News

PDW 2027: Curated approach here to stay

It’s been a few months since we wrapped up Perth Design Week 2026. Time flies! While not quite as hectic as the festival, it’s still been very busy behind the scenes, with work on Perth Design Week 2027 already underway.

This year marked an exciting evolution for Perth Design Week, with our first curated program and new experiences across the city. It was incredibly rewarding to see so many people engage with the program—and after crunching the numbers, we’ve decided our new format is here to stay!

PDW 2026 once again left an enduring imprint on the State’s design landscape:

Showcasing 75 Western Australian creatives and welcoming 6 National and International guests.
Over 3,000 attendances to 25 ticketed events, proving the new curated strategy a resounding success.
Also a resounding success, our 2026 exhibition “Chirriger Moort, A 30 Year Retrospective of the Work of Peter Farmer”. Tens of thousands had access to our free exhibition at the WA Museum Boola Bardip, with “Chirriger Moort” set for an encore showing at Curtin University in 2027.
PDW achieved significant audience growth in 2026, with 35% of ticket buyers attending a PDW event for the first time. Of our new audience members, approximately 42% were general public.
Overall, 77% of ticket buyers were from the design community and 23% were general public.
Once again PDW achieved strong media coverage with 31 pieces of media coverage across a range of platforms—including national and international design publications (Architecture Australia, Australian Design Review, Dezeen and Indesign Live) and a broad range of WA news outlets (ABC Perth, Business News, Perth is OK, Post, WA Today and WAMN). The combined total audience figures for all outlets featuring coverage was over 8 million.
PDW’s Instagram more than doubled during this year’s festival principally from organic growth with over 300 posts and reels in 6 weeks! In March 2026 alone our page received 396k views with only 13% from advertising.

*PDW 2026 Local HQ at the Liberty Theatre.*

*“Living Large in Small Spaces” conversation at the Liberty Theatre.*

THANK YOU AGAIN TO OUR SUPPORTERS

It was great to see strong ticket sales in 2026 with most events sold out. However, to ensure PDW can keep tickets affordable, and continue to deliver a high-quality free program, the financial and in-kind support of our sponsors and partners is vital.

PDW was fortunate to receive $100,000 in funding from the Western Australian Government to support the 2026 festival and assist in building a strong foundation for the future. Thank you to the Hon Simone McGurk MLA, Minister for Creative Industries, and the WA Government for recognising the significance of Perth Design Week and the crucial role of design in Western Australia’s economic and social fabric.

PDW was also fortunate to receive financial support from a growing list of sponsors. Thank you to: Castledex, Cult, District, Ecopex, Human-Urban, King Living, Ligne Roset Perth, Living Edge, Loam, Myaree Ceramics, Southern Design Group, Stylecraft, URBIS and Zenith.

In addition to financial support, PDW continues to benefit from generous in-kind support from major partners, including the WA Museum Boola Bardip, the State Buildings and the Humich Group. Founder, Sandy Anghie, personally contributed once again via donation and volunteer hours across the year.