Supported by Dubai Design District (d3) and Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, 'WASL’ will feature design pieces by emerging and established Emirati and UAE-based designers and makers.

All pieces on display have been designed or produced in the UAE over the past 5 years; since the launch of Design Days Dubai in 2012. This marks a very positive milestone in the nascent UAE design scene and an indication of Design Days Dubai’s role in supporting emerging local designers and acting as a catalyst to the development of Emirati design talent.

Rand Abdul Jabbar, Forma One

Fair Director of Design Days Dubai, Cyril Zammit said: “Design Days Dubai has been a great push for the regional appreciation of design. We opened the door to high design, the very specific art of producing exquisite pieces in limited edition or even to commission an object just for you. In the 5 years since the fair’s launch in 2012, the design scene has matured and fostered a new generation of designers. As a tribute to them we present ‘WASL’”.

Works on show vary from furniture objects to lighting, floor and wall to graphic prints showing the diversity of local talent. Many design works have been made with the support of local initiatives including those managed by Tashkheel, 1971 Design Space, the Sheikha Salama Foundation and the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award.

Aljoud Lootah, Misnad (Part of the private collection of the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation)

‘WASL’ at Design Days Dubai is the second installment of the exhibition. The first, curated by Mouza AlMatrooshi, was shown during Beijing Design Week in September 2015, as part of the Dubai Guest City Programme.

The exhibition binds established designers as well as emerging ones based in the UAE. Established designers such as Khalid Shafar and Aljoud Lootah run local product design studios and produce bespoke and iconic pieces of furniture in the UAE; and along with artist Zeinab Al Hashemi, have had their work displayed on international platforms.  Emerging designers include Talin Hazbar and Latifa Saaed, whose installation ‘Earth Hives’ was shown during the first Dubai Design Week last year. For local designers, cultural and local context play a vital role in the conception of these works and, along with the use of materials found locally, inspire the designers throughout their practice.

D04 Studio, Medkhan

Designers also include recent recipients of major design prizes, heralding design in Dubai’s coming of age and calibre: Anna Szonyi was winner of Urban Commission 2015; Ivan Parati, last year’s winner of Van Cleef & Arpels Middle East Emergent Design Prize, and Anjali Srinivasan who was recently named Swarovski’s Designer of the Future 2016.

Khalid Shafar, Dubai Journey

The full list of ‘WASL’ designers participating in the 2016 edition, along with their presented works include:

Abdalla Almulla, IntrinsicFlux (2015) from "Zero" exhibition at 1971 Design Space
Afra Bin Dhaher, Parascene (2015)
Aljoud Lootah, Oru Series (2015) and Misnad (2015 - On Loan from the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Abu Dhabi)
Ammar Kalo, [Fabric]ations (2015) from "Zero" exhibition at 1971 Design Space
Anjali Srinivasan, Elephant (2015)
Anna Szonyi, IDO (2015 - Winner of Urban Commissions 1.0)
Architecture + Other Things, Sit.2 (2015)
Arty by AMN, AlHoson Arm Chair (2015)
Bahar Al Bahar, Zero Waste Table (2013)
D04 Studio, Medkhan (2015)
Design Talk, 8 Point Bench (2015)
Fadi Sarieddine, Cane Side Table (2011)
IBDAA, Emiraty Shelf (2014)
Ivan Parati (Caravan), Tile Table – (2015 - Winner of Van Cleef & Arpels The Middle East Emergent Designer Prize)
Khalid Shafar, Dubai Journey (2010) & Illusion Arm (2011)
Khatt Foundation & Tashkeel, Arabic Type Design For Beginners: An Illustrated Guidebook  (2013)
Latifa Saeed, Braided Series (2014)
Loci Architecture + Design, Khatt (2014)
Michael Rice, Genesis Bowl (2016)
Rand Abdul Jabbar, FORMA: One (2015)
Saher Oliver Samman, Woven (2015)
Salem Al Mansoori, Mimicry (2013 - Winner Van Cleef & Arpels Middle East Emergent Designer Prize)
Taher Asad Bakhtiari, The Tribal Weave Project (2015 - On Loan from the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Abu Dhabi)
Talin Hazbar, Lithic (2015)
Tinkah, Constructed Feast (2015)
Viktor Udzenija, Little Rocker (2015)
Zeinab Al Hashemi, San’am (2014)

Click here for a full list of Design Days Dubai 2016 exhibitors.