Twenty years after earning its UNESCO City of Design designation, Montreal is getting a design week to match the title.
Archi-Design QC has announced the inaugural Montreal Design Week. Running April 28 to May 7, 2026, this ten-day program will consolidate the city's scattered design events under one banner for the first time. More than 50 venues across the city will participate, from galleries and architecture studios to workshops and open houses.
The anchor event is the Index-Design Show, a 20-year-old trade fair (formerly known as Complètement Design) held at the Grand Quay at the Port of Montreal. From there, the programming expands outward into the city, with a conference planned at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and a broad call for participation from local designers, studios and organizations. Fifteen initiatives will be incorporated into the official program at no charge, with financial support from the City of Montreal.
The timing is pointed: Montreal Design Week falls squarely between Milan Design Week and New York's equivalent, positioning the city as a legitimate stop on the international design circuit. Index-Design CEO Arnaud Granata put it plainly in the announcement, saying Montreal now joins cities like Milan, Paris and New York in hosting its own annual design week.
Finish “Montreal Finally Has a Design Week to Call Its Own”
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