For those of our Artisan family that have not yet shared the agIdeas joy of recent years, we encourage you to take a moment to familairise yourself with an incredible annual gathering of creative talent here in Melbourne.

Late April marks the spot for three days of a precisely orchestrated, world class affair. For the official agIdeas media release, see below:

Celebrating 20 years agIdeas 2010 International Design Week
agIdeas International Design Week showcases the best in design and creativity from 26-29 April 2010. Celebrating 20 years, agIdeas is a major international festival on the design calendar. It provides insights into the world of design and it seeks out the original, the inventive, the decision makers and those with talent. agIdeas consciously seeks out the best and brightest from around the world to engage in why design is important in life, leisure and business. 40 international and national leaders in design will be part of an exciting program that will explore all aspects of design. Each speaker will bring their individual perspectives, assess what is happening in the design world today and design ideas for the future. Having: illustration, industrial design, graphic design, film, branding, textile design, product design, landscape architecture being featured, it will give audiences a chance to be in the minds, of some of the best designers in the world.

Speakers for the 2010 festival include: Michel Bouvet, France; Dean Poole, New Zealand; Jacques Reymond, Australia; Alex Alvarez, USA; Richard Ferlazzo, Australia; Agnete Enga Norway; Theo Jansen, The Netherlands; ‘I established agIdeas 20 years ago and what started as a small and humble event has now grown into one of the most successful design festivals in the world. The motivation and principles today are the same as what we started with, and it’s one of being relevant to our audience,’ says Ken Cato.

Since its inception in 1991, there have been 440 speakers, an audience of 43,000 and more than 3,500 volunteers involved. 38 young designers have won scholarships allowing them to travel the world, attending the Benetton Group Communications Research Centre in Fabrica, Italy and leading international design studios. ‘Over the past 20 years’, continues Cato, ‘we have brought some of the best designers here to talk about their work, motivation and technique, and when I reflect on the past 20 years I’m proud of what we have achieved and the caliber of designers that have been part of agIdeas – David Carson, Stefan Sagmeister, Richard Seymour, April Greiman, Erik Spiekermann, Sass and Bide, Luca Missoni, Pixar, Dream Works, IDEO.’ Each year a small and dedicated team work year round, and are ably assisted by a committee of volunteer design students in the lead up to the festival, each who play a major role in making the festival a success for our audiences and speakers alike.

The festival is made up of a number of different events and these include: the International Design Forum (3 days of talk about inspirational design); Studio Access (visits to Melbourne’s leading design studios); Master Classes (full day workshop with an international designer); Futures (evening career expo for secondary students); NewStar (design competition and exhibition); Advantage (business breakfast forum).

Each of the speakers are available for interview.

AgIdeas - 26 - 29 April 2010
Hammer Hall, Melbourne

For further information regarding registration and the purchase of tickets for the event(s), visit the below link
agideas.net

An alternative to experiencing the real life, skin tingling forum in the flesh is also possible - the event is available to view from home or work via live online stream on your computer. For further information agideas.net/agideas-2010/online