Movers and Shapers

A Who’s Who of DesignPhiladelphia

DesignPhiladelphia began in 2005 with a single goal: to create an exhibition to show off the work of students from the city’s seven colleges with design departments — Penn, Drexel, Temple, the University of the Arts, Moore College, the Art Institute and Philadelphia University. But then word got out. And what started as a small project turned into a citywide design extravaganza, with 50 different participants — architects, interior designers, retailers, product designers — jubilant to show their work, meet other designers, talk about design, just be in the vicinity of Philly’s design scene. Last year, some 160,000 people attended the festival’s 63 (mostly free) events. This year, hundreds of local designers will host symposia, open studios, installations, parties and exhibits in 90 events from October 16th to 22nd. Even for Philadelphians oblivious to design, the festival will be hard to miss. The theme is, not surprisingly, green — “Down to Earth” — and there will be at least one installation outside on Broad Street — actually on the street. “We expect double or triple the audience this year,” says DesignPhiladelphia project manager Beth Van Why. “Which is great for the designers, who want to show off what they do and finally have a chance to, even though no client is paying them.” For more information, visit Designphiladelphia.org.