An explorative 5-day programme into the world of design • From 14 to 18 March 2016, Design Days Dubai will return to The Venue, Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard (next to Burj Khalifa) for its fifth edition
• Held in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), the free-to-attend public programme will comprise a series of talks, workshops and screenings offering insight into the world’s most iconic objects and design processes
• Local design students will benefit from personal mentorship sessions and portfolio reviews
• Hands-on workshops give fair visitors the opportunity to get involved in design 1 March 2016 | DUBAI, UAE - Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and in partnership with Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Design Days Dubai, the only collectible design fair in the Middle East and South Asia, will for the fifth time transform the city into a buzzing showcase of innovative design from the region and beyond. Design Days Dubai’s public programme held in partnership with d3 runs alongside the main exhibition and is packed with a diverse series of workshops, talks, screenings, mentorship sessions and performances. The 25 free-to-attend events are designed to broaden visitors’ experience to the fair and give everyone - from design novices to enthusiasts to professionals - the opportunity to develop their understanding of design. Design Days Dubai is a much-loved annual event by UAE residents and regional visitors and has made its name in the global design industry by providing this kind of accessibility to design figureheads and by serving as a forum for the exchange of ideas to both stimulate dialogue and promote the UAE’s increasing influence as the regional capital of design. Design Days Dubai fair director, Cyril Zammit said: “Our non-commercial programme is a formidable chance to meet, interact and learn from the experts. French maison Van Cleef & Arpels also offers workshops with their experts on their booth and, every evening, the Audi Lounge will host an intimate discussion around innovation under the Audi Innovation Talks Series.” Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Design District (d3) commented: “Once again, we are proud to partner with Design Days Dubai on its diverse programme of talks and workshops. The public programming adds an extra dimension to the fair, uniting local and international design communities as well as engaging the public in intelligent and informative discussions, and we look forward to the debate and dialogue that this will bring.” Keynote Address
• A key feature of the programme will be a series of inspiring and thoughtful-provoking keynotes delivered by design heavyweights. World-renowned Dutch designer Marcel Wanders presents the fair’s opening keynote, ‘On the Crossroads between Art and Design’. Live performance and design-in-the-making:
• Flux by Dubai-based design studio D04 Studios, commissioned by Dubai Design & Fashion Council. Flux is inspired by the ever changing surfaces of the desert dunes to create a new furniture typology that is a hybrid of wall, floor and majlis seating. An artisanal craftsman will be on site to demonstrate the art of mother-of-pearl, bone and ebony inlay. • Spark is a project created by a team of young designers led by Abraaj RCA (Royal College of Art, London) Innovation Scholar Sheroy Katila with social enterprise at its heart. Spark focuses on simplifying emerging technology to enable communities to design and manufacture much-needed products within the local community. On display at Design Days Dubai will be the first ‘Spark Kit,’ which facilitates the production of a functioning light, using a simple screen printing process. Workshops
• Design Days Dubai offers a series of interactive workshops that aim to provide participants from the design curious through to industry professionals with a guided, hands-on environment to practice. These will include: • The Making Process workshop, led by internationally-acclaimed ceramic artist, Professor Magdalene Odundo OBE Professor, in conjunction with Professor Michael Rice, which will include a demonstration of wheel-based ceramic techniques and the concepts or narratives that inform them. • Unfolding the Cube, with the guidance of Tarek ElKassouf, encourages participants to experiment with geometric form, a recurring motif in Middle Eastern architecture. • Sarah Angold’s Wearable Design session will teach you how to make your own wearable design in just half an hour. • Two hands-on workshops presented by NexAR, as part of the Dutch Craft Industry, will explore the integration of disposable materials and repurposed waste in the design process. One workshop, Shifting Perspectives led by Rick Teglaar, focuses on the usage of wire mesh and wood to create new forms and textures. The other, Treasures from Plastic Waste led by Studio Their & van Daalen, looks into possibilities of plastic bags, out of which participants are challenged to create either a lighting element, a fruit bowl, a flower vase or a purse. The final outcome will be documented to create a database of special products from recycled materials. Audi Innovation Talks Series
• Moderated by Matthew Priest, Executive Editor of Esquire Middle East, the Audi Innovation Talks Series will feature a number of experts and design specialists discussing their work and design concepts in an intimate setting, namely: • Dr. Noah Raford, an architect and an advisor on foresight, and innovation at the UAE Prime Minister’s Office. • Ivan Parati, multidisciplinary product designer and teacher at Ajman University of Science and Technology in the College of Engineering • Carlo Ratti, an architect and engineer by training, directs the Senseable City Lab at MIT, has co-authored over 200 publications and holds several patents. Presentations and book launches:
• Curator Yasser Elsheshtawy will present his overview of Transformations: The Emirati National House, the exhibition destined for the UAE National Pavilion during the upcoming 15th International Architecture Exhibition at the 2016 Venice Biennale, which investigates how the model of traditional Emirati homes has evolved architecturally from the 1970s, to accommodate changing lifestyles. • Marking the launch of Once Upon DESIGN: New Routes for Arabian Heritage will be a conversation with Noor Aldabbagh, founder of Banafsajeel (Dubai - Riyadh) and curator of the 1971 Design Space exhibition that formed the inspiration for this book. • Dubai: Behind the Scenes is a visual essay of the older and lesser known parts of Dubai as seen through the eyes of photographer Jalal Abuthina, a half-Irish, half-Libyan who has lived in Dubai since 1993. Mentorship Sessions
• These sessions enable students to gain immediate feedback on their projects by engaging, one-on-one, with Design Days Dubai’s participating designers.
Mentors this year are: highly regarded Beirut-based designer Marc Dibeh; architect and researcher Niko Koronis; Salman Jawed, co-founder of Pakistan’s multidisciplinary Coalesce Design Studios; and, Sharjah-based designer Ammar Kalo. Screenings
• These short film screenings are a tribute to three of the world’s most iconic historical design objects: The Rietveld Chair (1918) by Gerrit Rietveld, The Lounge Chair (1956), designed by American husband-and-wife team Charles and Ray Eames, also known as the Eames, and The Acro Lamp (1962) by the Castiglioni brothers. Design Days Dubai has the continued generous support of its sponsors including the strategic partnership with Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts and heritage; Dubai Design District (d3), co-hosts of the public programme and ‘WASL’, UAE design exhibition; French high-jewelry maison Van Cleef & Arpels, which presents The Spirit of Nature: an exhibition that brings together beautiful creations to pay homage to the theme of Nature, as well as announcing the winner of the Middle East Emergent Designers Prize; Audi which returns with the Audi Innovation Talks series; and Emaar.
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