More than 120 companies will participate in the fourth edition of Dubai Design Week, the region’s largest creative festival, running from November 12 to 17 at locations across the city.

Held under the patronage of HH Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-chairman of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, and in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3) and supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, the programme will feature 230 events, encompassing exhibitions, commissioned installations, awards and competitions, talks and workshops, tours and experiences for design enthusiasts and public visitors alike.

An accessible meeting point for the global design community, since its inauguration in 2015, Dubai Design Week has become a platform for growing and enabling the region’s design scene, attracting 60,000 visitors to the event at d3 alone throughout the 2017 edition.

Dubai Design Week will this year launch its first app, allowing visitors to create personalised schedules on the go based on preferences and interests and to be the first to get notified of must-attend launches and events.

d3’s chief executive officer Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi said: “d3 is once again thrilled to be the strategic partner and host of the fourth edition of Dubai Design Week. For 2018, we are proud to add d3’s ‘UAE Design Stories’ exhibition to the programme and highlight several projects under d3’s ‘Design for Good’ initiative which supports and promotes social change within the UAE.

“It's always important for us to continue to support the growth of the design industry as a whole and it is events like this that celebrate design from across the region which truly cement Dubai, and d3, as a design destination.”

Coinciding with the event, this November will see the official opening of the Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai’s first contemporary arts museum, the inaugural Fikra Graphic Design Biennial in Sharjah, the first of its kind in the region, and a range of activities staged at Alserkal Avenue, reinforcing November as the annual focal point for design and creativity in Dubai.

The Middle East’s leading design innovation competition, the Audi Innovation Award has challenged designers in the region to respond to the theme ‘Connections’. With a panel of distinguished judges selecting the winning project amongst 450 registrations of interest, the winner will be announced on November 13, during Dubai Design Week, and receive $25,000 worth of investment in their design.

The winning project of Urban Commissions 4.0 will be unveiled during Dubai Design Week on November 13, where it will be installed permanently in Dubai Design District (d3).

The annual competition is an initiative by Dubai Design Week, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (DCAA) and Dubai Design District (d3). Presenting an opportunity for designers living in the UAE to promote the use of local manufacturing and resources to produce one item of urban furniture with a budget of Dh50,000 ($13,610), the winning design is to be unveiled during Dubai Design Week on November 13, where it will be installed permanently in Dubai Design District (d3).

The open-call competition, Design 100, for designers from the UAE to create a piece of furniture or functional object for the chance of having 100 editions produced by Dubai Design District (d3) in partnership with American Hardwood Export Council will unveil its winner within Downtown Editions, where winning product will be sold to the fair’s visitors and all proceeds will be allocated to Dubai Cares and their support for Syrian refugees. – TradeArabia News Service