Dutch Design Week opens with emphasis on experimentation
The Eindhoven festival presents nine days of design work and launches a partnership with PSV.
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Dutch Design Week opens in Eindhoven on Saturday and runs until 25 October inclusive. Under the theme R.A.W., the organisers are placing the emphasis this year on research, experimentation and designs still in development.
From Saturday, the public can visit exhibitions and other parts of the programme across Eindhoven. The official festival calendar and Designweb's independent calendar both list 17 to 25 October inclusive as the festival dates. The programme includes exhibitions, talks and opportunities to meet designers. Today therefore marks the start of the festival's public opening period; the previously announced official opening evening was scheduled for Friday. [Designweb](https://www.designweb.nl/agenda/90/dutch-design-week-eindhoven-2026/)
R.A.W. stands for Rebel Authentic Worth. The organisers use these words to call for space for the research process behind a design. According to the programme description, visitors may encounter preliminary versions and experiments alongside finished work. The theme is thus a choice about the festival's content, rather than a quality mark for individual presentations. Which ideas prove convincing or are developed further remains to be seen during and after the week. [Dutch Design Week](https://ddw.nl/nl/)
According to the organisers, this 26th edition brings together more than 2,500 designers. Studios, educational institutions and cultural institutions are presenting work by both established and emerging makers. In its announcement, the festival names Joep van Lieshout, Maison the Faux and Rive Roshan, among others. The number of designers is a figure supplied by the organisers; visitor numbers for the edition opening today are not yet available. [Opening announcement](https://ddw.nl/nl/nieuws/minister-heleen-herbert-opent-dutch-design-week-2026-in-eindhoven)
One of the leading figures shaping the festival's content, called Beacons by the festival, is designer Anab Jain. In an interview published on 16 October, she describes how her studio Superflux makes possible futures imaginable. For her, such designs are a way of asking questions about the choices societies make. She stresses that designers do not always have to come up with an immediate solution. This is her view of the profession, rather than a prediction of future developments. [Interview with Anab Jain](https://ddw.nl/nl/nieuws/anab-jain-learn-to-love-the-questions)
Jain founded Superflux with Jon Ardern in 2009. The examples she gives include a furnished flat in which residents grow food because of climate change and a table at which other animal species also have a place. These examples clarify her approach: abstract questions about the future take on a spatial form that can be experienced. The interview mentions earlier work as background; this does not automatically mean that all those projects are on display in Eindhoven this week.
Alongside the programme's content, a partnership between Dutch Design Week and PSV is getting under way. On 15 October, the organisations announced that they would work together for three years. The Philips Stadion is intended to play a role in the festival programme in the coming years. They are also exploring how designers, makers and students can help address issues concerning the club and the stadium. Concrete results from that research have not yet been announced. [Partnership with PSV](https://ddw.nl/nl/nieuws/psv-en-dutch-design-week-slaan-handen-ineen-voor-driejarige-samenwerking)
According to the partners, the first joint edition focuses primarily on getting to know one another and experimenting. They intend to develop joint projects later. The aim is to bring audiences and networks from sport and design into contact with one another. For now, this remains an intention of the two organisations. As the design week begins, visitors can see for the first time how the announced festival programme takes shape.
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Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The festival dates have been confirmed by the organisers and a separate industry calendar. The other details come from public announcements by the organisers and are presented as programme information, background or intentions.
- confirmed Dutch Design Week takes place in Eindhoven from 17 to 25 October 2026 inclusive. — The official website and Designweb list the same location and dates. source
- confirmed The programme includes exhibitions, talks and opportunities to meet designers. — These activities are listed in Designweb's festival description. source
- confirmed The theme is R.A.W., in full Rebel Authentic Worth, with an emphasis on research and experimentation. — The organisers explain this choice of theme on the official website. source
- confirmed The organisers describe this as the 26th edition, mention more than 2,500 designers and name Joep van Lieshout, Maison the Faux and Rive Roshan, among others. — All these details appear in the opening announcement and remain presented as information supplied by the organisers. source
- confirmed The official opening evening was scheduled for 16 October. — The announcement of 13 October specifies Friday evening, 16 October; this does not constitute retrospective proof that it took place. source
- confirmed Anab Jain is a Beacon and describes her approach to design in the interview of 16 October. — The interview confirms her festival role and sets out her views. source
- confirmed Jain founded Superflux with Jon Ardern in 2009 and gives a flat where food is grown and a table for several animal species as examples. — This background and these examples appear in her answers; they are not presented as confirmed elements of the Eindhoven programme. source
- confirmed On 15 October, PSV and Dutch Design Week announced a three-year partnership, with a future role for the Philips Stadion. — The organisers' announcement mentions the duration, the stadium, research into contributions from makers and a first edition focused on getting to know one another. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: The official opening took place on Friday evening.Now: The previously announced official opening evening was scheduled for Friday. (An announcement does not prove that the event subsequently took place as planned.)
Editor's note
Culture desk: the news peg is the opening to the public on 17 October. The programme and ambitions are attributed to the organisers; the previously announced opening evening is not described as an event attended or confirmed afterwards.Sources
- Dutch Design Week 2026 — Dutch Design Week
- Dutch Design Week Eindhoven 2026 — Designweb
- Minister Heleen Herbert opent Dutch Design Week 2026 in Eindhoven — Dutch Design Week
- Anab Jain: ‘Learn to love the questions’ — Dutch Design Week
- PSV en Dutch Design Week slaan handen ineen voor driejarige samenwerking — Dutch Design Week
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „dutch design week”
- NU.nl — „dutch design week”
- De Telegraaf — „dutch design week”