Dubai: A Global Hub for Design and Designers
Get a better understanding of the important interdependence of culture and design in a global melting pot
Please Sit Here', in DDW 2020Dubai Culture & Arts Authority
As Dubai grows to become a leading hub for design, demand for homegrown products increases. Alongside this comes a need to create a coherent design aesthetic. The ongoing evolution of a UAE design aesthetic relies on marrying traditional and modern elements of culture and design from the Emirates.
Yara at Tashkeel Exhibitions in DDW (2020)Dubai Culture & Arts Authority
Several initiatives launched during Dubai Design week in partnership with organizations such as Tashkeel have seen creatives responding to the depth and diversity of the UAE environment and society through process, practice, material and form.
A modernized white“kajoojah” used to create the textile 'Talli' (2018) by Dubai CultureDubai Culture & Arts Authority
The UAE Designer Exhibition at Dubai Design Week in 2020 presented pieces by a new generation of practitioners, working across the disciplines of furniture and lighting, accessories.
Yara Habib’s ‘Katta’ is a screen-divider which reflected on the ways privacy and space could be defined. In the 400 hanging segments she infused intricate patterns familiar from sadu embroidery (traditionally using goat hair) onto a variety of materials, wood
Earth Hives' Latifa Saeed & Talin Hazbar Installations (2015) by Dubai Design WeekDubai Culture & Arts Authority
Seating is one aspect of furniture design which naturally draws reference to the traditional low floor seating in Bedouin culture. Local designers such as Latifa Saeed and Lujaine Rizk have reinvented seating design by revitalizing lost traditions and materials such as palm fronds and leather.
The forgotten aspects of culture are what many designers chose to highlight through their work. Alia Mazrooei’s ‘Stingray’ chair recalls the tradition of stingray’s being hunted for their tail spines for carvings. In its form, the chair is suggestive of sand
This piece was selected to be a part of ‘UAE Design Stories: the next Generation from the Emirates’ an exhibition at the Salone Del Mobile International Design Fair in Milan April in 2018, curated by Khalid Shafar.
Alya AlEghfeli’s ‘Host Lamp’ (part of the Tanween showcase in Downtown Editions) reflects on the Emirati trait of hospitality and the art of making and serving Arabic coffee, through a contemporary lighting fixture. Combining resin, brass and real coffee, For AlEghfeli storytelling is essential – in 2020 she created the exhibition design for ‘Fashcultivate’.
Fashcultivate Exhibition (2020) by Khalid MezainaDubai Culture & Arts Authority
This exhibition brought together key practitioners in the field of fashion and textiles. Khalid Mezanina ‘The Palm Tree of life’ responds to the date palm which has become a key cultural symbol for Dubai. This exhibition brought together key practitioners in the field of fashion and textiles.
The Dubai Design Week MarketplaceDubai Culture & Arts Authority
Considering the range of nationalities living and working in the UAE and Dubai’s position as a global trading hub, it is not surprising that the industry has thrived on diversity and eclecticism.
Swarovski Fredrikson Stallard Prologue at DDWDubai Culture & Arts Authority
There have been several instances of internationally recognized brands commissioning and rewarding projects during Dubai Design Week, such as Cosentino, Kohler and Swarovski and Vitra. Many have established offices in the city.
Such partnerships and opportunities have encouraged global exchange and taught important lessons on quality, finish and distribution.
