Save the date: WONDER Creativity Festival 2024

From 17 October to 3 November 2024, a lot of Belgian creative talent will present its vision of a better future at WONDER. Visitors are taken along a free and very diverse route of special places in Kortrijk UNESCO City of Design, with stunning exhibitions, installations and events on design, innovation, technology and art.

This makes WONDER more than ever a unique platform where work, ideas and projects of artists, designers, students, citizens as well as companies, schools and organisations come together and are connected. WONDER inspires and invites visitors to shape the future together with guts and creativity.

This year, an open call was used for the 2nd time, where everyone had the chance to submit an initiative. With great success, as the organisation received more than 150 entries. After selection by a jury, a first part of the programme can now be presented. The beating heart of WONDER will once again be at the Budafabriek. From there, visitors will be able to follow a route of more than 20 locations (divided over three hubs: BUDA, CITY & LOOF) along more than 40 exhibits or installations. This year's festival also unpacks with some content tracks, along "digital", "circular", "product innovation", "art" & "kids" highlights.

• The expo of young Belgian design talent, WE ARE THE NEXT GENERATION, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Every year, the expo presents the Belgian designers to keep an eye on.
• With Hack The Material, companies Ledro and Blue Label engage in a creative experiment in collaboration with the colourful and playful design studio Nortstudio, supported by young potentials.
• The brand new gallery Redkettle Gallery by actor and designer Maarten Ketels brings work by quite a few Belgian designers to a very special underground location on Buda Island.
• A lot of schools, too, now know the way to WONDER as a presentation platform for innovative projects, such as LUCA School of Arts, Howest and Ghent University.
• Printing firm Die Keure will move its prepress department to Kortrijk and allow visitors to discover the printing business for themselves.
• 7 design companies - Allaert Aluminium, Joli, Modular Lighting Instruments, Novy, Umbrosa, Vincent Sheppard and Wever & Ducré - present together in the beautiful salons of Broelkaai 6 under the name WONDER CLUB house, in collaboration with new work by 10 Belgian designers.
• Antwerp gallery PLUS-ONE Gallery will bring a virtual presentation to Kortrijk's Verlaagde Leieboorden with artist Mathias Mu.
• WONDER main partners Aluvision and Deltalight will present impressive lighting and digital installations.
  
• DURF2030, De Stroate, Quindo, Bolwerk and LZSB are joining forces to colour the city outside the lines in the context of Kortrijk 2030. They will take an empty site and transform it into a real youth hub.
• De Beste Kamer invites Normann Copenhagen for a presentation in the interior shop.

An extensive event programme will also be launched. WONDER collaborates with the professional design fair Design Nation (17 and 18 October) and also with Kortrijk Art Weekend (26 and 27 October).

WONDER will be free to visit between Thursday 17 October and Sunday 3 November, from Thursday to Sunday each time.

During the week from 9am to 6pm, on weekends and autumn holidays from 10am to 6pm.

WONDER is organised by Designregio Kortrijk and Stad Kortrijk, with the support of main partners Nationale Loterij, Aluvision and Deltalight, and partners Fedustria, Compagnie Het Zoute, Zorggroep H.Hart, and Designregio Kortrijk partners Howest, Intercommunale Leiedal, Kortrijk Xpo, Universiteit Gent Campus Kortrijk and Voka West-Vlaanderen.

Club Paradis, hello@clubparadis.be

Read the full press release HERE.

For all your other questions, contact Designregio Kortrijk info@designregio-kortrijk.be, 056 51 91 83