Dubai Design Week’s 7th edition to present design solutions to enhance the future

DUBAI: Staged in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3) alongside Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and supported by A.R.M. Holding, Dubai Design Week 2021 opened recently with a varied line-up of over 260 activities taking place at the festival’s main hub in d3 and around the city. 

Reinforcing Dubai’s position as the region’s central hub for design and creativity, the seventh edition Dubai Design Week presents its most extensive and diverse programme of events to date, with 430 UAE-based designers and 560 companies participating in a range of activities, from engaging exhibitions, pop-ups and installations to talks, masterclasses and hands-on workshops, accessible for visitors of all ages and levels of skill. 

Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority said, “This seventh edition of Dubai Design Week, will see the design industry’s most influential creatives from around the world converge in our city for the region’s most important creative festival. Not only has the design fair become a  key element in the region’s cultural and creative industries agenda, but its rich programme also showcases and engages both the industry and the wider public in a fun, thought-provoking, and accessible way. Dubai Design Week goes beyond presenting aesthetic and practical designs, but also design solutions to complex global challenges, with the potential to enhance our day-to-day lives and even our future. We are proud of the growth of this incredible platform over the years  and invite everyone to immerse themselves in all that this design week has to offer.” 

Visitors can discover the latest in design at the Middle East’s leading fair for original and high-quality design, Downtown Design, from November 8 to 12. Showcasing more than 150 international and regional exhibiting brands and designers from over 20 countries, complemented by extensive collateral activations including a stellar talks programme featuring global industry experts. This year the fair hosts five national collective showcases from Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, and Spain, while Downtown Editions, the fair’s boutique section dedicated to limited-edition and bespoke design, will once again uncover the latest in design by individual designers, studios and creative collaborations with a spotlight on the region such as the works of four designers selected for the 2021 Tanween Programme by Tashkeel, unveiled at the fair. 

An interactive installation by award-winning NIU Studio will bring together contemporary design and technology in a  unique multisensory experience, while Broadway Interiors created the concept for The Lounge Bar, an eclectic, stimulating environment inspired by the Dubai landscape and The Café by The Lighthouse is designed by prominent practice Lulie  Fisher Design Studio. 

Showcasing social impact innovation projects in the fields of science, design, technology, and architecture by students from universities in the region, MENA Grad Show returns in its second edition, featuring 60 ideas and solutions by 78  students from 29 universities across 10 countries from the region. This year’s projects include a solar-powered robot built to plant seeds in desert areas, a device to produce organic super-food at home, an app to organize the routine of dementia patients, and magnetic skin to allow people with quadriplegia to control their surroundings. 

MENA Grad Show is part of Global Grad Show, the leading international platform supporting social impact innovators in universities across the world. Global Grad Show also unveils 150 game-changing projects for its seventh edition through a digital exhibition at www.globalgradshow.com. 

A multi-media exhibition gathering leading architectural firms and visionary architects practicing in the UAE and the  MENA region, 2040: d3 Architecture Exhibition features concepts envisioning the future of the city, in accordance with the goals of The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan for sustainable urban development, presented by five architecture firms; Beyrac Architects, Dabbagh Architects, MEAN* Middle East Architecture Network in collaboration with  Concreative, RMJM Dubai and Tariq Khayyat Design Partners (TKDP).

Khadija Al Bastaki, Executive Director of Dubai Design District (d3) said, “As a strategic partner, we are delighted to unveil today the 7th edition of Dubai Design Week with its most extensive programme to date, cementing Dubai’s position as a UNESCO City of Design and global creative capital. Organising the festival at such a scale is a testament to our ever-growing and flourishing creative ecosystem at d3. It is always our mission at d3 to bring the design and creative community together, to exchange ideas, nurture and showcase talent, learn, collaborate and inspire – and Dubai Design  Week certainly does this. We look forward to welcoming visitors this week to see the rich array of creativity, innovation, and talent on show.” 

Around the city, an array of events will be held in conjunction with Dubai Design Week; from the opening of Dubai’s first collectible design gallery, COLLECTIONAL by H&H, launching with an exhibition titled ‘The Shape of Things to Come’ and showcasing an exclusively commissioned collection by internationally acclaimed designer Sabine Marcelis, to a host of dynamic showcases at the Jameel Arts Centre and Alserkal Avenue, amongst others. 

Source: Supplied