Dubai Design Week Returns for Its 11th Edition

Dubai Design Week kicked off its 11th edition on Wednesday, 5 November. The festival will bring together more than 1,000 designers, architects, and creative practitioners from over 50 countries for its multidisciplinary programme, which will include dozens of expert-led workshops, as well as exhibitions, installations, talks, and live events.
The festival is being held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and presented in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), part of TECOM Group PJSC. "d3’s strategic partnership with Dubai Design Week is part of our ongoing endeavour to strengthen Dubai’s position as a global cultural and creative hub." says Khadija Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District.
"This year’s edition strongly reflects the aim to platform culturally rooted work while fostering cross-cultural exchange on a global level," says Director for Dubai Design Week, Natasha Carella. "In that sense, Dubai Design Week is less about defining a trend and more about reaffirming design’s role as a shared creative language."
Taking place at Dubai Design District, the event space will feature more than 30 large-scale installations that explore design as a social connector through spatial typologies, material intelligence and cultural nuance. One such installation is by Emirati design studio AJZAL. Their installation reimagines the traditional Emirati 'majlis', a space for community assembly and dialogue, through locally sourced materials including stone from Sharjah and leather produced by artisans.
Major exhibitions at Dubai Design Week include the UAE Designer Exhibition, L’ÉCOLE Middle East, School of Jewelry Arts supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, New York University Abu Dhabi, and 3 Architecture Exhibition in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Gulf Chapter. Audiences will also be able to enjoy various activations and pop-ups such as ASUS's "Design You Can Feel," an exploration into materiality, craftsmanship and AI.
Keynote speakers this edition will include Marcel Wanders, the internationally acclaimed designer celebrated for his human-centered design philosophy, and Tom Dixon, one of the most influential voices in contemporary design, who will be making his Dubai debut at this week. Regional industry leaders like Rabah Saeid, Pallavi Dean, and Omar al Gurg will also be giving talks. Other key event taking place within the festival include Downtown Design, the leading design fair in the Middle East, and Editions, a regional fair for limited-edition art and design. Dubai Design Week's highlight programme, Abwab, will also be returning. Since its inception in 2015, Abwab has showcased the work of more than 180 designers from across West, South and East Asia, as well as the African continent.
During the weekend of November 8 and 9, a marketplace will be held dedicated to handmade crafted goods, food concepts and culinary experiences, with more than 80 regional artisans and independent makers taking part. The inaugural d3 Awards, a newly launched regional design award championing emerging talent from the MENA region, were also announced at Dubai Design Week, with Ohireme Uanzekin announced as the winner. The festival will run until November 9th.