From 31 May to 4 June, Luxembourg City will host the 2023 edition of the European Design Festival. For this occasion, the non-profit organisation Design Luxembourg, which organises the event, has planned five days of festivities in which creative people from all over Europe and the general public are invited to participate.  Romain Gamba/Maison Moderne 

From 31 May to 4 June, Luxembourg City will host the 2023 edition of the European Design Festival. For this occasion, the non-profit organisation Design Luxembourg, which organises the event, has planned five days of festivities in which creative people from all over Europe and the general public are invited to participate.   Romain Gamba/Maison Moderne 

Nadine Clemens, general coordinator of Design Luxembourg, says the European Design Festival taking place in Luxembourg next year is a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for the future development of the sector.

From 31 May to 4 June, Luxembourg City will host the 2023 edition of the European Design Festival. On this occasion, the Design Luxembourg association, which is organising the event, has planned five days of festivities in which creative people from all over Europe and the general public are invited to participate. 

Abigail Okorodus: What's on the programme?

Nadine Clemens: The festival programme includes conferences with designers, studio visits, workshops, a designer market and exhibitions. In addition to these diverse events, local talent and Luxembourg creations will be honoured on 1 June during an evening dedicated to the Luxembourg Design Awards and covering all design disciplines, while on 3 June the famous European Design Awards ceremony will take place, rewarding the best practices in communication design.

In summary, the five days are totally dedicated to design and promise to bring together the profession as well as all those interested in creation in general, since the festival is open to the general public and will take place in several cultural institutions, including Rotondes, Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain, the Cercle Cité, Luca and, of course, the City of Luxembourg. The latter will host several events, combining guided tours and urban installations.

AO: How can local design professionals make the most of the festival's presence in Luxembourg? NC: Designers from all disciplines (graphic design, product design, fashion, animation, packaging, etc.) will be able to present the best of their productions, their know-how and their creativity through the various events - in short, to make themselves known and their work visible to a wider public. One of the highlights of the festival will undoubtedly be the Luxembourg Design Awards ceremony. After the awards ceremony, the winners will be presented in an exhibition at Rotondes, which will also be open to the public during the festival.

In addition, the meetings, workshops and conferences will be essential networking moments for the professionals. All in all, the festival will be an ideal opportunity to gather, connect and be inspired in a festive atmosphere.

AO: The theme of the 2022 European Design Festival was “Beyond Design”. What is the theme for 2023, and why was it chosen?

NC: For Design Luxembourg, which represents professionals in the sector, the objective of the event is twofold: to create, through an ambitious festival programme, a platform for the promotion of design, its actors and local companies, and in so doing, to highlight the crucial issue of the status of design in Luxembourg. Indeed, the status of design is at the heart of a more global reflection on the valorisation of the profession and its territorial, artisanal and creative skills. And it is from this reflection that the specific theme of the Luxembourg edition of the festival will stem.

Indeed, it will be a question of seizing this unique opportunity in terms of visibility and representation to elaborate a strategic vision for the sector and to lay the foundations for its future development.

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