The D&AD Festival returns to London for the first time since 2019. Its four days of events across two venues will feature 300+ international judges, leading brands, progressive speakers, pressing topics, provocative debates, hands-on workshops and the awarding of this year’s Pencil winners and the 5th year in partnership with Adobe.
The festival with its them, Make. Change, starts at The Truman Brewery May 9 and 10 where D&AD Awards judging will be accompanied by keynote talks, jury insight sessions, workshops and an exhibition from the D&AD Awards 2023 shortlist, followed by two Awards nights revealing this year’s D&AD Pencil winners at BFI Southbank on May 24 and 25.
This year’s D&AD features significantly reduced ticket price to allow for wider accessibility. It is the first D&AD Festival led by its first female chief executive officer, Jo Jackson, as well as the recent additions of creative leaders, Chaka Sobhani, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett UK + Global, and Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock, Soursop co-founder, to D&AD’s Board of Trustees.
The theme, Make. Change, shapes the festival’s programme. MAKE celebrates creative excellence today, uncovering insights and sharing tools to empower the creative industry to achieve it. CHANGE looks at what’s next, debating opportunities and challenges arising from evolving and emerging technologies, and pushing the industry forward, standing up for what’s right, and making space for new voices to thrive.
Speakers from brands such as TikTok, Dove, Uber, depop, Microsoft and Oatly, and award-winning designers, tech leaders, advertisers, animators and storytellers from across the creative world will explore topical subject from talent and accessibility to changing consumer behaviour, technology’s opportunities and risks, mental health, sustainability, craft skills, and more through provocations. These include, Why the industry needs to think more neurodiversely; Do you feel the pressure to be purpose led; Pushing back against burnout; Machines will make us more creative than ever before; How to support the Ukrainian creative industry; and It’s a gamer’s world.
Jo Jackson commented, “We’re making work in a world that’s creating new intelligence, embracing renewables, facing extinction, confronting its biases, entrenching inequality, exploring further, living longer and still fighting a pandemic.
It’s clear that we can’t just make things that are pretty. We can’t make plastic junk. We can’t waste time making things up that aren’t even real. We can’t ignore how technology is shaping us. We can’t play off our privilege, take comfort in convention, or turn a blind eye. But in response to these challenges, our creativity can make a real difference.”
This direction will be noticed with an increased spotlight on D&AD Shift with Google. This free, industry-led night school for self-taught creatives from under-represented backgrounds is supported by revenue generated from the awards and festival. This growing initiative informs the festival programme through panel discussions examining political, systemic and cultural barriers as well as art by Shift alumni made especially for the festival inviting the industry to #ShiftCreativity.
Key Facts:
The complete programme and speakers can be found at dandad.org/festival.
Passes: Purchase passes here.
Passes start from £128+vat. Discounts are available for students, freelancers, small business owners, and retired persons.
Location:
- The Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
- BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XT
Dates:
- 9 & 10 May at The Truman Brewery – D&AD Festival
- 11 May – D&AD Awards Shortlist announced online
- 24 & 25 May at BFI Southbank – awarding and announcement of D&AD Awards 2023 Pencil winners
