Look out for pieces by British design pioneers and a special offsite program at the new Etihad Museum.
One of the major events of Art Week in Dubai, Design Days runs from March 14 to 17, hosting more than 50 exhibitors featuring more than 350 design objects available for purchase. The event serves as an international platform for emerging design studios and furniture makers from the region and features them alongside leading design galleries from around the world.
In 2017, the event moves to a new venue in d3, the city's growing design district, which includes design-focus retail, galleries and eateries and already hosts Dubai Design Week in November.
British design will be in the spotlight this year, as the event marks the end of the UK-UAE Year of Creative Collaboration. For the exhibition "Britain Takes Shape," the work of 10 pioneers of British design will be on display; their UK-produced designs will be either one-off pieces or in batch production and shown in the UAE for the first time.
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The event's extensive public program includes an opening keynote by Italian designer Fabio Novembre as well as a number of talks and panel discussions. Two of those talks, called "Art and the City" and "Safeguarding Craft," will be held in the city's new Etihad Museum, marking the first time Design Days has featured an off-site component.
Design Days is positioned as a fair of discovery, and its public program this year also features a series of free, hands-on design workshops, including a focus on gouache drawing by Van Cleef & Arpels master craftsmen -- offered in conjunction with the luxury brand's "Art of Crafts" exhibition -- as well as workshops on poster design and Arabic typography.
As part of the UK-UAE collaboration, a number of British makers will also offer workshops covering experimental techniques such as wire sculpture, soft slab ceramics and crochet.
Find out more at www.designdaysdubai.ae.