Dubai Design Week Marks 10th Edition With Focus On Sustainable Future

Dubai Design Week, the Middle East’s premier design festival, is set to return for its 10th edition from 5th-10th November 2024. Curated in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), a member of TECOM Group PJSC, and supported by Dubai Culture, this milestone edition will feature over 500 internationally acclaimed and emerging designers showcasing their work through installations, exhibitions, and experiential mediums.

The annual festival will once again highlight Dubai’s commitment to design excellence. Held at d3, a global creative hub for design, fashion, architecture, and art, the 10th edition will focus on designing for a sustainable future. This theme will be integrated across various disciplines, including architecture, product design, and interiors.

"Collaborative creativity can design a brighter future for the world. This milestone 10th anniversary of Dubai Design Week will showcase the very best of global design, as is evident in the level of expertise and ingenuity on display as well as the calibre of conversations taking place this year," said Khadija Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3) – part of TECOM Group.

Al Bastaki added that the festival would unite the design community to promote regional creative talent, sustainable design, and innovation. This year's event aims to be a dynamic experience for all attendees with diverse exhibitions and events that demonstrate the power of design to shape the world around us.

At the heart of Dubai Design Week is Downtown Design (6th-9th November), the Middle East's leading fair for contemporary and high-quality design. Held at the Waterfront Terrace at d3, this year’s fair will be the most extensive to date with leading international speakers, designers, and brands participating for the first time.

This year’s installation programme will feature a series of installations and pavilions open to practitioners from the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region. The theme focuses on vernacular architecture and its role in regenerative design. In 2023, Dubai Design Week commissioned Emirati architect Abdalla Almulla, whose pavilion ‘Of Palm’ was one of the winners of the Monocle Design Awards.

Urban Commissions

Dubai Design Week’s annual competition invites designers and architects to develop outdoor furniture for public spaces. Titled 'Tawila,' this year's competition will examine the table as a facilitator of exchange, tradition, and communal experiences.

Exhibitions and Activations

Exhibitions and activations hosted by cultural organisations, educational institutions, and design-driven brands will showcase various design themes that spotlight talent as well as foster cultural discourse and knowledge-sharing.

Workshops

A programme of over 50 workshops and masterclasses designed to inspire and elevate skills across all design disciplines will cater to professionals and aspiring creatives of all ages, interests, and experience levels.

Marketplace

A curated retail experience featuring designers, producers, and homegrown businesses from the region will offer a range of products including homeware, jewellery, fashion, lifestyle items as well as food experiences, children’s activities, and live performances.

Talks

The Forum at Downtown Design will host leading international and regional experts within the design industry to discuss the latest trends and innovations in regional and international design.

With inputs from WAM