Seattle Design Festival 2022
Seattle, Washington
August 20 – 26, 2022

The 12th edition of the annual Seattle Design Festival (August 20 – 26, 2022) returns this summer to unleash the design thinker in everyone, connecting public audiences to the power of design through interactive exhibits, events, and workshops. The 2022 Festival kicks off with the Block Party, a free, two-day, outdoor street festival co-created with 44 community partners. The Block Party features hands-on, large-scale design installations in Lake Union Park as well as pop-up design activities and experiences for all ages and abilities.

This year’s Festival brings the design community and the public together to explore how design connects us to the city we live in and provide ways to collaborate and solve urgent community problems. The 2022 Festival theme, CONNECTION, prompt participants and attendees to rethink how the world we live in connects-from the joints in your chair to the cultural communities that make Seattle a vibrant place to live. Connection is a core human need. Our brains are wired to connect. We long for social connections and strive to understand how parts connect to form a larger whole. In a world that is increasingly experiencing disconnection, how can connect to design in public affirm and strengthen critical connections within our community? “Connection is a shared experience that can be amplified through design. When done thoughtfully, the design invites everyone in,” said Annalee Shum, Senior Programs Manager at AIA Seattle. “We see every year at the Seattle Design Festival that when people connect to new ideas and each other, it fuels their inspiration to be part of designing more equitable, resilient, and thriving communities.”

This year’s Festival hosts Community Spotlight events across the city, with pop-up exhibitions and design tours in Fremont (August 22), Columbia City (August 24), and Downtown (August 25) neighbourhoods. The Festival also includes virtual programming on labyrinth design, public art planning, and more, to liven up desk lunches (August 22 – 24). “Exchanging ideas, strengthening community, and designing a better world – the Seattle Design Festival has always believed in the unique power of design to connect us. The 2022 festival is a celebration of design’s ability to keep us creative and collaborative,” said Seattle Design Festival Council Co-Chair, Vicki Ha.

more. www.seadesignfest.org