Purple Pin award, announced the week before, will speak at the summit. The Sarjeant Gallery and Whanganui Unesco City of Design website were winners last year.
Bonnie Fahoome of Detroit Unesco City of Design will speak about repurposing the city’s historical buildings.
Other festival events include:
He Puna Tohunga, a landmark assembly of master Māori art practitioners known for global commissions, whose works are seldom seen in Aotearoa.
Fun Palaces, which invites children to build instruments and parade with them through town.
An open day hosted by Te Ao Hou Marae and its carving school, Ngaa Puna Waihanga.
The return of brass-visuals-poetry fusion Sound Canvas to Christ Church Anglican Church for three sessions after a sold-out show last year.
Te Hīkoi Toi bus tour led by Warren Warbrick (Rangitāne) from Palmerston North to new mahi toi (artworks) embedded in Te Ahu a Turanga highway.
Danish company Lego’s head of education Dr Bo Stjerne Thomsen will talk about design as humanity’s most powerful way of exploring the world, alongside large-scale Lego displays of Kowhai Park and the Royal Whanganui Opera House.
Musician Anthonie Tonnon’s immersive live show Cinematographer will transform the Opera House on October 23, following a condensed show at the festival’s summit.
Funding and management
The festival was funded by $300,000 from the Government’s one-off Events Boost Fund, $100,000 from Whanganui District Council and $30,000 from Palmerston North City Council.
The 10-day Festival of Design Aotearoa across Whanganui and Palmerston North builds on decades of creative achievement in the region. Photo / Noam Mānuka Lazarus
Ryan said they planned to hold it every two years.
He said there were “lots of avenues” for funding a 2028 event without the one-off Government funding.
“We haven’t gone down the corporate sponsorship path yet.”
The festival’s budget and ticket sales were tracking well, and any surplus would roll over to 2028, he said.
The festival’s roles would be assessed after the event.
“Most of this is being delivered by a small team that are council staff.
“Our aim is that this would be embodied by the community more so than just led by council.”
People can view the festival programme or register to volunteer at festivalofdesign.co.nz.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara) is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.