Our Top Picks For Irish Design Week 2026
Words: Hannah Lemass
Images: Irish Design Week
Irish Design Week is returning for its fifth year from November 7 to 14 with more events, exhibitions, workshops, talks, and networking opportunities to get stuck into.
Organised by the Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), Irish Design Week aims to celebrate design and creativity across Ireland. There is something for everyone, with everything from graphic design, architecture, product design, fashion, animation and more making up the programme.
There is a lot going on, so here are some highlights to help you plan your Irish Design Week hit list.
ReStyle Galway
Where: Cope Building Galway, LIVvintage Studio and St Nicholas Church
When: November 7-8, 11:00
Tickets: Free, but ticketed
What does the future of fashion look like? That’s what ReStyle Galway aims to find out. This sustainable fashion expo will take place across four venues, offering free workshops, demonstrations and masterclasses covering key sustainability skills like upcycling, repairs, crochet and embroidery. There will also be free clothing alterations and repair stations plus a clothes swap and exhibition. On November 7, H91 markets in Electric Galway will host a vintage clothing market before the programme culminates on Sunday, November 8 with the ReStyle Ireland X LIVVS fashion show in St Nicholas’ Church, showcasing work from leading sustainable Irish designers.
Proper Dark
Where: Butler Gallery, Kilkenny
When: November 7 – 8
Tickets: Free
With this exhibition, Irish industrial designer Anthony McCarthy welcomes visitors to step into the darkness and experience the relationship between light, dark, movement, time and perception. Developed through decades of experimentation with sculptural light pieces, Proper Dark asks: What might we discover if we stop rushing past things and give ourselves time to look? This immersive exhibition offers something totally different to visitors and offers a welcome quiet moment to reflect within such a busy and stimulating festival.
Sorry I’m Late: Moodboarding And Conceptualising Your Ideas
Where: Flux Studios, Dublin 2
When: November 13, 12:00
Tickets: €15.99
Irish Design Week isn’t just exhibitions and seminars. There are also lots of opportunities to get involved in the design process yourself, with workshops covering a multitude of disciplines. One that has us particularly excited is Sorry I’m Late, a hands-on studio workshop in collaboration with Emporium Dublin. Any creative knows that sometimes the hardest part of the process is putting your ideas into action. This session aims to get the ball rolling, helping participants bring their ideas to life through moodboarding and conceptualisation. Participants will leave with a moodboard and a clearer creative direction. Emporium Dublin will give one-to-one feedback and will be answering questions at the end of the session about how they built one of Dublin’s most coveted streetwear brands.
Ireland’s Cultural Capital: RÓIS X hhH Panel
Where: Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin 2
When: November 9, 18:00
Tickets: €5
Ireland’s Cultural Capital: Moving from Funding to Investment is a keynote event featuring a series of panels exploring the relationship between cultural value, public investment and economic development. With contributors from the worlds of branding, communications, and writing, the programme explores how Ireland can more effectively communicate the value of its cultural and creative sectors to policymakers, investors and society. The final panel of the evening includes a screening of Did You Ever Get The Ride at the Wake House, an eccentric and energetic music video from RóIS x hhH, featuring dancer and choreographer Alex Vostokova. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and collaborators.
Anseo: Music As Design
Where: Nenagh Arts Centre, Co. Tipperary
When: November 10 – 24
Tickets: Free
We all know you can hear music and even feel it, but can you actually see it too? That’s the question at the heart of Anseo: Music As Design, an audiovisual exhibition exploring the relationship between image, language and sound. The brainchild of composer Alastair White and curator Gemma A. Williams, Anseo uses footage of the stunning Tipperary landscape to encourage visitors to take a look at their sense of place and the sounds, music and meaning hidden within it. The exhibition also features White’s 11 Maps for a Chalk Ridge, a collection of graphic scores inspired by the landscape of England’s South Downs.
Irish Design Week 2026 is set to be a massive celebration of creativity. To find out more and book tickets for the events visit their website.
