Following on from our first Design Season in Autumn 2018, we celebrate the work of designers through a range of 60+ events, exhibitions and activities across Leicester, over 3 weeks in October. The events are listed below in date order under themes:

Pre Season teaser events
Talks and events
Family activities and guided walks
Design Trail exhibitions, exhibits and Open Studios

Follow developments here and on Twitter


DS2 : the programme

All events are free to attend and open to all unless otherwise stated
 
LA/LRSA = a Leics & Rutland Society of Architects Love Architecture festival event
INT = a DS2 event with International reach


DS2 Pre-season teaser events
Tues 24 Sept 1-4pm Made in Leicester : networking day for artists and designer-makers
LCB Depot, £5



Sat 28 Sept 1.30-5pm Why Design Matters : a talk from three London-based designers : Michael Johnson, Rejane Dal Bello and Tina Touli
Some Bright Spark, 33 Yeoman Street, Leicester LE1 1UT

Mon 30 Sept 6pm RTPI Planning Forum : Mainstream Sustainability
The Parcel Yard, 48a London Road, Leicester LE2 0QB

Tues 1 Oct 6-8.30pm LA/LRSA Leicester Planning Forum Talk : What’s the point of city centre?
LCB Depot



DS2 Talks & Events


Weds 2 Oct 6-9pm DS2 launch INVITE ONLY
All Saints Church, 107 Highcross Street, Leicester LE1 4PH

Fri 4 Oct 2.15-4.30pm LA/LRSA CPD Seminar : Inclusive Environments
LCB Depot

Fri 4 Oct 6-9pm Loop Open 2 Launch
LCB Depot

Sat 5 Oct 12-4pm Loop Typography exhibition launch
The Mill, North Mills, Frog Island, Leicester LE3 5DL

Sat 5 Oct 2-7pm LA/LRSA pub crawl of historic public houses in the city centre
Various venues, starts at The Bowling Green, 44 Oxford Street, Leicester LE1 5XW

Tues 8 Oct 1-6pm LA/LRSA President’s Prize launch & judging
For staff/students of DMU and Loughborough Uni only
DMU School of Architecture



Tues 8 Oct 4-10pm LA/LRSA Awards Evening
including live-streaming of the 2019 Stirling Prize ceremony - will the Leicestershire nominee win?
LCB Depot

Weds 9 Oct 10am-12pm Creative Coffee networking & tile-making workshop 
Create your own handmade tile with Peter Wood of Royce Wood Studio
LCB Depot with Parkside Tiles

Weds 9 Oct 2-4pm Get the best from your creative agency
a workshop hosted by Creative Triangle
150 Upper New Walk, Leicester LE1 7QA

Weds 9 Oct 5.30-8pm Design & Location: Urban Graphic Heritage
presentation and exhibition about graphic representations of urban heritage. The event will also introduce the DS2 Design Trail App / Cuttlefish Mapps
LCB Depot



Weds 9 Oct 6-8.30pm INT Designing Dignity
A TEDx Leicester event on human-centered design and social innovation
LCB Depot

Weds 9 Oct 6-8.30pm LA/LRSA CPD Seminar : Photography for Architects
LCB Depot



Thurs 10 Oct 6-8.30pm LA/LRSA/RIBA Great British Buildings
talk with 2019 Stirling Prize nominees (and 2013 Stirling Prize winners) Witherford Watson Mann architects (pic above : Nevill Holt Opera, Market Harborough, shortlisted for the 2019 Stirling Prize)
LCB Depot £10 / £7.50 RIBA members / £5 student & concessions

Fri 11 Oct 4-6pm INT Graphic design in Vietnam: the innovation of tradition
talk by printmaker Giang Nguyen
Leicester Print Workshop, 50 St George Street, Leicester LE1 1QG



Sat 12 Oct 12-4pm LA/LRSA Meet The Architect one-to-one architect-public discussion
LCB Depot



Sun 13 Oct 12-4.30pm K&G Curated Living Event
Vintage furniture & homewares plus work from local designer-makers : shop/social/vintage/modern
St John's Street, Leicester LE1 3WL

Mon 14 Oct 7-9pm Stop selling your time - design to scale
Join us to hear how design agencies based in LCB Depot have successfully reconfigured their businesses to enable them to discover innovative and scalable new products
LCB Depot

Tues 15 Oct 6-8.30pm LA/LRSA Pecha Kucha : More or Leics Quickfire presentations
LCB Depot



Weds 16 Oct 5.30-7pm INT Designing Real Utopias
ACAMEo event exploring the possibility for real urban utopias Speakers: David M. Bell: Utopianism
Catalina Pollak Williamson (Public Interventions): P for: Participation, Play, Performance and Pedagogy Kevin Walker (Royal College of Art): RCA Space Programme and Utopia as Method
LCB Depot



Thurs 17 Oct 6-9pm Loop Late
Late opening for our open graphic design exhibition with paper weaving workshop by Grey House England sponsored by G F Smith
LCB Depot



Thurs 17 Oct 6-7pm Sustainability in Design
Panel discussion aimed at architects and designers
Hosted by DS2 Design Award sponsor Parkside Architectural Tiles, Barnsdale Way, Enderby, Leicester LE19 1SN
(NB Meet at LCB Depot 5pm for transport to and from Enderby)



Thurs 17 Oct 7-10pm Creative Cocktails networking with the Creative Coffee team
Manhattan Bar, 34 Rutland Street, Leicester LE1 1RD




Fri 18 Oct 6-9pm INT
Hear about Leicester agency Haley Sharpe’s designs for the Grand Egyptian Museum
LCB Depot

Tues 22 Oct 2-4pm Creative Leicestershire Webinart live Facebook interview with Gillian Adair
LCB Depot

Tues 22 Oct 6-8pm Slow design driven innovation for a sustainable planet
with the University of Leicester Anthropocene Research Group
LCB Depot



Weds 23 Oct 6-8pm An Audience With ... design consultant Andrew Tanner 
The Unloved, The Foister Building, 128 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1LB



Thurs 24 Oct 11.00am-4.30pm Create Leicester Day Event
Insightful talks from national digital leaders
Curve, 60 Rutland Street, Leicester LE1 1SB, £75



Fri 25 Oct 5-10pm LastFriday street food night, and closing party for Design Season 2
LCB Depot

Fri 25 Oct 10-late Yumna Black : Live Audio and Visual Digital Arts Performance by Beastwang
All Saints Church, 107 Highcross Street, Leicester LE1 4PH



Sat 2 Nov 3-5pm Exhibition Closing Event . In Conversation with Nick Mobbs & Serena Smith
Leicester Print Workshop, 50 St George Street, Leicester LE1 1QG


DS2 Family Activities & Guided Walks
Opportunities to take part in Design activities led by city designers and design businesses

Sat 5 Oct 12-2pm LA/LRSA Guided walk around the Cathedral Quarter
Starts at Cathedral Square, Leicester




Sat 12 Oct 12-4pm Easy Saturday family day: DS2 special Family-friendly creative activities including build your own Lego Leicester and Sock It To The Moon - make your own sock puppet alien before taking it to the moon using green screen technology
LCB Depot




Sat 12 Oct 12-2pm LA/LRSA Guided walk around the Cultural Quarter
Starts at LCB Depot

Sat 12 Oct 12-4pm CQ Earlies @ Two Queens: Giant Collage Workshop
Two Queens, 2 Queen Street, Leicester LE1 1QW

Sat 12 Oct 12-4pm CQ Earlies @ Phoenix: Design Your Own Virtual Reality
Phoenix, 4 Midland Street, Leicester LE1 1TG

Sat 12 Oct 12-4pm CQ Earlies @ LPW: Digital Pattern Generation Workshop
Leicester Print Workshop 50 St George Street, Leicester LE1 1QG



Sat 19 Oct 12-4pm Design Your City
Explore architecture & urban design through family-friendly activities
LCB Depot



Sat 19 Oct 12-4pm Challenge the Architect
Challenge the LRSA team and draw and build any well-known building in Leics/Rutland.
LCB Depot



Thurs 24 Oct 9am-2.45pm Teen Tech
Tech challenges for pupils with designers, tech pros & Maggie Philbin
Morningside Arena, Charter Street, Leicester LE1 3UD


DS2: Design Trail (exhibitions, exhibits & open studios)
The Design Season Design Trail comprises exhibitions, exhibits and the first ever open studios day - October 19th - across the city developed and commissioned by DS2 partner businesses and stakeholders

DS2: Design Trail - Exhibitions / Exhibits

10 Aug - 2 Nov Out of the Woods : Nick Mobbs & Serena Smith
Leicester Print Workshop: Galleries 1 & 2

26 July - 26 Oct GIVE: Exhibition of print works by LPW artists
Leicester Print Workshop: Gallery 2

30 Sept - 13 Oct (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm) LA/LRSA Architectural photography competition exhibition
LCB Depot



4-25 Oct (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm) Loop Open 2 Exhibition : illustration and graphic design
LCB Depot

4-25 Oct (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm) LA/LRSA Local Practice exhibition
LCB Depot

4-25 Oct (Mon-Fri 12-5pm) Loop Typography exhibition
The Mill, North Mills, Frog Island, Leicester LE3 5DL

14-19 Oct (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm) LA/LRSA RIBA Ambassador Exhibition
LCB Depot

14-24 Oct (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm) DMU Graduates Product Design Exhibition
LCB Depot



4-25 Oct The Diversity of Ceramics Installation collab - Parkside Tiles and ceramic artist Jo Keogh
LCB Depot/Cultural Quarter

4-25 Oct ACiD TV : Reality TV - constructive, or just bright lights? By artist Dead Buni (Ben Kealey)
Malcolm Arcade, Leicester LE1 5FT



12-19 Oct The Lace Piano interactive sound installation by Jenny Hibberd & Johnny McJohnston. Come and play the world’s first Lace Piano! With recorded sounds from Cluny Lace Factory (the last in England), remix Nottingham’s lace industry with your own two twist-hands. This fully-immersive, multi-sensory experience combines digital arts, textiles and sculpture; interactive fun for everyone.
Venue tbc

21-25 Oct The Cube - The Anthropocene Square Metre : exhibit representing a cubic metre of the earth and highlighting climate change and sustainability
LCB Depot/Cultural Quarter

4-25 Oct 10-4pm daily Micro-Living exhibit - DMU-led architectural exhibition of micro living pods
Fibre Coworking Space, Deacon Street, Leicester LE2 7EF



11-20 Oct One Giant Leap (Inspirate)
50 years ago humans raced to the moon and this October half-term Leicester will host its very own Space Race! Your mission, should you choose accept it, is to explore Leicester city centre and locate all 15 of the space-themed LEGO® brick models. Navigate your way around the city by downloading the free LoyalFree app on your smartphone and following the Outer Space Trail – remember to stamp your space passport by scanning the QR code at all the locations you visit!

Marvel at the rockets that took us to the moon, stand side-by-side with famous astronauts and even make contact with aliens as you make your way around the trail.

Have some fun at the astronaut selfie zone – share your pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by using the hashtag #OneGiantLeapLeicester. The finishing line will be… the moon (see below)




11-20 Oct Museum of the Moon (Inspirate) Luke Jerram’s stunning 7-metre Museum of the Moon
Leicester Cathedral



18-19 Oct 6.30-10.30pm Overview Effect (Metro Boulot Dodo/Inspirate) - outdoor audio-visual spectacular that celebrates the ambition and technical achievement of the 1969 moon landing. Using a bespoke soundscape and large scale projection mapping, our story will move from ground to stars, playing tricks with the public’s perception
Leicester New Market Square LE1 5HQ



11-20 Oct Retro Arcade Games in Space (Inspirate) - Get in touch with your inner gamer and play retro-style computer games inspired by the Moon landing! The games will be hosted on large-scale screens across the city. Simply come along and connect with your smartphone to take part 
Various sites in the city centre

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DS2 DESIGN TRAIL OPEN STUDIOS : SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER

Follow the Design Season Trail as design businesses open their doors to the public. Various venues



Fullalove brand launch and fashion show 7-9.30pm (catwalk 8.30pm) profiling 247 Studios
Unit 28 Second Floor, Faircharm Industrial Estate, Evelyn Drive, Leicester LE3 2BU




AndNew (12-5pm) See the latest designs & prototypes from this modern furniture design studio
Unit 16-18 Faircharm Trading Estate, Evelyn Drive, Leicester LE3 2BU



Maber Architects (12-4pm) Workshops on virtual reality, 3D printing, design literacy
3rd Floor, Silver Arcade, Leicester LE1 5FA



Bulb Studios (9am-1pm) Learn about working in Digital Design
25 New Walk, Leicester LE1 6TE




PPL PRS Ltd (12-5pm) Visit and experience the legendary music history cartoon wall
Mercury Place, St. George Street, Leicester LE1 1QG



Leicester XR: Virtual and Augmented Reality (11am-5pm) See the latest Virtual and Augmented Reality produced by artists and creative companies in Leicester 
Phoenix, 4 Midland Street, Leicester LE1 1TG

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DS2 partners
2 Queens Studios
247 Studios
AndNew
Artreach
Bulb Studios
CAMEo
Create Leicester
Creative Coffee
Creative Leicestershire
Creative Triangle
Curve
Cuttlefish
De Montfort University
Fibre Coworking Space
Fullalove
Graff.io
Grays Coffee Shop & Kitchen
Haley Sharpe
Holland Alexander
Inspirate
Interact Digital
Jo Keogh Ceramics
K&G Curated Space
LCB Depot
Leicester City Council
Leicester Print Workshop
Leicestershire & Rutland Society of Architects
Loughborough University
Maber Architects
Made in Leicestershire
Manhattan 34
Metro Boulot Dodo
Parkside Tiles
Phoenix
PPL PRS Ltd
Some Bright Spark
TedX Leicester
TeenTech
The Unloved
University of Leicester
Will Wright





DS2 VIDEOS AND PRESS
Read a preview of DS2 on the Cool As Leicester website

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See the video A Conversation with Some Bright Spark



Watch Joe from Arch Creative


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Plans for 2019 Leicester Design Season revealed, with exhibitions, events and workshops
Leicester Mercury article 16 July 2019


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