Kilkenny is ‘Designing for Ireland’

Design Kilkenny Conference - Past, present, future: how Kilkenny is positioned to drive design excellence

Kilkenny County Council staged a unique conference event showcasing the past, present, future on how Kilkenny is positioned to drive design excellence. This prestigious event celebrated Kilkenny's design legacy on Friday the 18th of November at the Parade Tower, Kilkenny Castle. This event was one of many events taking place nationwide during Design Week 2022.

Building on the legacy of design in Kilkenny, this conference celebrated the strong history of design in Kilkenny and cast an eye on how this rich legacy could contribute to the future of design in Kilkenny.  The event also seen the launch a new publication by Minister Malcolm Noonan, ‘Designing for Ireland’ commissioned by KIDCo and authored by Mark Duncan. This book examines the political context of the Kilkenny Design Workshops and design in Ireland.

Event MC, Richard Curran chaired two panels on the morning.  The first panel commemorated the history of design in Kilkenny and in Ireland, including Mark Duncan; Mary Mullin and Dr Mary Ann Bolger.

The second panel examined, the future of design and included industry experts Aoife Murphy of Tirlan; Carol Gibbons, Enterprise Ireland; Tom Watts, DCCI; Dr. Fiona Chambers, and Elisa Luoto representing Young Finnish Design.

Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Pat Fitzpatrick emphasised ‘how the past but also the future of design is very important to Kilkenny. We want to encourage the development of all aspects of life in Kilkenny through the promotion of design, innovation, and design led thinking.’

For more information visit: www.investkilkenny.ie/designkilkenny