Dubai: A Unique, Creative Cultural Co-habitat

Urban areas are today home to over half the world’s population. Throughout history they have been where changes happen for a civilisation, where dynamic people and organisations can come together to inspire and create a sustainable future.

 Building a supportable creative economy, which can be cultivated in three main sectors – media and entertainment, arts and cultural heritage and creative business-to-business services – can make or break a city. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, culture and creativity are one of the essential levers for action.    

There needs to be a variety of skillsets in the population of any city to be a success   

A truly creative city needs to be both a place where creativity happens and where it is consumed. 

Creative cities need to understand how their spaces are used, to ensure that the design of their infrastructure allows for interaction, communication and networking. 

A balance needs to be found in the character of the city between stability, tradition and distinctiveness. 

Creative cities need to be confident in their past achievements and be willing to support new projects – and be open to their failure. 

Dubai was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017, named as a Creative City of Design. 

As the city matures further, many other elements in Dubai’s cultural ecosystem are strengthening and diversifying its creative scene. Its clustered creative districts are, for example, becoming recognised models, being replicated in cities across the world.

Its entrepreneurial spirit and energy, its natural competitiveness and profit-driven pursuit of success and being a meeting point between East and West are crucial factors to the city’s prosperity.

The unique achievements of Dubai as a creative city have been achieved within two particular timeframes:    

The 50 years since the formation of the UAE and the 15 years since the arrival of Christie’s Auction House, the first Art Dubai and the openings of contemporary art galleries.    

By its cosmopolitan demographic, this city shows that 190 nationalities can happily cohabit and learn from one another. Cities have a responsibility to their citizens to provide safe spaces.   

In-between places which allow for accidental encounters, to make it possible to dream, to be surprised, to foster the most creative of moments, to inject play into all our lives and to be all the happier for it.