Us by Night – the design festival that’s more like one big party – is back

It’s official: the design-festival-cum-massive-night-out, is back. Us by Night is a nocturnal experience that sees exciting names in the creative industry take to the stage for a series of talks, offering insight and wisdom gained from their time in the industry, as well as a glimpse behind the scenes into their practice. But that’s not all. Over the three nights, you can expect a night market complete with arcade games, cocktails, food courts, a flea market, a tattoo studio, and even a massage saloon, that will (at midnight) slowly transition into a club experience – all enhanced by an array of mind-bending visuals.

Us by Night was founded by the 3D designer and illustrator Rizon Parein back in 2016. Rizon put on four instalments of the event before it met its untimely end in 2020, due to the Covid pandemic. Following its cancellation, Rizon began a fresh venture at Meta, working on future-facing hardware. But, the festival had amassed a large and loyal following, and since 2020 Rizon says he’s had multiple folk pressing him for its return. So, when Rizon returned to Belgium after leaving Meta (“25 years of working independently is something you can’t put aside”), he began “quietly exploring” the options. He continues: “Just three months later, we announced the comeback, which was received with immense love and made it absolutely clear how the next ten years will look.”

This time round there will be a whopping 70 speakers from all corners of the creative industry, and Rizon has let us know about a few he’s particularly excited about. Like Louis Henry Mitchell, for example, the lead character designer at Sesame Street, who has “a beautiful view from a design perspective on life in general”, or the installation duo Isabel + Helen, who, despite making work for some very big clients, “still manage to infuse their design with a sense of honesty and playfulness that you rarely see,” says Rizon.

There’s also Julian Alexander, from Slang Inc., and his son Snake. “I saw them speaking together in New York at a Street Dreams Magazine event. Julian immediately took me down memory lane with the numerous hip hop album covers he designed, but what surprised and inspired me the most was the relationship between father and son,” continues Rizon. “The dynamic between both was a beautiful example of parenting, showing the trust the father gives his son and how this defines their relationship.” Other speakers include the 3D artist and animation director Joseph Melhuish, artist and set designer Ibby Njoya, creative director Hassan Rahim, New York’s unofficial talent scout, New York Nico, artist and designer Kelly Anna, as well as the multidisciplinary artist and visual designer Can Yang.

The event will take place in the venue it moved to in 2019 – Waagnatie – a large warehouse that sits on the Antwerp riverside. Though there’s a few changes. While the party aspect of the event was only trialled at the last event, this time round the music element has been “fully elevated”, says Rizon. In the centre of the night market there will be stadium seats, car wrecks that have been turned into art pieces and the 6m-wide disco ball the event is known for, as well as massive LED towers, and finally a full club setup. “At midnight, this area will undergo a total transformation; the club will be baptised as XYZ,” says Rizon. The SooGood stage is another new addition, replacing the tutorial stage. It’s an Us by Night satellite events operation in “guerrilla style” – Rizon explains: “It can be anything; let’s call it the designer’s version of a flash mob.”

Us by Night isn’t just any design conference, it’s one devised by an individual with a rich design background, who’s used this experience to forge something authentic. “Us by Night is not merely a practical room with a stage and a bar. It’s the result of a journey shaped in a naive and vulnerable way, allowing you to be a kid again and making people feel safe and valued,” says Rizon.

Us by Night is running from 26-28 September. You can buy tickets here.