AFDA 2024
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Events
AFDA 2024
Entries for the 2024 Australian Furniture Design Award (AFDA) are now open.
Presented by Stylecraft and the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), the biennial Award – Australia’s richest furniture and lighting design accolade with a $20,000 cash prize – celebrates innovative furniture and lighting design by Australian designers. The Award seeks to recognise outstanding new design ideas; critical and creative thinking; sustainability; material development; and research that explores innovative production processes.
AFDA celebrates innovative furniture and lighting design by Australian designers.Â
Founded in 2015 by Stylecraft and the JamFactory, the Award is now in its fifth iteration.
‘For 70 years, Stylecraft has been guided by the principle of active collaboration with the global and Australian design community. The Australian Furniture Design Award is unique in the national design landscape for its combination of recognition, professional development, financial support and commercial opportunity for an Australian designer. We are excited to build upon the legacy of this important award in 2024.’ – Anthony Collins, Managing Director, Stylecraft.
Founded in 2015 by Stylecraft and the JamFactory, the Award is now in its fifth iteration.
A two-stage competition, with the first stage being an open call, AFDA invites entries from Australian designers, studios, collectives and firms. From the entries received, a shortlist of entrants will be invited to proceed to stage two and present their realised designs for exhibition and judging at the Stylecraft showroom during Melbourne Design Week 2024. All shortlisted competitors will receive an honorarium of $2,000 to assist with the realisation of their design for exhibition.
The winning designer will receive a cash prize of AUD $20,000, an invitation to develop a commercial range or product with Stylecraft, and a two-week residency at the JamFactory in Adelaide.
‘The Australian Furniture Design Award presents an invaluable platform for local furniture and lighting designers to showcase their extraordinary work. This Award celebrates the incredible creativity and innovation empowering this design discipline, as well as its contribution to design discourse and Australian culture.’ – Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV.
Sydney-based designer Seaton McKeon won the inaugural award in 2015 with The Sun The Moon and Me, a freestanding light and mirror. In 2017, Alice Springs-based designer Elliat Rich received the award for her sculptural vanity, Place. In 2020, Sydney-based industrial designer James Walsh won, impressing the jury with Anthropic bench, which combined rammed earth with recycled glass filings to produce a sustainable and hard-wearing composite. Most recently, Ashley Eriksmoen received the award in 2022 with The Dream, or: the view from here is both bleak and resplendent – a signature work that conveys the potential of postconsumer waste for transformation and reuse.
Competitors must register first to enter the Awards. Registrations close 11 October 2023. Stage One closes 18 October 2023.
For further information or to register for entry, please visit the competition website: ngv.vic.gov.au/australian-furniture-design-award-2024