Design Week South Africa 2026: Full Johannesburg Programme Revealed
Design Week South Africa, presented by Pinterest, has launched its Johannesburg programme, bringing together designers, artists, architects, makers, brands and the public across the city from Thursday, 8 October to Sunday, 11 October 2026.
A City-Wide Celebration of Creativity
The programme spans multiple venues and creative spaces, exploring the ideas, people and places shaping Johannesburg today — from design and craft to music, food, art, architecture, and fashion. At its core is a simple belief: design isn’t confined to studios or galleries. It’s part of how cities are built, how communities connect, and how people experience everyday life.
This year’s programme continues the broader theme “The Shape of Us,” considering the many forms South African design and creativity can take, and the diverse people, histories and perspectives that shape them — spanning established practitioners to emerging voices.
Explore by District
The programme is divided into districts for easy navigation:
- Braamfontein & CBD
- Rosebank & Surrounds
- The Parks
- Kramerville & Northern Suburbs
Each hosts its own mix of talks, workshops, product launches, open studios and experiences.
Programme Highlights
- Morning Sessions — daily conversations at 44 Stanley’s Kohi
- “Between History and Now” — a presentation by Wanda Lephoto
- “Why Is Sandton So Hard to Walk?” — curated by Young Urbanists
- “The Industry Dialogue” — hosted by Pedersen + Lennard at their new Parkhurst store
- Open studios from Bumba Souled Ceramics, BCKRDS, and dhk Architects
- A preview tour of the brand-new KRAM space in Kramerville
- An exclusive three-day open reference library, conceived by Beloved May (Phola Gumede and Menzi Dimba), hosted at The Salon — the creative atelier of fine artist Lulama Wolf and Sithasolwazi Mona
- Workshops at the Kim Sacks School of Ceramics, plus a customisation session by Sealand at FabrikHunter
- Joburg on Foot — an inner-city walking tour
- A walkabout of JCAF’s REVERSE FUTURES exhibition
- Product launches from 23 by Noah, Inomusainkosi, Pattern Lab and ballo, alongside a pop-up from Studiooo
- Music and culture — an afternoon party from Vinyl & Vibes, a listening party by Curación Collection and UNI Form, and an exhibition at The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember
Pinterest Predicts 2026 Presents
Beyond its role as Title Sponsor, Pinterest is working with local designers, crafters and makers in Johannesburg and Cape Town on a series of activations bringing selected trends from Pinterest’s annual Pinterest Predicts report to life through local creative interpretation — connecting discovery and inspiration with hands-on experience.
The Things We Love Exhibition
Curated by Simone Schultz, this exhibition explores design as both a cultural force and an intimate personal experience, weaving South African context into universal questions about how we relate to the objects in our lives. Presented in partnership with Pinterest, it functions as a physical representation of the platform itself — a digital repository for the things we love and the curation of what represents our taste.
Creative practitioners opened their private worlds for this group exhibition, submitting South African design items from their own homes.
Participants: AK Jenkins, Boemo Diale, Joe Paine, Lebo Kekana, Lezanne Viviers, MJ Turpin, Mpho Vackier, Nandi Dlepu, Pumla Maswanganyi, Rendani Nemakhavhani (PR$DNT HONEY), Roberta Coci, Vicky Ross, Vus Ndima, Zandile Tshabalala and Zanele Kumalo.
An Olfactory Adventure with Gozdava 1590
Inspired by the moss and scent-stacking trends highlighted in Pinterest Predicts 2026, this activation unfolds as a scent journey illustrating the architecture of perfumery — how creativity and chemistry combine to create richly nuanced scent landscapes.
Guests follow their nose through a curated palette of scent materials within a moss-inspired framework, designed by Nose Agata Karolina, before arriving at their ultimate destination: bottling a fragrance of their own creation, with support from an experienced team. It’s designed as a meeting point between fragrance, trend and design — a tactile, participatory experience rooted in curiosity and playful experimentation.
About Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual search and discovery platform where people find inspiration, curate ideas and shop products, with over 640 million monthly active users worldwide.
About Design Week South Africa
Design Week South Africa is an expansive city-wide calendar of events and immersive experiences showcasing the future of South African design through knowledge-share, inclusivity and support. Launched in 2024, more than 200 activations, discussions, showcases, workshops and exhibitions have taken place across Johannesburg and Cape Town, positioning it as the country’s leading design platform.
Details
Design Week South Africa 2026, presented by Pinterest, runs Thursday, 8 October – Sunday, 11 October 2026. The full programme is available on the official Design Week South Africa website.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Design Week South Africa 2026 in Johannesburg? Thursday, 8 October to Sunday, 11 October 2026.
What districts does the Johannesburg programme cover? Braamfontein & CBD, Rosebank & Surrounds, The Parks, and Kramerville & Northern Suburbs.
What is “The Shape of Us”? The overarching 2026 theme, exploring the many forms South African design and creativity can take, and the diverse people and perspectives shaping them.
What is Pinterest’s role in Design Week South Africa? Pinterest is Title Sponsor and is working with local designers, crafters and makers on activations bringing its annual Pinterest Predicts trend report to life through South African creative interpretation.
When did Design Week South Africa launch? In 2024. More than 200 activations have taken place across Johannesburg and Cape Town since.
