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Dubai Design Week 'celebrates regional design, creativity'

DUBAI, November 17, 2020

This year's Dubai Design Week concluded its sixth edition with more than 160 events and activities staged throughout the week, in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3).
 
A celebration of regional design and creativity, Dubai Design Week was held under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and member of Dubai Council.
 
The first major cultural event since the pandemic saw more than 650 designers and creatives participate in the programme of installations, exhibitions, pop-ups, talks and workshops.
 
Renowned Emirati designer Aljoud Lootah, founder of Aljoud Lootah Design Studio, said: "Dubai Design Week was spectacular as we saw people from various industries, backgrounds, ages and nationalities visiting throughout the week, interacting with the installations and enjoying the pop-up events. This, on its own, brought so much positive energy to the city and made it come to life."
 
"The festival managed to bring people, design and cultures all together, proving that the event has indeed established itself throughout the past 6 years as a strong and thriving global design hub," stated Lootah.
 
Continuing its role as a conduit for the region’s design industry, Downtown Design’s hybrid 2020 programme connected design professionals across digital and physical activations with the multi-media exhibition ‘The Shape of Things to Come’, featuring 25+ of the region’s architecture and interior design studios and the new Downtown Design Digital Fair connected creativity with commercial opportunity for 150+ participating brands from around the world.
 
Established as part of the Global Grad Show platform, the inaugural edition of Mena Grad Show presented 50 of the most exciting social impact innovations by some of the brightest university students from the region; from an airport route-planner to avoid crowds or a game to explain the value of politics to a biodegradable fabric made from fermentation and a method to turn palm-tree waste into concrete.
 
Presenting her project ‘Living in a Space with Dignity’ through Zayed University in the UAE, graduate Maryam Abdulrashid said: "The opportunity to be a part of Mena Grad Show, first of its kind, was really one of the few highlights of this year. Having the privilege of my work being featured amongst other great designers who are striving to impact humanity in a positive way is a great honour to me."
 
Also new this year, the Dubai Design Week Marketplace, supported by Dubai Culture, featured more than 70 of Dubai’s best artisans, creatives and entrepreneurs in a new outdoor retail initiative during the weekend programme. 
 
Alyazi Almuhairi, owner of ‘From The Arabs’ said: "My experience at the Dubai Design Week Marketplace really allowed me and my brand to open up and engage with a different type of audience. It was a great opportunity for a small business like ours set in a safe environment and it was extremely successful for us and over-exceeded our expectations."
 
Mindful of the challenges faced by the creative community and the design industries, the festival offered centre stage to cultural and region-focused showcases, this year. 
 
The programme featured a new UAE Designer Exhibition presenting works of 20 locally based creatives and 25-plus outdoor installations throughout d3.
 
The week also saw the launch of the new d3 Architecture Festival 2020, featuring regional projects of 40 RIBA-chartered architectural practices alongside multi-disciplinary exhibitions and initiatives by international organisations, councils and institutions.-TradeArabia News Service 



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