Dubai Design week returns with its 9th edition, featuring creative installations, the latest design collections, renowned names, and industry events, advancing towards its mission to end the ‘Waste Age.
While Dubai Design Week 2022 focused on ‘Designing with Impact’ acquainting visitors with its flourishing crop of homegrown talent & drawing attention towards importance of creating a sustainable future, this year’s theme is ‘Exploring the future of living spaces, with a focus on materiality and social impact’, curated by Fatma Al Mahmoud.
Dubai Design Week is an immersive and thought-provoking event, showcasing the diverse regional talent while fostering a welcoming space for international studios and artists to share their creative brilliance with the local community, serving as a wellspring of inspiration.
The festival takes place in diverse settings, spanning from Dubai Design District (d3) to different parts of the city.
Dubai Design Week 2023, one of the region’s most significant annual cultural event is all geared up with a line-up of programs listed below, demonstrating Dubai’s commitment to design.
ABWAB
Abwab, Arabic for ‘doors,’ annually undergoes thematic transformation to reflect and engage with global and regional dynamics. Its primary mission is to spotlight local and regional creative talent, nurturing cultural exchange.
The 2023 installation, titled ‘Of Palm,’ is the creation of Emirati architect and founder of MULA design studio, Abdalla Almulla. It’s a substantial outdoor pavilion located in Dubai Design District (d3), which prominently incorporates the indigenous palm tree, native to the UAE, as a central construction material and seamlessly integrates it into a contemporary context.
Downtown Design
One of the festival’s largest events is four-day design fair Downtown Design celebrates its 10th anniversary 2023, takes place from 8 to 11 November 2023 at D3 Waterfront Terrace. It is hosting more than 250 global brands, designers and manufacturers with special focus on the region. The B2B and B2C fair, explores furniture, lighting, bathroom and kitchen. The four-day event has a program of exhibitions, installations, talks, workshops and networking opportunities.
The event also responds to global events, with the parent company, the Art Dubai Group, raising funds to support victims of war and violence in Gaza. Visitors to Downtown Design, part of Dubai Design Week, will pay an entrance fee of AED 25, which will be donated to Emirates Red Crescent.
Urban Commissions
In its 8th edition, the annual design competition extended an invitation to designers and architects. They were tasked with conceiving inventive outdoor elements for public spaces, ranging from imaginative street furniture to shading structures and communal gathering spots. The central tenet guiding their designs was responsible sustainability.
Exhibitions & Installations
Throughout the six-day festival, taking place in Dubai Design District (d3), carefully selected outdoor installations and interventions will reshape public spaces into captivating immersive encounters. Dubai Design Week 2023 will showcase 20+ installations put emphasis on synergy of design, science, and technology. These installations aim to repurpose materials from our history while envisioning innovative forms that promote sustainability.
Exhibitors like Made51, Better Shelters & Made in Earth uniquely attempt to respond to the events of war & violence, while individual designers & artists like Areen (Palestinian artist), Ahmad Kattan (Syrian architect) & Sara Alrayyes (Dubai based architect) contribute to the cause using design. Innovative advancements in field of sustainable materials to be showcased by Dubai’s first purpose-built material library, by Colab and 20+ AI based technologies by Royal School of Arts, UK. Many more talents are yet to be announced by the team.
Ahmad Kattan, the winner of Urban Commissions’23, is a Syrian architect and the creative force behind ‘Designest.’ His project aims to create intimate gathering spaces that support micro-communities and encourage the exchange of ideas. These spaces are designed to be inclusive for both humans and non-humans.
Areen, a Palestinian artist and designer based in Dubai, will also be part of this initiative. Her work focuses on deconstructing textiles to emphasize the importance of transparency and adaptability in our lives. Together, these creators bring a unique perspective to the project, merging architecture and art to create innovative and inclusive spaces.
Talks
Designers, creatives and thought-leaders of the global stage join at The Forum. It is hosted in Downtown Design, in an annually conceptualized amphitheater setting to share industry insights, exchange ideas and encourage debate.
Most renowned speakers at The Forum are Lidewij Edelkoort (renowned trend forecaster), Massimo Adario (Italian architect, founder of Massimo Adario Architetto), David/Nicolas (Lebanese designer), Pilar Zeta (Argentinian artist), Ross Lovegrove (designer), Nina Magon (interior designer, architect, and entrepreneur), Daniel Bismut (interior designer), British-Ghanaian designer Chrissa Amuah, Femke Furnee (FEST Amsterdam) & many other local influencers come together to impart knowledge.
Workshops
Dubai Design District (d3) supports your journey of exploring, honing, and perfecting various skills, including but not limited to graphic design, ceramics, architecture, filmmaking, printmaking, fashion, sustainable material design, and more.
The Marketplace
Where creativity meets community: Explore, shop and support artisans at a weekend long retail experience located in a pedestrian-friendly outdoor setting in the heart of Dubai Design District (d3). 50+ homegrown & international brands for food & fashion will cater to the visitors.
Those seeking to unleash their creative side, can engage in sustainable activations suitable for all ages; try your hand at the potter’s wheel, plant a ghaf seed, build a rocket ship or engage in some mindful coloring.
Dubai views Design as a foundational element in its Strategic roadmap, nurturing design innovations and fostering cross-cultural exchange. Dubai Design Week is committed to elevating talented individuals and nurturing creativity by presenting and endorsing their work on a global stage, unlocking new pathways for growth. Dubai proudly stands as a worldwide cultural hub, a cradle for creativity, a dynamic talent hub, and the global epicenter of the creative economy.
Visit https://www.dubaidesignweek.ae/programme/2023/ to get an insight on detailed list of installations, workshops, exhibitions and much more!
References
- https://www.dubaidesignweek.ae/
- https://www.stirworld.com/think-opinions-dubai-design-week-2022-imagining-a-future-of-circular-sustainable-design
- https://www.dezeen.com/eventsguide/2023/11/dubai-design-week-2023/
- https://www.dezeen.com/eventsguide/2023/11/downtown-design-2023/
- https://www.visitdubai.com/en/whats-on/dubai-events-calendar/dubai-design-week