Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Twenty years after earning its UNESCO City of Design designation, Montreal is consolidating its scattered design events under one banner for the first time.
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.
Given the current climate around US-Canada trade tensions, that positioning may carry more weight than usual. Designers at Toronto's IDS event earlier this year told Dezeen they were stepping back from American trade shows indefinitely. Montreal, it turns out, has arrived at exactly the right moment.
British designer Bethan Laura Wood will attend as guest of honour, supported by the City of Montreal. Presenting sponsor is surfaces company Tafisa Canada, with additional support from Kohler, Ligne, and a range of museums and civic groups.
Montreal's lead design commissioner Patrick Marmen framed the week as part of a longer strategy, calling it "a major gathering for the city's design ecosystem" and tying it to the city's commitment to building an innovative and creative economy.
Designers and organizations based in Montreal can submit activity proposals for the official program at the event's website.
Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly dose of news and events.
The Olympic Stadium hosted the snowboard spectacle's Canadian debut—thousands showing up to prove Montreal is as serious a winter city as ever.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor bassist Mauro Pezzente on 25 years of cheap rent, weirdo music, and keeping the lights on in Mile End.
The 201st edition runs Sunday, March 22 along De Maisonneuve. Here's the route, the honourees, and the history behind it.
A private dinner on the water followed by billiards and natty wine: Montreal doing what Montreal does best.
From last-chance Montréal en Lumière dinners to 'Cigarette Mom Karaoke' and a 99-cent thrift sale: March 5 to 8, 2026.
A stylish, entertaining dark comedy that flirts with big ideas and opts for the quicker laugh.
Twenty years after earning its UNESCO City of Design designation, Montreal is consolidating its scattered design events under one banner for the first time.
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.
Given the current climate around US-Canada trade tensions, that positioning may carry more weight than usual. Designers at Toronto's IDS event earlier this year told Dezeen they were stepping back from American trade shows indefinitely. Montreal, it turns out, has arrived at exactly the right moment.
British designer Bethan Laura Wood will attend as guest of honour, supported by the City of Montreal. Presenting sponsor is surfaces company Tafisa Canada, with additional support from Kohler, Ligne, and a range of museums and civic groups.
Montreal's lead design commissioner Patrick Marmen framed the week as part of a longer strategy, calling it "a major gathering for the city's design ecosystem" and tying it to the city's commitment to building an innovative and creative economy.
Designers and organizations based in Montreal can submit activity proposals for the official program at the event's website.
Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly dose of news and events.
The Olympic Stadium hosted the snowboard spectacle's Canadian debut—thousands showing up to prove Montreal is as serious a winter city as ever.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor bassist Mauro Pezzente on 25 years of cheap rent, weirdo music, and keeping the lights on in Mile End.
The 201st edition runs Sunday, March 22 along De Maisonneuve. Here's the route, the honourees, and the history behind it.
A private dinner on the water followed by billiards and natty wine: Montreal doing what Montreal does best.
From last-chance Montréal en Lumière dinners to 'Cigarette Mom Karaoke' and a 99-cent thrift sale: March 5 to 8, 2026.
A stylish, entertaining dark comedy that flirts with big ideas and opts for the quicker laugh.
Advertisement
From our archive.
The queer nightlife hub knew the building would be demolished. They signed the lease anyway, and built something that will outlast it.
One of menswear's sharpest emerging voices talks building a career from a dorm room and why he's staying in Montreal to pursue it.
Mothland Records started as underground shows and a booking agency. Now it's a hub for 30 artists, two festivals, and a community that refuses to let rising rents win.
Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol's time-travel mockumentary is inventive, chaotic, and the most fun you'll have at a theatre this year.
Camille Tremblay's by-appointment showroom brings hard-to-find brands to Montreal to fix the friction of shopping online.
NDG's family-run Kavanagh Auctions traded the slow game of traditional antique retail for a global bidding audience.
Advertisement
From our archive.
The queer nightlife hub knew the building would be demolished. They signed the lease anyway, and built something that will outlast it.
One of menswear's sharpest emerging voices talks building a career from a dorm room and why he's staying in Montreal to pursue it.
Mothland Records started as underground shows and a booking agency. Now it's a hub for 30 artists, two festivals, and a community that refuses to let rising rents win.
Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol's time-travel mockumentary is inventive, chaotic, and the most fun you'll have at a theatre this year.
Camille Tremblay's by-appointment showroom brings hard-to-find brands to Montreal to fix the friction of shopping online.
NDG's family-run Kavanagh Auctions traded the slow game of traditional antique retail for a global bidding audience.
