WONDER Creativity Festival27 October 2026Events target group: Creative,Entrepreneur,Urban renovator,Future Maker,Explorer

WONDER Festival for design, art, technology and innovation launches its first programme

From 27 October to 8 November 2026, WONDER Festival will, for the sixth time, transform the centre of Kortrijk UNESCO City of Design in Belgium into a vibrant parcours exploring design, technology, art and innovation.

WONDER Festival, an initiative of Designregio Kortrijk, is a unique platform and hub for the creativity and innovative ideas of emerging talent and established names, both nationally and internationally. In a world that speeds, yells and grinds, creative minds offer a counterbalance. They encourage reflection, stimulate open-mindedness and inspire in a bold way for a better future.

Following a successful edition in 2025, which attracted over 18,000 visitors, WONDER continues to grow into a leading platform for creativity and imagination.

Design throughout the city

In March 2026, an open call for entries was issued throughout Belgium and internationally. The organisers received over 300 entries, which were assessed by a professional jury. More than 20 unique venues in the centre of Kortrijk will serve as the setting for exhibitions and installations in collaboration with over 300 designers, artists, companies, organisations and schools.

Thematic strands

The future is being shaped right now — in studios, classrooms and businesses. WONDER brings together the people who are shaping it: designers, artists, businesses, students and the public, centred around one key question: how do we want to live, create and coexist?

As it does every year, WONDER showcases a wealth of new talent, but the festival also focuses on pressing themes such as ‘DIGITAL POWER’, with critical reflections on AI, data and digital systems; ‘DINE WITH US’, exploring the table as a place of encounter, nature and ritual; and ‘ECHOES OF THE EARTH’, presenting bio-based and regenerative design as a model for the future.

First highlights

You can discover up-and-coming talent at the ‘WE ARE THE NEXT GENERATION’ exhibition, staged by Karel Burssens, or at one of the exhibitions organised by the design programmes at Howest, LUCA School of Arts, Ghent University’s Kortrijk campus and Thomas More Mechelen.
Technology really comes to life for young and old alike in the Interactive Experience at the Flanders Technology & Innovation Festival in Kortrijk, a trail full of interactive experiences set within an abandoned hospital campus.
Dutch designer Adrianus Kundert (Opblaashelicopter) captures the imagination with a striking, mesmerising fountain at the start of the festival near the Budafabriek.
Throughout the exhibition, designers present a host of installations, some created in collaboration with industry. These range from an interactive light installation by Bram Lattré and monumental textile flags by Charbel Abou Zeidan, in collaboration with the companies BekaertDeslee, B&T Textilia, De Poortere Frères and Green Street Fabrics, Ragolle Rugs, Sofa Cover and AAROVA, a ‘living table’ by architects Sander Wallays, Laurens Decoster and Leon Hanssens, and a spatial interpretation of Quick-Step’s recycling process by architect Maximiliaan Schevenhels.
Designers are joining forces for collective exhibitions, such as Robin Berrewaerts, who brings together (international) designers through Jeu de Main to explore the theme of wood, or Vessel Keramiekatelier, which unites 14 ceramicists through Second Supper.
Echoes of the Earth brings together projects that approach art and design as living, ongoing processes: from fermenting bodies and growing micro-ecosystems to circular building systems and bio-based materials.
In Lodewijk Heylen’s ‘The Village, in collaboration with Intercommunale Leiedal, young and old alike become architects. The installation invites visitors to build, dismantle and reflect on urban space within a constantly evolving playing field.

This is just a selection from the full programme. Full programme, further information or images can be requested from lisa@designregio-kortrijk.be or by calling +32 56 51 91 83.

The event programme will be launched in early September.

Practical

WONDER takes place from Tuesday 27 October to Sunday 8 November; it is closed on Mondays. On school days from 9.00 to 18.00, and at weekends and during the autumn half-term from 10.00 to 18.00. Admission to the festival is free, but there is also a ‘pay what you want’ option.

Main venue: Budafabriek, Dam 2a, Kortrijk; all venues are within walking distance.

Bookings for schools and groups open from early September.

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WONDER jury

The 2026 WONDER jury consisted of Annelies Thoelen, coordinator Designpunt, Sigert Defrancq, architect & partner Veldhuis Architecten, Sarah Vierstraete, manager Design, Technology & Arts Educational Programmes Howest, Laure Decock, co-founder Rendez-Vous Bruxelles, Yves Marginet, project & sales manager Wever & Ducre, Charlotte Jonckheer, artist & designer, co-founder Brut Collective, Janne Roels, project manager design Flanders District of Creativity, Gauthier Renard, city marketing & tourism Stad Kortrijk, Griet Lannoo, spatial planner Intercommunale Leiedal, Marijke Bouciqué, innovation Voka West-Vlaanderen, Stan Dewaele, coordinator WONDER Festival & Project Manager Designregio Kortrijk en Lisa Declercq, coordinator WONDER Festival & Project Manager Designregio Kortrijk.