Decorex Africa launches Summit in partnership with Asus

Juliet Kavishe, Chris Reid, Nandi Dlepu, Bielle Bellingham and Mugendi K M’Rithaa

Taking place over one day only at each show, the talks and presentations include dial-shifting insights from local leading lights and a not-to-be-missed keynote presentation by an international guest speaker.

Attendees will earn accredited Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points. But the events are not just for trade professionals – the intellectually curious from all walks of life are invited to benefit from what’s on offer.

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On 17 June Cape Town will play host to the Summit when it runs alongside the events and exhibits that comprise the freshly conceived Decorex Cape Town (16-19 June 2022). A ticket to the Summit also unlocks entry to the exhibition.

The Summit then migrates to Sandton, Johannesburg, where it takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre on 28 July. Again, it is co-located with the show (28-31 July 2022) and a Summit ticket opens up access to Africa’s leading architecture, interior design and decor event.

The speaker line-up for both Summits is curated by Decorex Africa’s Bielle Bellingham.

“[I am] motivated by the potency of art and design as catalysts for change… With a background in art history, publishing, interiors, and experience design, I use patterns to reimagine the future,” she states. Bellingham is a former editor of Elle Decoration SA and is currently the contributing design editor of House and Leisure magazine in addition to her role as curator of Decorex Africa.

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RX Africa’s MD Carol Weaving says, “We are tremendously satisfied by this clear alignment between our Summit partner and the nature of the event itself. Both aim to speak into a direct need and to enable and enhance creativity!”

The summit will focus on Design as a broad discipline across various sectors.

Meet the speakers

Professor Mugendi K M’Rithaa is a transdisciplinary industrial designer, educator, and researcher presently working at Machakos University in Kenya. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Design, a Master’s degree in Industrial Design, a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education and Training, and a Doctorate in Universal Design. He has taught in Kenya, Botswana, Canada, India, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and Uganda. He is passionate about expressions of socially conscious design and has a special interest in the pivotal role of design thinking in advancing the developmental agenda on the African continent.

The architectural partners behind the Wits Art museum, Nina Cohen and Fiona Garson will present jointly. Many of the buildings Cohen and Garson have designed are ground-breaking and have been published in prestigious international magazines such as Domus, Detail, Architecture Digest and so on. Cohen and Garson have received numerous awards, including Visi Designer of the Year 2012, an award of excellence from GIFA, and a National Award of Merit from SAIA.

Joe Osae-Addo is principal of Constructs, a design and build firm with offices in Accra, Ghana. His firm synergizes architecture, urban planning, landscaping, and building technology into a single unit, combining modern architecture and building techniques into ‘inno-native’ design solutions that shape contemporary African architecture. He worked for architectural firms in Finland, the UK and the US before starting his own practice in Los Angeles, California, where he co-founded the Architecture and Design Museum of Los Angeles. In Ghana, he is chairman of ArchiAfrika, a platform that initiates and facilitates research into African architecture and promotes socio-cultural development.

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Chris Reid is a trend researcher and strategist based in Cape Town, South Africa. For over a decade he's presented trend insight to clients both locally and overseas, working both with agencies and as an independent consultant. Approaching the world of trends with equal parts curiosity, insight and scepticism, Reid is fascinated by the things that connect us to each other and our world and what these connections mean for brands and individuals.

Juliet Kavishe is a practising professional interior architect and design educator who has worked on high-end residential homes and commercial and corporate workspaces globally. She is an executive board member and editor-in-chief of the Pan Afrikan Design Institute (PADI) Educational Journal Committee, which is striving to create a Design Journal with a focus on African design and African-focused design education. Kavishe is also one of the directors of the African Institute of the Interior Design Professions (IID) and lectures in Interior Design.

Registration for the Summit kicks off at 10am and the programme runs from 10.30am until 4.15pm.

For more information about the speakers, schedule and ticketing, go here.