Kyiv Design Week 2024
From 28 August to 4 September, Kyiv hosted Kyiv Design Week (KDW) for the second time, an event that will showcase the multidimensional potential of design. The design week aims to turn urban locations into an environment for experimentation with forms and meanings, as well as for dialogue and collaboration between creators.
Curatorial projects:- KDW Forum Annual event which opens the design week. Curators: Yaroslaw Belinsky, Catherine Skraglenko
Location: MacPaw Space, 100 Velyka Vasylkivska Str.
- The Design of Freedom Aimed to connect with real time and look into the future. The Design of Freedom installation, which was placed at the main location of the Ukrainian Fashion Week SS25 shows, became a symbol of the strength of Ukrainian design and its creators, who remain innovators despite everything. This was evident even in the space, which was created using the metal structure of a military tent, which simultaneously served as a kind of protection and reminded us of the reality in which design is created.
The Design of Freedom was attended by 47 Ukrainian designers, artists, ceramists and craftsmen, who were placed according to the logic of trends and through different states: ‘Evolution of Craft’ - State of Timelessness, “Design - Fashion - Art” - State Across the boundaries, “Design during the War” - State of Resilience.
Thus, about a thousand guests of UFW SS25 and KDW 2024 had the opportunity to get acquainted with the project and the works of many brands, such as VOZIANOV, Kachorovska, ZAVOD, FURN Object, GAEVA, YaKUSH, DIZA, DONNA, SOLOMIA RCS, MAPICO, Pink Gentle Clouds, Fayina Yerenburh, craft workshops Medovi Svichky, Guculiya, SHABALTAS, works by artists Olesia Drashkaba, Anastasiia Pasichnyk, works by UFEG and Schooll Art x Craft students, platform OSTRIV, research projects, etc.
The location also featured: ‘Time Hears Us’ - a new limited edition RW01 Gamlet watch by ZAVOD based on its RIDER1991 brand in collaboration with street art artist Hamlet Zinkivsky, a design for the military by Malva Ammunition, and a kamikaze drone assembled by industrial designer Volodymyr Karalyus together with a team of volunteers and designers. The Kyiv Design Week library includes books by: ist publishing x spiilka, MacPaw, ArtHuss, CREATIVE PUBLISHING, Projector Publishing.
Curator Anastasiia BiletskaArchitect Kateryna Yarova IK-Architects Location: Mystetskyi Arsenal, 10–12 Lavrska Str.
- This Day has come!(the title refers to a well-known call to action that has become a rallying cry for Ukrainian society in time of war) Aimed to explore the potential of Ukrainian crafts and folk art.The installation brought together the works of 22 masters of traditional crafts and folk artistic crafts, combining heritage and contemporary context. A 10-metre-long table-path formed by golden straw became a bridge between different epochs of Ukrainian culture.The atmosphere of generosity and prosperity of the Ukrainian village was complemented by amulets and large-scale vytynanky, golden background of hand-painted wallpaper, designer floor lamps and pendant lights. In this way, the installation was intended to encourage not only an in-depth exploration of craft techniques, but also to promote their preservation, support and development of craftsmen and women, artists who create products with high added value. The opening of the installation was dedicated to a meeting with the publishers, authors and heroes of the publication «Contemporary Ukrainian Crafts | Традиційні ремесла в сучасному виконанні» by Creative Publishing.Curator Anastasiia Biletska, decorator Iryna Boychenko.
Location: Bookstore SENS, 34 Khreshchatyk Str.

- Discussion ‘Points of contact’ Talking about the important thingsDuring the discussion panel the representatives of the creative industry discussed new approaches to communication and news strategies.
The discussion was joined by: Anastasia Biletska, curator of Kyiv Design Week, Veronika Seleha, CEO of Bickerstaff.734 creative agency, Anastasia Serga, PR specialist in global communications, Ukrainian PR, Valentyn Panyuta, Co-Founder and CEO of HyperNormal agency, head of United24media, Alyona Lapenko, CEO of Eter Agency, Dominique Signorini Kiroyanagi, author of the Crossing Kyiv project, Gabriela Chicherio, Co-Founder, Director of the Zurich Design Weeks festival.Curatorial team Eter Agency
- Among the projects that were presented in Kyiv this year was the curatorial project from Zurich Design Weeks - POSTER SAFARI.
Curators: ALP Atelier Landolt Pfister team, Anastasiia BiletskaLocation: KOOPERATIV, 23A Sichovykh Striltsiv Str.
- СOZY WEEK Aimed to show a living tradition."At CozyWeek, we have shown in practice what it is like to encourage daily, organic, comfortable, everyday gatherings by a structure, which over time has the power to create a community and, later, a local group identity. This process continues in the production of intangible cultural heritage, which is not actually the past, as we used to think, but what we have now, thanks to the past. The intangible heritage is our most valuable and important thing, and it is always more alive than all the living," sums up the event architect and со-curator Sashko Stolovyi.Curatorial team: Sashko Stolovyi, Yaroslav Belinsky, Anastasiia Biletska
Location: National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine, 1 Akademika Tronʹka Str.

- Capsule IN TIME BЧАСНО KDW’24 x ZAVOD
Selected objects for the discerning taste of punctual and life-loving people who are thirsty for non-random things - accessories and jewellery, symbolic items, transformers and kaleidoscopes, fragile witnesses of turbulent times and timely for different circumstances. Brands: ANUMO PLASTIC, GAEVA, DVOIRA, FIRE RABBIT, KINT, Lutta lute, Transportni istorii/Транспортні історії, PENINSULA + GAEVA, Plichky, Sunkissed lass, slow.ly, SVITANOK, YANA COLD, ZAVOD.
Location: ZAVOD, 35-b Reitarska Str.


- SOUL Light installationThe main goal of this artistic event is to draw attention to an architectural monument that needs to be restored and preserved.As part of Kyiv Design Week 2024, in partnership with the Toronto-Kyiv complex, artist Mykola Kabluka and the Kabluka Light and Digital Sculpture x Expolight team shed light on St. Nicholas Cathedral.Location: 100 and 75 Velyka Vasylkivska Str.



______________________________________________Kyiv Design Week 2024
Curatorial group: Anastasiia Biletska, Yaroslav Belinsky, Catherine Skraglenko, Olga Protasova, Sashko Stolovyi.
Photo credits : Anastasiia Telikova, Yurii Stefanyak, Catherine SkraglenkoVideo (c) Expolight
The event was organised by NGO Design4Ukraine, curated on a pro bono basis. The part of the funds raised from the registration fees of the participants was donated to the "Сome Back Alive" Foundation.