Manchester’s design festival is the core activity of Design Manchester. The fifth annual festival in October 2017 attracted more than 60,000 visitors to events at iconic locations all over the city and across the wider region, including the Lucienne Day Centenary Exhibition at Manchester School of Art; the Great Debate about the public realm; a film series; four exhibitions to celebrate 40 years of Buzzcocks, who headlined in a special concert; and the international DM Conference with Hollywood production designer Alex McDowell and OMA architect Liesbeth van Loon. Images&Co’s Malcolm Garrett and John Owens of Instruct Studios are the joint artistic directors, Kasper de Graaf of Images&Co is director of partnerships and Sundae Communications’ Fiona McGarva is festival director. The advisory board is chaired by Lou Cordwell OBE of magneticNorth.