What can we expect from Dubai’s design hub this season? Plenty of new talents to discover, it seems. This year’s edition of Design Days Dubai, to be held from March 17-21 at The Venue, Downtown Dubai, will put a focus on promoting young and emerging talents, and also provide an interactive program with installations that use new technologies.
Together with Tashkeel and the fair’s sponsor, Van Cleef & Arpels, the four-day event will also introduce the 2014 edition of the Middle East Emergent Artist Prize. The French jeweler will reward the selected winner with both a display of the artist’s work at its fair stand and a trip to Paris to attend courses at L’École, Van Cleef & Arpels’ institution for fine jewelry design and luxury watchmaking.
Besides this initiative for young talents, Tashkeel will further exhibit custom-made design pieces from three emerging Emirati designers: Latifa Saeed, Salem Al-Mansoori, and Zeinab Alhashemi. Moreover, the new Discover section, curated with the Institut Français in the UAE, will present four Paris-based contemporary design galleries that will showcase their young and established talents: Next Level Galerie, Galerie S. Bensimon, Galerie Gosserez, and Ymer&Malta.
But this edition of Design Days Dubai is not just about emerging artists—expect some reputed designers to present their work at the fair, including the designs of Rick Owens and Studio Job (Carpenters Workshop Gallery), Philippe Malouin (Next Level Galerie), among others.
Finally, artists such as Benjamin Muzzin (Full Turn installation) and Guillaume Crédoz and Nareg Karaoghlanian (TheObsessiveDrafter installation) will consequently explore the notion of the third dimension by experimenting with various technologies.
Founded in 2012, Design Days Dubai showcases a selection of limited edition and collectible furniture and design objects, next to textiles, jewelry, and new technologies. Last year, the fair launched Downtown Design together with Art Dubai, with the aim to establish the city as one of the region’s premier design hubs.
—Elisabeta Tudor
