The largest creative festival of the middle east is back, and there’s so much to look forward to. For an artist, a designer, an aspiring designer or even an architect, this is the place to showcase their skills and try to raise the bar. 2019 will be hosting the 5th edition of this event. The six-day-long Dubai Design Week is as glittery and beautiful as it could get.
Dubai Design Week Dates & Venue
2019 Dates: 11th November to 15th November. Venue: The festival is carefully planned around the Dubai Design District (d3) keeping in mind easy transport and accessibility.
What to Expect?
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The much-awaited programme is made up of over 250 events ranging from architecture to graphics, with most being free to attend.
Showcasing 150 contemporary art brands from over 25 countries, it mostly focuses on bringing together different art forms and artists to merge as a community and grow in their disciplines. The festival covers various events, talks, workshops, competitions and exhibitions over the six days giving every person an opportunity.
The design week has been carefully curated to provide a dynamic environment for learners and artists alike.
Must-Attend Events During Dubai Design Week
1. Global Grad Show
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Attended by mostly university students, this year saw 90 universities from 40 countries displaying over 200 creative design ideas in the fields of science, technology, and design. The Dubai Design Week boasts of showcasing 550 design ideas from a rough 150 world-renowned universities across the globe. These years show emphasised on students developing startups, and social impact education was the highlight.
2. Abwab
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The pavilion designed by Fahad and architects has used old bed springs to put together a structure from 45 countries. “Abwab”, meaning ‘doors’ in Arabic, gives a gateway to other countries to showcase their designs as well. Abwab acts as a rendezvous for different countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. You could spot the beautiful Indian and Lebanon pavilions.
3. Talks
World-famous speakers like the Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo, Swatch inventor Elmar Mock, Sir David Adjaye will be giving influential and inspiring discussions.
Past Editions of the Dubai Design Week
Yaroof - 2015 Edition
Started in the year 2015, the Dubai design week is the most well-known design week across the globe. Over the years it has grown in several participants, exhibitions, crowd and ideas. The hub has always been the Dubai Design District. 2018 attracted over 75000 visitors for different talks, events and workshops. It has been extensively helping the design region grow and provide an engaging environment for all.
The 2015 edition saw some exquisite DIY workshops along with Yaroof being the highlight of the show.
Yaroof was an installation of tightly woven threads inspired by traditional fishing.
Truss T was an installation of abstract shapes made using aluminium taking ideas from sailing boats.
2016 saw some exceptional speakers and a keynote by Aziza Chaouni on restoring the worlds oldest library inaugurated in the year 859. This edition also saw a significant turnover from historic architecture to urban development.
In 2017, local materials were sourced for the Abwab installation from India, the Middle East and West Asia. Abwab was constituted into a single pavilion in this edition of the Dubai Design Week.
Lots of furniture design and abstract installations were put up.
2018 was mainly focussing on inviting students to the design week to gather and showcase ideas. The highlight of 2018 was the installation modelled by Dr Iasef Md Rian from the University of Sharjah. Computationally modelled Pavillion with woven ropes from fishing and construction sites.
With the worlds best architects, designers and artists showcasing their works and holding workshops, The Dubai Design Week is a must-visit for anyone looking for different ideas and designs or even kickstart your design journey. If you’re in Dubai around these dates, make sure to mark your calendars and visit at least one day.
