The inaugural Dubai Design Week celebrates the city’s claim to being one of the great emerging design regions in the world. Taking place across Dubai until 31 October, the six-day event is attracting both professionals and aficionados alike with a selection of dynamic showcases of the best in contemporary design from the Middle East and the rest of the world. Conceived and managed by the Art Dubai Group, the event is held in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3) and is supported by the Dubai Design & Fashion Council and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.
For its first edition, Dubai Design Week seeks to reflect the city’s creative potential by providing an energetic platform for international designers and exhibitors, and an opportunity for residents and visitors to discover a diverse programmes of exhibitions, installations and special events. By working with the region’s fastest-growing design trade fair, Downtown Design, which invites more than 90 designers from 24 countries, alongside a partnership with leading Design Weeks (Helsinki, Istanbul, San Francisco, Mexico, Beijing and Melbourne), Dubai Design Week provides an innovative survey of established and emerging designers practising in the areas of furniture, lighting, interiors, exteriors, textiles and accessories.
This year’s programme features the first in an annual series of Iconic City exhibitions: Brilliant Beirut, A Lebanese Design Showcase, 1950–2015, exploring the impact of design, production and creative culture; the Installations section, which showcases 12 site-specific sculptural works that transform the cityscape including Aljoud Lootah’s Yaroof; and Ripe Market, a two-day pop-up design and food market in the d3 region. Also not to be missed is Abwab, a six-pavilion presentation dedicated to Middle-Eastern designers from Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia e and UAE.
In addition, Dubai Design Week has scheduled an insightful series of keynote speeches, panel discussions, public performances and educational workshops, offering designers and visitors access to information from some of the leading players in the regional and international design industry. Featured talks and events include Revisiting Vernacular Architecture, Rana Salam: Brilliant Beirut Curator’s Talk, Tribute to Origami exhibition, Limbic® Lighting Workshop and Swedish Wood Meets Arabia.
Dubai Design Week, until 31 October, d3 and venues across Dubai.
1. Iyad Naja, Table/stool design, part of Reinventing the Table/Stool at Dubai Design Week.
2. Lumio, representing San Francisco Design Week at Downtown Design. © Dubai Design Week.
3. Aljoud Lootah, Yaroof, 2015, part of Installations at Dubai Design Week.
The inaugural Dubai Design Week celebrates the city’s claim to being one of the great emerging design regions in the world. Taking place across Dubai until 31 October, the six-day event attracts both professionals and aficionados alike.
Michel François is renowned for being a conceptual artist in a range of disciplines. His work illustrates the artist’s conviction that the meaning of art is determined through its combination with others in relation to an exhibition space.