Downtown Design, the cornerstone event of Dubai Design Week, has cultivated a reputation for showcasing the latest and boldest in homeware and modern living.
This year, the fair's striking visuals start even before entering the venue on the d3 Waterfront, where giant flowers by Linda Nieuwstad are displayed. The vibrant bouquets have been crafted from recycled materials, underscoring the ethos of sustainability that resonates through many of the works featured in Downtown Design.
Inside, things become immediately festive with an immersive display by lighting company Preciosa. The installation features hanging glass cubes that light up in sync with music. The adjacent booth by Venetian glassmaker Venini is just as mesmerising. It features a reproduction of Velario, an installation that decorated the skylight of Venice’s Palazzo Grassi.
“This chandelier is from the 1950s,” Mette Degn-Christensen, director of Downtown Design, says. “It [adorned] a palace in Venice for 30 years, and since the 1980s has been unavailable to the public.”
The ceiling-wide installation, comprising hundreds of glass orbs, pulses red to the sound of a heart beat. The chandelier was assembled by hand at the venue over the course of 10 days, Degn-Christensen says. “They’ve married that with the technology that offers the light show.”
Venini is one of many brands that have begun to focus on the region in the past few years. While Downtown Design offers visitors a glimpse into wider trends in interior design, lighting, furniture and home accessories, it has also become a place for international brands to dip their toes in the region’s market, perhaps signalling a new focus.
One example is The Conran Shop. The brand, founded in London in 1973, is making its UAE debut at Downtown Design. “The Conran Shop is a kind of an institution,” Degn-Christensen says. “They have an exclusivity for Eames, Vitra, iconic design brands, [and] they also do their own. This is their launch in the UAE.”
Milan-based Isola Design Group is also marking its expansion in the Middle East, having recently announced its new regional headquarters in d3. Its exhibition is inspired by the work of the late Italian architect Aldo Rossi, who often paid tribute to local styles in his designs. However, the pieces displayed at the booth are all fashioned using 3D printing technology. The Isola Design Group is also presenting an exhibition in collaboration with d3 titled Design Next. It showcases works by designers from around the world, all fashioned to promote an environmentally conscientious lifestyle.
Several other brands are making their debut at Downtown Design, including some with boutique, small-scale production. These include Artisan, from Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is known for its sleek, minimalist, solid-wood furniture with signature rounded corners. Then there are returning favourites such as New Terracotta, a Portuguese company that crafts handmade tiles and limited-edition ceramics.
On a national level, the Italian Trade Agency is showcasing Italian craftsmanship; the UAE Designer Exhibition is returning for its fifth year, presenting works by 30 independent designers and studios based in the country, and Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Programme is once again highlighting works by designers living in the UAE.
Designed in Saudi, meanwhile, is returning for its second year and is featuring nine studios with pieces rooted in the kingdom’s culture, including a table designed for games such as baloot and jackaroo. Grid Design, which created the table, had launched at Downtown Design before they were granted the Designed in Saudi seal by the kingdom’s Ministry of Culture, says Degn-Christensen. “I love these success stories,” she adds.
While Downtown Design is dedicated to cutting-edge interior design, the newest addition to Dubai Design Week’s programming aims to encourage diffident collectors to get their hands on works that would make their most seasoned peers proud.
Editions, established by the Art Dubai Group in partnership with d3, will run alongside Downtown Design until Saturday. Pablo del Val, artistic director of the international Art Dubai fair, says Editions was conceived to show that anyone can start a collection, even with a modest budget.
“Sometimes Art Dubai can be intimidating for people who have not started to collect,” del Val says. “People think it needs a nice budget, which is a myth.”
As its name suggests, Editions focuses on artworks made on a limited scale, usually numbered and signed by the artist. Many of these are significantly more affordable than one-of-a-kind works, such as paintings.
“There are no paintings, and no sculptures,” del Val says. "The fair offers contemporary design, photography, prints and works on paper. It does include one-off ceramics and textiles because organisers wanted “to bring into the discussion those techniques that are not considered major arts,” adds del Val.
Visitors living in Dubai will recognise many of the galleries represented, as more than half the exhibitors are based in the city.
Gulf Photo Plus, for instance, is presenting works from Alia Ali’s Hub/Love series, photographs by Richard Allenby-Pratt dedicated to the sabkhas of the UAE, as well as works by Yasmina Safi that contrast the way women present themselves in public and private. The Third Line is showing works by Hassan Hajjaj and Farah Al Qasimi. Meem Gallery is offering a sprawling collection of works by Dia Azzawi. Iwan Maktabi is presenting tapestries by Emirati artist Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim.
Del Val is urging visitors not to shy away from asking the price of works on display, saying they may be surprised, with some pieces going for as little as $300.
“I think the lesson from Covid, when we were all locked in, is how important it is to be surrounded by meaningful things,” he says. “If you have a new apartment, you can furnish it here, from floor to ceiling. Everything has an edge that is about contemporary culture. Contemporary culture is be surrounded by things that are meaningful to your generation, things that are done by people who surround you.”
Dubai Design Week takes place at d3 until November 10
