Chiang Mai Design Week 2025 Announces the Theme LOCAL PLUS: Empowering Creative Synergy in the North, 6–14 December 2025

Chiang Mai Design Week (CMDW) is an annual festival organized by the Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization) or CEA, in collaboration with networks of creatives and entrepreneurs across Northern Thailand.

The festival showcases design works and ideas that integrate innovation into everyday life, while also serving as a platform connecting regional and international collaborations. Its mission is to elevate the economy and address contemporary social and environmental challenges through creativity.

In 2025, CMDW returns for its 11th edition under the theme LOCAL PLUS, creating spaces for positive thinking and fostering collaboration among people, organizations, and the public sector.

Drawing inspiration from mathematical symbols, the festival positions design as a tangible driver of economic and social progress. The plus sign (+) represents collaboration. The multiplication sign (×) signifies the amplification of creative energy from local to global. The division sign (÷) symbolizes the sharing of knowledge and innovation. The subtraction sign (−) reflects the reduction of constraints and environmental impact.

Together, these ideas form an equation relevant to all generations, strengthening connections across age groups through diverse creative activities.

These concepts will be brought to life across Chiang Mai, from the Old Town to Chang Moi–Ratchawong Road, Tha Pae Road, and Chang Klan Road. They will also be reflected in programs presented by creative networks from across the North, spanning food, crafts, design, and music. The festival aims to achieve three core goals: celebrating returning creative talents, sustaining local ways of life, and building networks for collaboration.

Highlights of CMDW2025 include exhibitions and programs that revisit the cultural and natural assets of the North through a contemporary lens, while amplifying collaboration across disciplines:

– An exhibition by leading Thai perfumers who transform local resources and agricultural surplus into fragrances that reduce environmental impact and add value for farmers.

– An exhibition by the food sustainability network, presenting the potential of local ingredients and collaborative practices to add value to the food industry.

– LABBfest, a music festival that connects Northern artists with audiences on both regional and international stages.

– Pop Market, a creative marketplace featuring products and services shaped by sustainable processes, from production to event management.

– A wide range of workshops and contemporary art performances that highlight creativity as a force for change.

To expand the reach of LOCAL PLUS, CMDW2025 also partners with international networks to host showcasing designers and artists from Taiwan, Austria, Uzbekistan, Japan, and other countries. The program will include workshops and exchanges that foster dialogue between local and international creatives.

As a local platform evolving into a global stage for creativity and exchange, the festival takes place from 6 to 14 December 2025 across Chiang Mai’s Old Town, Chang Moi–Ratchawong Road, Tha Pae Road, and Chang Klan Road.

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