When Dubai Design Week (DDW) launched 10 years ago, the Middle East was still finding its footing as a major player in the global culture scene. Today, the design fair has evolved into a leading design event for the region, drawing visitors and participants from across the globe with an ever-expanding programme of showcases, events, public installations and talks, in a burgeoning creative ecosystem. This appears to be a component of the broader effort to promote creative culture in this region, part of an ongoing image-building exercise to enhance the image of several Gulf cities, which have faced criticism for their perceived lack of creative heritage.

As the Gulf continues to open up to the rest of the world, more and more countries have joined the drive to invest in the vibrant cultural scenes of regional countries such as Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. This has brought greater diversity to the region, turning it into a melting pot of nationalities and cultures and has also helped the Middle East break away from its former, often stereotyped, conservative image.

As Dubai Design Week celebrates its milestone 10th edition this year, it is time to reflect upon the growth of its longstanding events and consider what the next decade may look like for both DDW and the broader regional design landscape. As a media partner for the design fair held from November 5-10, 2024, STIR made a dedicated visit to Dubai Design Week 2024 to examine and uncover highlights, learnings and its broader impacts. Rather than slowing down or resting on their laurels, the fair’s organisers seem to have pushed the boundaries of its programming even further this year, with over 40 public installations, a new fair titled Editions, a larger iteration of Downtown Design and exchanges with other design festivals in the region.

What started more as a focus on aesthetics, has really evolved into something which has a larger mandate for what design can actually do and the positive impact it can foster. – Natasha Carella, director, Dubai Design Week

“Dubai Design Week is a key moment in the calendar and a platform for everyone in the ecosystem to gather, to showcase and to exchange ideas,” DDW director Natasha Carella tells STIR in an exclusive conversation. “The reality is that 10 years ago, we didn't have this many players, whether we're looking at the rigour of the academic offerings, through to the type of brands that were here [and] the local pool of talent. But we've seen that evolution,” she continues.

“What started more as a focus on aesthetics, has really evolved into something which has a larger mandate for what design can actually do and the positive impact it can foster. In the beginning, a lot of design was imported and now we're in a space where we have such great talent and amazing new design studios, so there’s a shift into empowering local production and materials, alongside collaborations with the international scene,” Carella observes.

DDW’s commercially-focused shows, such as Downtown Design, have always been popular but so have their more academic programmes that seek to promote the latest innovations in design, looking to tackle important social and environmental issues. Every year through an open call, the Urban Commissions selects a proposal for a public installation in d3 under a different theme.

This year’s theme—Tawila, meaning ‘table’ in Arabic—was translated into the winning proposal by Omani research-based design studio Altqadum, titled TukTukDum. Taking inspiration from the musical culture of the Gulf, where communities traditionally gather around and accompany musicians, the installation takes the form of a long table with traditional drums poking through the surface. The public is encouraged to interact and play the drums, coming together around a table for more than a typical meal.

“We all know tables are usually meant for dining, having conversations [and] working, so we wanted to think of what other things bring the people of this region together. Music, especially for the coastal cities of the Gulf, was what inspired us. We found 10 retired Omani drums, some of them 20 years old and we incorporated them in the table design. We added three openings, so you feel like you're part of a drum set and people can come and interact with it,” Marwan Albalushi, co-founder of Altqadum tells STIR.

Similarly, their Abwab program—meaning ‘doors’ in Arabic, signifying the opening of gateways across cultures, histories and borders—featured some of the fair’s most forward-thinking works. This year’s winning commissions include A Present/Absent Mudhif by Iraq’s Ola Saad Znad, drawing attention to the disappearing native architectural heritage by Iraq’s Marsh Arab, who use reeds to weave entire villages. ReRoot by Dima Al Srouri, Andy Cartier, Rosa Hämäläinen and Dalia Hamati explore sustainable emergency housing solutions, using palm waste and mycelium to create ‘flat-pack’ housing, especially with Gaza in mind. Miriam Hillawi Abraham’s design installation called Material Witnesses and Narrating Lifeforms drew from coral stone found in early East African and UAE settlements and explored its dynamic, living nature, the work reflecting the interconnectedness of human and non-human life, and addressing themes of decay and transformation.

Exchange, Exposure and Opportunities Galore

Many regional designers and brands have gained international recognition due to their exposure during Dubai Design Week 2024. As the world has grown more environmentally conscious, so too have regional designers begun to experiment, in earnest with sustainable materials, production that uses more eco-friendly methods and seeking more responsible value chains.

The region has often been seen as a monolith and one with little history—attributed to the boom of skyscrapers and flashy modernisation in the 1990s - 2000s, and the resultant tourism—but local designers are now keen to show the Gulf’s diversity and lesser-known heritage at the design week. Programmes like the UAE Designer Exhibition help support this. The UAE Designer Exhibition—a specially curated section of Downtown Design dedicated to local designers—draws attention to such creators, often using innovative materials and works that problem-solve to improve daily life. This year’s rendition was curated by Emirati designer Omar Al Gurg, founder of MODU Method, a design firm that creates modular furniture designs inspired by the region’s nomadic heritage.

As attitudes have changed, more Middle Eastern designers are spotlighting their unique cultures and taking pride in their traditions and craftsmanship, which would have previously been sidelined in favour of ‘better’ (read: Western) design aesthetics. Of the over 30 emerging designers featured in the UAE Designer Exhibition, many presented designs that connected with their local heritage and stories.

"Some of them may have been here for a while, but haven’t been able to showcase their work; some of them have just come into the market and some have moved from their own countries to set up shop over here,” Al Gurg notes.

“Everyone thinks Dubai is just glossy buildings, but there's actually a lot more that hasn't been showcased to the public yet; that you have to spend time here to go and realise its wealth. We have old architecture and traditions, especially with craft, that are now acting as direct inspiration for some designers,” he continues.

Pieces on display included Indian-Jordanian creators Banou Studio with their sustainable speakers, PalmPulse. Their open baffle design enhances sound clarity and the studio's commitment to local design involves a cubist mural on the speakers, depicting a scene from Dubai’s Al Seef neighbourhood. The use of Desert Board, made from palm frond waste, is central to the speakers' design, demonstrating the potential of local materials to realise high-end product designs.

Today, the fair continues to foster new connections and serves as a launchpad for design brands, collaborations and concepts, as well as thought-leading discourses that are key to the region's flourishing design landscape and the UAE’s ever-expanding design community. – Mette Degn-Christensen, director of Downtown Design

In the past year alone, some 20 international design studios—including Minotti, Isola and Cartel—have opened flagship stores and regional offices in Dubai. The diverse mix of nationalities, combined with UAE’s geographical location, makes it a convenient meeting point between all corners of the globe, allowing for exchange, exposure and new opportunities.

This year, DDW has also introduced Editions, a brand new fair dedicated to limited edition collectible design and art, responding to changing demands in the market. With over 50 art and design exhibitions, this fair proffered ceramics, furniture, prints, photography and contemporary artworks.

Some standouts include Lebanon’s BEIT Collective—known for working with over 100 artisans—which presented Adam Nathaniel Furman’s new vases and garden furniture from the Baalbek and Beirut collections, utilising traditional techniques and designs, albeit in a host of bright colours that decontextualise the crafts.

“Our aim with this new fair is to provide visitors with a broader experience of discovery and opportunity to buy or commission works of independent designers from around the world, both established and undiscovered, that they would otherwise not have access to in this region,” says Mette Degn-Christensen, director of Downtown Design. “Today, the fair continues to foster new connections and serves as a launchpad for design brands, collaborations and concepts, as well as thought-leading discourses that are key to the region's flourishing design landscape and the UAE’s ever-expanding design community.”

It is an exciting and encouraging sign that such an established platform as Dubai Design Week is still eager to move with the times, identify and respond to what is missing from the regional design scene, going beyond its commercial tangents through a special cultural and regional funnel. Even as new design fairs are set to become major players in the coming years such as Design Doha and We Design Beirut, it will be fascinating to witness the potential exchanges and growth that can be fostered across the region, as the design landscape continues to flourish. Is Dubai then truly becoming the anticipated, aspirational hub of the new creative industry in the Global South? Who can say what DDW will look like and proliferate into, in another 10 years?