At the turn of the century, when the likes of Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas began designing buildings in Dubai, the Emirate faced criticism for importing talent rather than nurturing it. But things have changed. The city’s design scene is growing in confidence and nowhere is that clearer than at Dubai Design Week. The most recent edition of the annual event, which took place in November 2024, made local talent the headline act (even key international draws such as India Mahdavi have Middle Eastern roots).

“There has been a shift recently,” says Dubai native Omar Al Gurg, guest curator of the 2024 event’s uae Designer Exhibition and founder of furniture and lifestyle brand Modu Method. “A lot of people in the Emirates are now looking for regional designers to be able to actually design furniture and places for people to live the way we’re supposed to be living in this region. We’re not bringing in as much design from Europe, which is great. It’s becoming much more contextual.”

But what’s perhaps most impressive about the event is the way these local talents have been made the stars of the show. Rather than the majority of works on display being commercially ready for production or produced by designers without any financial support (as is often the case at design events across the globe), Dubai Design Week commissions new and experimental structures and installations. In November, there was a cardboard pavilion made to experiment with new building forms by Dubai-based studio Deond, unconventional furniture by Iraq-based architect Ola Saad Znad, crafted from reeds using ancient techniques and much more. In short, it’s a showcase focused on innovation and potential rather than sales.

“It’s about the designers who are willing to enter this space of experimentation making themselves vulnerable and leaving room for failure,” says Natasha Carella, director of Dubai Design Week. “It’s only by being inventive that we can move forward.” This event is one of the most impressive in the industry – and it’s cultivating an equally strong community.

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