Dubai, a young city seasoned with layers of fast-paced urban progression, is the focal point of this year’s BJDW Guest City Program, presented in partnership with Dubai Design Week, Dubai Design District, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Falcon and Associates, and creative organisations Tashkeel and 1971 — Design Space. The Guest City Dubai exhibition, located at Dashilar Alley, is presented as three subchapters that signify the main facets of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates’ identity — Nature States, Domesticity, and Urban Metropolis. Design China spoke with Dubai Design Week curator, Moza Almatrooshi, to discuss latest developments.
Can you tell us about the exhibition that Dubai Design Week will organise for BJDW 2015 in more detail? Who and what works will be shown?
We have a mix of people participating in the exhibition, including both established and emerging designers that concentrate on commercial practices, as well as those that blend design with more artistic explorations. Our participating designers include: Khalid Shafar, Aljoud Lootah, Zeinab Al Hashemi, Khulood Thani, Xeina Al Malki, Tinkah, Talin Hazbar, Latifa Saeed and Rand Abdul Jabbar.
Also involved are our institutional partners, like Tashkeel from Dubai and 1971 — Design Space from Sharjah. Both are institutions that facilitate artistic practice through focused programmes. So, for example, Tashkeel has a programme called Tanween, which is now running in its third year. This comprises of an open call followed by a selection of 3–4 designers, who are subsequently paired with artisans and manufacturers in the UAE. The programme directly addresses a problem that we often face here as designers — that of a disconnect between designers and manufacturers, and the need to foster relationships between the two. The outcome is then exhibited at Design Days Dubai.
1971 – Design Space is a very new space in Sharjah. This is part of a semi-government entity called Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, Shurooq. So, 1971 – Design Space operates as a non-profit organisation where exhibitions and a public programme around design are produced, and we will feature 5 of their works for BJDW 2015. The exhibition as a whole will really highlight the diversity of design that is emerging from the United Arab Emirates now.
What aspect of your programme for BJDW 2015 are you most excited by? What would you recommend to visitors?
Well, the whole programme itself is the exhibition – so far, we have not yet confirmed any talks and there will definitely be no workshops involved. But the way that the exhibition has been put together is itself the thing that’s not to miss. This will not only represent where we come from and what we do here, but it will also act as a bridge that unites us with China, highlighting the connections between the two cultures. Some of these similarities I specifically witnessed in the Dashilar area; for instance, the structure of Dashilar resembles a historical neighbourhood in Dubai called Al Fahidi district. Both have a human-centred layout and mimic the flow and movement of the people occupying their spaces. Our exhibition will question how designers respond to such areas and histories, whether that means doing something experimental or something iconic — a direct response to how things have been changing in Dubai. So, it’s not a very literal or direct comparison, but my aim is for audiences in China to be able to reach similar conclusions that I came to when I was in China.
Did you notice any other kinds of similarities?
My experience in China was very brief – I spent just under two days visiting our space in Dashilar before returning to Dubai. But what was amazing to me was that I never thought I would be exposed to something completely new and/or aspects of China that were similar to our own culture. This was definitely what struck me most. For instance, the courtyards and use of bamboo within architecture is a common thread, as the courtyard is a central element in Emirati traditional houses, and the palm tree was heavily utilised in architecture. Going back to Dashilar as an example; this area resiliently sits in place while the city continuously develops and rises around it. The Al Fahidi neighbourhood, as well as other older areas in the United Arab Emirates, are in a parallel situation. And the work that is chosen for the exhibition reacts to these comparable conditions. I am kind of projecting my own nostalgia through my observations and consequential selection of projects to feature; therefore, one could say that this is my response, as well as the designers’ responses, to what’s happening in our direct environment.
What drew you to participate in BJDW 2015 as a Guest City, and what do you see as the long-term benefits of doing so?
I think it is important for us to reach out as far as we possibly can, especially as a young city that has only just begun to tap into design events. We are, for example, going to hold our very first design week in October and, here, BJDW is will be highlighted in our event in return, almost like an exchange. So, this is an opportunity for us. And I think the long-term value may be described as putting our stamp there. It’s coming in saying: “We’re here, and we might have more things in common than we all thought before”, and seeing where that leads in terms of audience response.
How did Dubai Design Week initially come about?
Like everything in Dubai, Dubai Design Week just popped up! Previously, we only had Design Days Dubai and Downtown Design, which both concentrate on retail and collectible design objects; therefore, they cater to a very narrow audience. After a few years, however, there was a realisation that audiences that approach and visit these platforms are actually more diverse. Now, people are interested in anything to do with design and want to be involved in the education of it — what’s going on, what other designers are doing, what ideas are being presented. Dubai Design Week became a response to that – to involve the whole community and not just cater to a specific audience. And, as I have understood, those people that formerly comprised of these more general audience groups are now pursuing design and proposing projects for Dubai Design Week. It has been very refreshing to see that the circle of designers based in the UAE is now starting to expand as a result of these new opportunities.
What, in your opinion, has instigated this interest in design?
I think people here are more aware of what’s happening globally — they are aware of other design weeks or events, and the importance of design. Now that it is happening here, they want to be a part of it, so it’s that feeling of finally catching up I would say. But it is also a response to our contextual surroundings; for example, one of the designers that we will showcase in our exhibition for BJDW 2015 is Khalid Shafar. He focuses on material craftsmanship and heritage, aspects we may be losing or neglecting in the UAE today as a result of rapid development. So, Shafar took it upon himself to make his designs about that — many of his pieces are embedded in stories of the past — and he saw that as a responsibility. This is how our culture is going to be preserved — through his designs. And I think many people feel that way as well. Capturing oral histories, placing a lens on craftsmanship, or responding to what’s happening now or what has happened in the past, design is a way to address all of these things.
What part of the BJDW 2015 programme (outside of your exhibition) are you excited to see?
I mean Dashilar itself, I really fell in love with it. And I know I sound obsessed by now! But I really fell in love with the whole area; I’m so excited to see the projects that were initiated in earlier editions of BJDW that are still ongoing. I’m really interested in learning more about the spaces that have been provided to designers, too — what they are doing with them. Dashilar, the whole programme. I’m just all for it!
Click here for an earlier interview with Moza Almatrooshi via the BJDW 2015 website.
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