Design Week South Africa in Joburg: Special Pop-ups, Urban Tours and Insightful Talks

After a strong launch in 2024, Design Week South Africa returns to Johannesburg for its third year, hosting another city-wide celebration of South African creativity, design, culture and the people shaping the future of Johannesburg from 8 to 11 October 2026.

This time around, Design Week is presented in partnership with Pinterest for another showcase that brings designers, artists, architects, makers, brands, creatives and the public together across the city.

Design Week South Africa Joburg | What's on in Joburg

“The Shape of Us” – Joburg’s creative culture comes alive at Design Week 2026

Continuing this year’s broader theme, The Shape of Us, the Johannesburg programme considers the many forms that South African design and creativity can take, and the diverse people, histories and perspectives that shape them.

Taking place across multiple venues and creative spaces, the 2026 Design Week programme explores the ideas, people and places shaping Johannesburg today – from design and craft to music, food, art, architecture, fashion and the city’s ever-evolving creative culture.

At the heart of the programme is a belief that design is not confined to studios or galleries. It is part of how cities are built, how communities connect and how people experience everyday life.

This year’s Johannesburg programme invites audiences to discover the city through a diverse collection of talks, exhibitions, installations, screenings, workshops, performances, studio visits and social experiences.

23 Noah Design Week South Africa Joburg | What's on in Joburg

Highlight experiences to look forward to

Divided into districts for easy navigation, talks, workshops, product launches, open studios and exciting experiences take place across Braamfontein and Joburg CBD, Rosebank and surrounds, The Parks and Kramerville and the Northern Suburbs.

Highlights include daily Morning Sessions 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; and ‘The Industry Dialogue’ – a talk hosted by Pedersen + Lennard at their new Parkhurst store.

Visitors can also expect open studios from Bumba Souled ceramics, BCKRDS and dhk Architects. There is also a preview tour of the brand new KRAM space in Kramerville as well as an exclusive three-day open reference library conceived by Beloved May – a creative agency and literary collective founded by Phola Gumede and Menzi Dimba – and hosted at The Salon – the creative atelier of fine artist Lulama Wolf and Sithasolwazi Mona.

Join workshops at The Kim Sacks School of Ceramics and a customisation session by Sealand at FabrikHunter. Plus, experience an inner-city tour – Joburg on Foot – and a walkabout of JCAF’s Reverse Futures exhibition. Support local creatives with product launches from 23 by Noah, Inomusainkosi, Pattern Lab and ballo, who have all partnered with a pop up from Studiooo.

The programme also moves into music and cultural experiences with an afternoon party from Vinyl & Vibes, a listening party by Curación Collection and UNI Form and exhibition at The Library of Things We Forgot to Remember.

Pinterest – Things We Love Design Week South Africa Joburg | What's on in Joburg

What Pinterest is bringing to Design Week as its 2026 sponsor

Beyond its role as Title Sponsor of Design Week South Africa 2026, Pinterest is working with local designers, crafters and makers in Johannesburg and Cape Town to present a series of engaging activities that celebrate the breadth and creativity of South Africa’s design industry.

Drawing inspiration from Pinterest’s annual trend report, Pinterest Predicts, the activations will bring selected 2026 trends to life through local creative interpretations. In doing so, Pinterest provides an opportunity for local talent to reinterpret global design trends through a distinctly South African lens, connecting discovery and inspiration with hands-on creative experiences.

The Things We Love exhibition explores design as both a broad cultural force and an intimate personal experience, weaving the South African context into universal questions about how we relate to the objects in our lives.

The exhibition is also a physical representation of the platform as a digital repository for the things we love, and the curation of that which represents and inspires our taste. The exhibition returns to personal, specific examples of design to illustrate ideas of materiality, craft and meaning making through objects.

Curated by Simone Schultz, the exhibition invites creative practitioners to open their private worlds, submitting South African design items from their homes to form part of this group exhibition.

Participanting creatives include 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.

Pinterest Activation Gozdava at Acre Studio Design Week South Africa Joburg | What's on in Joburg

An Invitation to Travel: An olfactory adventure with Gozdava 1590

This activation is inspired by the cultural currents of moss and scent-stacking highlighted by Pinterest Predicts 2026. The journey unfolds as a s(c)en(t)sory itinerary illustrating the architecture of perfumery: how creativity and chemistry come together to create richly nuanced scent landscapes.

Guests follow their nose through a curated palette of scent materials within a moss-inspired framework, as designed by Nose Agata Karolina, before arriving at their ultimate destination: bottling a fragrance of their own creation, made with the support of an experienced team.

Designed as a meeting point between fragrance, trend and design, this activation translates Pinterest Predicts 2026 concepts into a tactile, participatory experience rooted in curiosity and playful experimentation – reflecting Pinterest’s invitation to discover, create and be inspired.

Cost: Free entry. RSVP online. Space is limited, so book fast!