Members pre-sale 4 March
General tickets on sale 12pm, 5 March
In this exclusive after-hours event, acclaimed Australian designer Mary Featherston AM speaks with TV presenter and Professor of Architecture, Anthony Burke, for an illuminating evening reflecting on a life shaped by design.
From her creative partnership with Grant Featherston – producing some of Australia’s most significant modernist works – to her pioneering leadership in reimagining learning environments with educators and architects, Mary Featherston’s practice has profoundly shaped the landscape of Australian design.
This event provides a rare opportunity to hear Featherston reflect on the ideas, collaborations and values that have guided her work across furniture design, exhibitions and innovative educational spaces, offering insights into her remarkable legacy that continues to influence how we live, learn and create.
This program is presented as part of Melbourne Design Week 2026
Mary Featherston AM is an Australian interior designer specialising in design of learning environments. The focus of her research and practice is the relationship between young people, learning theory and the design of supportive physical environments in cultural venues and schools. She has collaborated with leading Australian and international educators, architects and policy makers to develop participatory processes and innovative physical environments. Her work has been widely awarded and published. As an activist Mary helped to develop new services for families and children: Community Child Care & Community schools in 1970s, Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange 1994. In 1982 Mary successfully campaigned for establishment of Australia’s first Children’s Museum in the Museum Victoria. Mary is an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University, in 2020 she was made a member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the arts, particularly to interior and industrial design.
Anthony Burke is Professor of Architecture at the University of Technology Sydney, as well as the host of Grand Designs Australia and Restoration Australia, and co-host of Grand Designs Transformations.