Dubai Design Week: Celebrating the creative, challenging the conventional

From its iconic skyscrapers and futuristic landscape to its penchant to defy the odds, Dubai continues to push the boundaries of global design and stake its claim as an emerging hub for creativity.

This week marks the first ever Dubai Design Week that kicks off across the city and hopes to change the face of the Middle East’s design industry.

The highly anticipated event has drawn professionals and design-curious visitors from around the world, and features a dynamic roster of creative platforms including talks, public installations, workshops, examples of industrial, product and graphic design and even a pop-up artisan weekend market.

The evolution and development of Dubai’s design scene in recent years is evident in the enormous scope of this year’s design week as compared to its 2012 predecessor, Design Days, which focused solely on furniture and architecture. Since then, the design industry has been quickly but carefully cultivated to promote collaboration, discovery and exchange – the cornerstones of Dubai’s vision moving forward.

“I always joke that one year in Dubai equals 10 normal years to the rest of the world,” said Parisian-born Cyril Zammit, director of design at DDW’s organisers, Art Dubai Group. “You can see how quickly the city has embraced design. There are very few cities that provide so many resources and tools to become so strong in such a short time.”

Not-to-miss events at Dubai Design week

Although this is Dubai’s first design week, it is the third edition of Downtown Design Dubai – the commercial centerpiece of DDW that will see 90 design brands participate. As a signature event in the Design week roster, the fair is considered just the starting point of the new design week.

Similar to Art Dubai, installations and events are featured in strategic locations across the city including the famous Dubai Design District (d3), allowing the entire city to experience, engage and be inspired.

“As one of the most vibrant and multicultural cities in the Middle East, Dubai is the ideal location to host such an exhibition,” said Lindsay Miller, Managing Director of d3.  “This unique platform will provide a level field for emerging designers and creatives in a way that traditional design centers with established institutions and agendas, such as London or New York, simply couldn’t.”

For a city with a young, promising design scene, this balance between emerging and established design brands could set DDW apart, not only as a melting pot for diversity, but as a firmly stamped fixture in the global design calendar known to offer people something new every year.

However, the budding design week does look to collaborate and engage with other more established design weeks as well.The “Destination” program highlights a unique alliance with six international Design Weeks – Helsinki, Beijing, Istanbul, Melbourne, Mexico City and San Francisco – each of whom will present their most promising emerging designers.

Celebrating local talent under the theme “The Element of Play in Culture,” Abwab (which means “doors” in Arabic) features six pavilions from the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and Tunisia that take the visitor on a fun, child-like journey through their country’s favorite game.

A few of our fair favorites

The diverse six-day fair has something for everyone, whether you’re a high-brow design aficionado or a bit of a rookie.

One of the highlights of the event is the Global Grad Show ,comprised of 50 projects from 10 leading design schools, including Pratt Institute, MIT and the Royal College of Art.  The show features themes of home, health, construction, memory, play and work – the first event of its kind in the world. Some of the designs include a cane that redefines mobility for the elderly, a coffee maker that stimulates all five senses and interactive furniture that mimics emotions like that of a loving parent.

“The region is really keen on contemporary design, way more so than Europe and other markets,” said Zammit. “If you go to different events in other parts of the world, you see more vintage aspects of design which isn’t the case here. People want something brand new in terms of contemporary design. I’m very happy that Dubai Design Week does have a line-up of some of the most contemporary selections than other fairs.”

Other favorites include Emirati designer Aljoud Lootah’s Yaroof – a geometric installation inspired by the process of traditional Yaroof fishing and complex Arabesque motifsand Brazilian architect Guto Requena’s Love Project which uses sensors and a 3D printer to physically capture one’s love and create a snowflake-like pattern that literally shows how much you love someone.

Design, Dubai and plenty of discoveries

Designer Lootah says Dubai Design Week helps “open the region’s eyes” to the potential and power of design in development.

“Just as there is a crucial need for engineers and doctors, the demand for the arts is also expanding,” said Lootah. “The city is rounding itself more and more, and as a result, expanding its fields further.”

For Zammit, DDW is more than just another design week but one with its own character and exciting potential.

“For me, this is what design is about,” said Zammit. “It’s about creativity, solving problems, making everyday life easier and hopefully, nicer”

Conceived and managed by the Art Dubai Group, Dubai Design Week has been curated under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. It is also held in partnership with Dubai Design District and is supported by DCAA and the Dubai Design & Fashion Council.

By Hyacinth Mascarenhas

Dubai Design Week runs from October 26 to 31. For more information on any of the Dubai Design Week programs, check out Dubai Design Week’s official website: www.dubaidesignweek.ae.

Do you have a favorite installation, talk or designer? Tell us about it in the comments!

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