DA Autumn Conversations is all about connecting people to people and people to ideas.

We will explore this year’s theme of “Design and Planet” through discussions around planet-centered design and educating clients about sustainable practices.

The format for the evening will include talks from our 3 featured speakers followed by a Q&A with all of the speakers.

Featured Speakers:

Antonia Estall, Creatives for Climate |Talk title: Global perspectives on the design industry as a force for Climate impact | As the Asia-Pacific Lead for Creatives for Climate and a Textile Designer, Antonia is deeply committed to climate advocacy. Antonia brings a unique blend of skills to her work. Her passion for driving change through creative climate action is fueled by her diverse heritage from Cook Island and her Irish roots. Antonia's mission is to approach climate justice with an intersectional lens, making a meaningful impact in the fight against climate change

Zenaida Beatson & Anna Jackson |Talk Title: For Purpose + Planet |
- Anna Jackson | Anna has explored many paths in her career, but these always seem to lead back to media, storytelling and social impact. She combines design and storytelling to help changemakers communicate more effectively.
- Zenaida Beatson |Zenaida is half Filipina, half Pākehā, and lives in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington. She is a Director and Designer at For Purpose, a campaign and movement building agency and social enterprise. Zenaida’s practice combines visual and collaborative design to understand and engage people in issues that matter.

Tonya Sweet | Talk Title: 'Title: “Interrogating our gut feeling”, How can we harness design as a means to cultivate resilience in the face of ecological uncertainty? In this talk artist/designer Tonya Sweet will reflect on this question and share how this query takes form in her own creative practice. | Tonya is a design educator and creative practitioner with expertise in the production of conceptually driven, object-oriented design. In her role as Senior Lecturer in the Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design in New Zealand, Tonya teaches within the Design for Social Innovation program with a focus on sustainable design. In addition to teaching, she coordinates the C.R.I.S.I.S. Design Innovation Research Lab through which alternative design solutions to wicked problems of a societal, ethical, and ecological nature are traversed. Tonya’s research and creative work interrogates the inherent existential tensions we face as self-aware participants in the anthropocentric unravelling of our ecosystem and subsequent polycrisis. Through the generation of sculpture and design, Tonya generates material forms that reflect vulnerability and resilience in the face of an uncertain future. Tonya was granted a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and a Bachelor of Fine Art in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in the United States.

Event Schedule:

5:30pm – Doors open
6pm – Talks start followed by Q&A session
7.30pm – Event concludes

Join us to be inspired, learn new things and be challenged by fresh ideas.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Ticket costs

DA Friends | $20+gst+fees

Non-members | $40+gst+fees

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If you're a DA Friend and would like to attend this event, email info@designassembly.org.nz for your access code.

Thanks to BJ Ball for keeping everyone fed!