'Never mind the buzzwords': Dubai Design Week seeks authentic visions to boost regional landscape

When Dubai Design Week launched successful 2015, it welcomed 30,000 visitors. A decade later, nan show has grown fivefold, yet head Natasha Carella is adamant that it remains "digestible connected a quality level."

This equilibrium – betwixt eager standard and friendly accessibility – defines overmuch of her attack to 1 of nan region's astir important creation gatherings.

Running until 9 November 2025, nan 11th version brings together complete 300 participants astatine Downtown Design, large-scale installations, and a increasing roster of programming that deliberately sidesteps what Carella calls "buzzwords." Instead, nan show is guided by 3 halfway principles: showcasing high-quality, original design; representing authentic voices from nan region; and exploring really creation tin support a corporate future.

Carella speaks candidly astir nan challenges facing immoderate large-scale arena - rejecting claims of sustainability while acknowledging nan imperative to "figure retired caller ways to build and to make."

It's this honesty that shapes Dubai Design Week's programming, from experimental materials for illustration datecrete (made from day seeds) to explorations of vernacular architecture crossed nan Arab world, wherever creation traditions successful Kuwait disagree vastly from those successful Bahrain aliases nan divers landscapes of Saudi Arabia.

This year's theme, community, reflects some nan UAE's nationalist attraction and Carella's committedness to platforming what she calls "smaller communities wrong our programming" – from Bootleg Griot's nationalist room task celebrating African lit to an all-Emirati flamenco group. As creation weeks proliferate crossed nan region, from Doha to Cairo, Carella sees only opportunity successful nan anticipation of representing divers voices crossed nan region: "We each person our roles to play."

In conversation, she discusses nan festival's evolution, nan accelerated improvement of Dubai's creation ecosystem, and her imagination for deeper collaboration crossed nan Global South – reminding america that creation astatine its champion creates spaces for exchange, not competition.

Euronews Culture: Can you show america astir Dubai Design Week and what makes it unique?

Natasha Carella: Dubai Design Week is now successful its 11th edition, taking spot from 4-9 November. It's somewhat different from different creation weeks successful that typically they're really benignant of citywide. The astir overwhelming would beryllium Milan Design Week. Whilst we do person things happening astir nan city, nan mostly of nan programming still remains wrong an area called Dubai Design District, colloquially known arsenic D3. This is wherever you person each of nan different businesses, companies and offices crossed various creation disciplines. You've sewage Fosters and Partners, Grimshaw, done to Chopard aliases Van Cleef, done to Adidas, Puma, Lego, Leica. They're each here, which is really beautiful because a batch of them are participants wrong nan arena arsenic good arsenic an audience. When we started successful 2015, it was astir 30,000 people. Now it's astir 150,000 people. But it still remains digestible connected a quality level, which I deliberation is really important.

How do you attack programming for Design Week?

NC: We effort to awkward distant from buzzwords. Instead, nan measurement that we bring our contented together is done a opinionated approach. There are 3 areas. One is making judge that it is precocious value and original design. The other, which is really important for us, is that it genuinely is typical of nan voices from this region. There's still a batch of flattening erstwhile it comes to nan Arab world. There is specified nuance erstwhile it comes to vernacular architecture creation successful Kuwait versus Bahrain, fto unsocial wrong nan humongous geographic area that is Saudi Arabia.

And past nan 3rd point is looking astatine really creation tin support our corporate future. I'm nan first 1 to opportunity nary arena is sustainable. So let's not dress otherwise. If we're not truthful astir wherever we are correct now, we'll ne'er really resoluteness nan problems that are there. What we tin do is fig retired caller ways to build and to make. How tin creation thief marginalised communities?

What are nan main components of Design Week?

NC: We person our 2 fairs, Downtown Design, which is our waste and acquisition fair. This twelvemonth we person complete 300 participants – a really bully operation of world leader brands, everything from furnishings done to textile, arsenic good arsenic location representation. We started different adjacent past twelvemonth called Editions, which is looking astatine constricted version arts and design. We're portion of nan Art Dubai group, truthful it's nan aforesaid ethos looking much astatine nan Global South.

Then we person ample standard creation objects aliases installations. Take Nikken Sekkei, who are partnering pinch a Japanese family who for hundreds of years person been moving pinch wood joinery, creating this pavilion pinch a maestro beverage ceremonial inside. Or there's Art Collective, for nan astir portion from India but calved and raised successful Dubai, who invented datecrete, a coagulated aboveground worldly made retired of day seeds. They're utilizing this to show that location are replacement materials that tin beryllium utilized to build and make.

How has Dubai's creation ecosystem evolved?

NC: If I had to look astatine moreover 10 years ago, what creation meant present was a batch of importing products and furnishings – location conscionable wasn’t immoderate proviso concatenation here. But, successful emblematic Dubai fashion, that has really evolved successful specified a short play of time. You person astonishing world institutions for illustration nan American University of Sharjah pinch an unthinkable architectural module producing really awesome caller emerging talent.

Equally location are taste institutions for illustration Tashkeel, pinch its programme called Tanween. They return a cohort of young creatives and thief them create products done mentorship, past level them astatine Downtown Design. And past authorities support arsenic well. This twelvemonth D3 launched nan inaugural D3 awards for anyone up to 5 years into their career.

This year's taxable is community. How does that play retired successful nan programme?

NC: This twelvemonth is nan twelvemonth of organization successful nan UAE, and it does galvanise and bring group together. One of our typical commissions is called Urban Commissions. This year's winners focused connected nan courtyard arsenic a organization space. They're creating a typology which looks astatine really indigenous materials were utilized successful coastal versus mountainous areas – coral successful coastal areas versus chromatic and thenar leaves successful mountainous areas.

The D3 architecture accumulation pinch RIBA is besides focusing connected community. And for us, organization intends including different types of smaller communities wrong our programming. There's Bootleg Griot – 3 young kids who started this nationalist room task bringing together African literature. There's an astonishing all-Emirati boy group who only do flamenco music. For us, it's really we usage our level to springiness sound and abstraction to communities you wouldn't needfully spot successful mainstream Dubai.

How do you spot Dubai Design Week's domiciled wrong nan broader location creation landscape?

NC: We're seeing a batch of different creation programs happening regionally which is truthful important. You person Design Doha successful Qatar, Tanween Design Week successful Saudi, Amman successful Jordan coming backmost adjacent year, Cairo Design Week. I get a batch of group asking what are you going to do erstwhile each these spaces unfastened up. I person to punctual group that successful London you person a 1000 events happening each azygous day! We really request much of this. We each person our roles to play. There's only spot successful that. We each person nan aforesaid ngo – to correspond nan creation coming from here, creating spaces wherever exchanges tin hap pinch nan world community.

What do you spot for nan future?

NC: Obviously AI is weaved in, but we request to beryllium a small spot much concerted astir it. There is truthful overmuch imaginable erstwhile it comes to supporting creation disciplines, but we person to retrieve these are ample connection models that person travel to fruition because they're basing it disconnected of quality practices and creativity. Where is that good statement erstwhile it comes to original creation aliases IP? How tin we stay human-centered?

Dubai is simply a really absorbing spot because they activity quickly successful position of argumentation making, successful position of people correcting. They're okay to neglect and you tin only fig things retired if you fail. And for america it's really continuing to grow relationships pinch nan larger world South. There's Lagos Design Week arsenic good – I personally would emotion to scope retired to them and spot really we tin do things together to thief bolster much non-western markets and narratives.