The third edition of Dubai Design Week opens today with a larger and more diverse programme, strengthening Dubai’s position as a global hub for the design and creative industries. 

 

Dubai Design Week will take place till November 18 across the city with over 550 designers participating in a six-day celebration of ground-breaking design and ideas.

 

Key highlights include:  

• Dubai Design Week, established by Art Dubai Group in 2015, has grown to include over 200 events staged across the city;

• Downtown Design doubles in size with over 150 exhibitors across 28 countries, and will feature 90 new high-end international and regional brands;

• Global Grad Show, reinforces its position as the world’s largest and most diverse meeting of design graduates, showcasing 200 projects from 92 universities across 43 countries;

• The return of the Abwab exhibition will provide visitors with a unique insight into techniques, materials and craft through 47 selected designs from 15 countries within the Menasa region;

• Casablanca takes centre stage as this design week’s selected ‘Iconic City’. The exhibition, ‘Loading…Casa’ curated by Salma Lahlou will showcase works from five Moroccan designers;

• d3 remains the home of Dubai Design Week as the event’s commercial design hub and an ‘open museum’ of design;

• One of the world’s most influential architects, Sir David Adjaye, will headline the talks programme for Dubai Design Week in conversation with Emirati commentator Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi

 

William Knight, Dubai Design Week’s head of design, said: “This year’s Dubai Design Week

programme truly reflects the innovative and collaborative spirit of Dubai. We’re delighted to

have collaborated with so many people and companies to present the largest programme of

design staged in the region. The line-up contains a hugely diverse range of content, enabling

local and international visitors to explore the latest design trends and the ever-developing

design scene within one of the most creatively ambitious cities in the world.”

 

Dubai Design Week is a key driver for the growth of the regional design scene. Bridging

together local and international design communities, the event is a platform for designers

and creatives to revel in the latest design trends as well as be inspired by emerging talents

coming out of the region. The annual event brings various stakeholders in the industry

together to collectively stage a fantastic programme of over 200 events from exhibitions and

installations to talks and workshops.

 

Downtown Design: The commercial centrepiece of DXBDW, the fifth edition of Downtown Design will present a wide range of thoughtfully selected best-in-class established and emerging brands from all over the world to the design professionals drawn to Dubai from across the world. The region’s leading showcase of contemporary design will provide the architecture and design industry with a unique blend of exhibitors, live events, and installations along the d3 Waterfront.  This year’s exhibition will showcase over 150 brands from 28 countries, featuring 90 new high-end international and regional brands.

 

Global Grad Show: The third edition of the acclaimed annual exhibition of life-changing inventions from graduates of the world's leading design and technology universities. Curated by renowned author and designer, Brendan McGetrick, 200 innovative projects have been selected from over 470 global entries. A not for profit initiative, the Global Grad Show will welcome graduates from 92 universities to Dubai to present forward-thinking prototypes around the themes of empowerment, connection, and sustainability. This year, Global Grad Show announces the inaugural Progress Prize, which will be awarded to one exhibiting project. The winning prototype will be selected by an international jury from fields of journalism, design, manufacturing, innovation and investment and demonstrate originality of idea, social impact, international relevance and feasibility.

 

Abwab: This year’s exhibition has been designed by Dubai-based architectural studio Fahed + Architects. The structure has been constructed using borrowed and repurposed bedsprings from waste management company Bee’ah. The pavilion will house a showcase of emerging design talent from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (Menasa). Abwab-which translates into ‘doors’ in Arabic- invites audiences into the diverse design scenes of regional creative industries.  

 

Iconic City: Casablanca has been selected as Dubai Design Week’s Iconic City exhibition for 2017, as part of an annual exhibition series launched in 2015, which explores the culture, art and design scene of specific cities in the Middle East and North Africa. Curated by Salma Lahlou, ‘Loading… Casa’ is a simultaneous, non-linear experience, bringing together archival images, sound recordings, a short film, a monumental drawing and contemporary photography. The exhibition will comprise works by six different contributors, all from Casablanca, including interior architect Zineb Andress Arraki, graphic designer Aicha El Beloui, visual artist Mostafa Maftah, filmmaker Hicham Lasri, sound artist Anna Raimondo, and collector Mohamed Tangi.

 

Installations: Temporary installations will be dotted across d3 including a structure that plays with light devised by Lujaine Rezk and Albert Kolambel; To celebrate the opening of their new Creative Centre at d3, London-based design studio Fredrikson Stallard present ‘Prologue’, a dramatic, crystal adorned piece for Swarovski; Making her debut at Dubai Design Week Paula Zuccotti will bring an intriguing showcase based on her popular book ‘Everything We Touch’, showcasing everything one person touches in 24 hours; Lasvit will reveal ‘Silent Call’ designed by Khalid Shafar, which celebrates the daily ritual of the call to prayer, Apical Reform’s interactive and playful piece will create a ‘My Dubai’ moment for all visitors while Hani Mahfouz’s ‘The Skyline’ re-imagines Dubai’s iconic skyline through the city’s cosmopolitan spirit, presented by Brandinc. - TradeArabia News Service