A SNEAK PEEK INTO MIDDLE EAST’S LEADING DESIGN FAIR: DUBAI DESIGN WEEK

Held from 8th to the 13th November 2021, was the seventh and the most comprehensive of the Dubai Design Week. It is an annual week-long festival that celebrates the most brilliant and creative designs in the UAE. The Dubai Design week provides a meeting point for the global design community. From leading international brands and designers to architectural immersive installations and socially impacting projects by young minds. The 2021 fair was the junction of global creativity and design.

This year’s key focus was on celebrating the creative community in Lebanon. The festival aimed at highlighting both the emerging and the established creative talent from Lebanon; right from architectural installation to product design and artisanal Lebanese cuisine at the Marketplace and outdoor music sessions. The festival was strategized to create an impactful engagement with the visitors. It provided an opportunity to peek into the future through a multi-media exhibition that teleported the visitors to the next 20 years of Dubai. With 130+ leading designers and brands exhibiting at the Downtown Design, was an insight into the latest international design trends.

Abwab which translates to ‘doors’ in Arabic was a key feature of the Dubai Design Week programme. It is dedicated to commissioning work from across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia to promote cultural exchange and young talent from the regions. The 2021 Abwab commission has been awarded to Dubai-based architect Ahmed El-Sharabassy for his proposal titled ‘Nature in Motion’. The architectural pavilion hosted an exhibition titled ‘Pulp Fusion’ curated by Beirut-based architecture and research firm Bits to Atoms. Students from Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) participated in demonstrations of the fabrication and assembly process of Abwab onsite, using locally sourced material provided.

Downtown Design celebrated high quality design from around the world, hosting brands from around 20 countries. The major representations were from European countries including Italy, Spain and France. The festival’s special highlight was the MENA Grad Show. It brought together social impact innovation projects in the fields of technology, science and design from universities across the region.
Global Grad Show is an initiative by the Art Dubai Group. The intention of the programme is to offer students the opportunity to showcase their work on the global stage, connect with like-minded people and take part in an entrepreneurship route supporting the development of their projects.

For this year’s edition, the Making Space brought together hands-on workshops and activities catering to all ages and ranges of experience. The week-long programme consisted of 80+ activities on the theme of ‘Paper, Plastic, Play’. The Marketplace returned to Dubai Design District (d3) for its second edition. It presented a curated selection to support designers and producers working in Beirut. The Marketplace is a consciously curated shopping experience, perfect for a family shopping experience, supported by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The Urban Commissions 2021 was awarded to the ‘Yowalah’ project by Beirut-based studio Bits to Atoms, for their proposal responding to the 2021 theme of PLAY!

The UAE Designer Exhibition is a continual platform for the local creative community, offering emerging talents and young practitioners the chance to enter the next stage of their practices; to launch new work, exposure from industry professionals and experts, and establish possible commercial leads and collaborations. The participating designers presented locally produced works ranging from furniture pieces, textile design, handmade homeware accessories, traditional crafts as well as contemporary home design pieces, using 3D printing and rapid manufacturing technologies. One of the major highlights of the Dubai Design Week this year was the globally significant heritage and geological destination AlUa. It presented an immersive exhibition featuring Jean Nouvel, the Pritzker-prize-winning French architect.

Dubai Design Week is owned and managed by the Art Dubai Group, and is held under the dedicated patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA). It is in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), and supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and A.R.M. Holding.