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In our in-depth reviews of the fairs that are drawingcrowds this autumn in Istanbul, London, Paris,Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Beirut, Canvas looks at thecutting-edge art and designs, the changing natureof the fair circuit, and the possible impact on creative industries in the region and beyond.

ART, DESIGN, TEMPORALITY AND CHANGING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

Contemporary Istanbul and the city’s biennialFrieze London and Frieze MastersAbu Dhabi ArtFIAC ParisArt & Design fairs in BeirutDubai Design WeekSkulptur Projekte Münster

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Monica Bonvicini. 2017. Hamam. 15th Istanbul Biennial. Image courtesy of Istanbul Biennial. The artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York. Photography by Sahir Ugur Eren

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While Dubai is relatively young on the design scene, having only launched its first platform six years ago with Design Days, a fair focusing on limited edition furniture and collectibles, it now boasts three yearly events that include Dubai Design Week and its trade arm, Downtown Design, which are both regional and international in scope. Laura Egerton tells us what to expect this year, after speaking with key players in the third edition of Dubai Design Week.

DESIGN BOOM

“There is something distinctive about a design

week,” says William Knight, new Head of Design for the Art Dubai Group, at

a press briefing for the third annual Dubai Design Week (DDW) which runs

this November. Dubai may have an edge over other global cities because

of d3, a purpose-built destination for design, which acts as the central hub

for the event. With new sites on the waterfront and a record number of

installations across the district, d3 will be brimming with activity.

In its first two editions, Abwab, the showcase for regional design, presented

country-specific curated pavilions. This time it has a more experimental

structure, its final selection of 45 designs from 15 countries were sourced

using the design domino concept, where one designer nominated another.

It proved popular. One participant, Ali Shawwa, says: “The selection process

sparked an unpredictable and unique network within creative communities

across the region.” Shawwa will be exhibiting an evocative piece in ceramic

entitled The Gossipers, a trio of crumpled forms which seem to interact, the

clear glaze enhancing the naturally grainy properties of the clay, symbolic

of sand dunes.

Ali Shawwa. Gossipers Sculptures. Ceramic, 7 sculptures each, approximately 20 cm x 20 cm x 16 cm. At Abwab.

Image courtesy of the designer

Paul Matter. Tango III. Buff brass with buff brass details and dual tone brass domes. At Abwab. Image courtesy of the designer

Anjali Srinivasan. Quiver Vessels. Silicon, varies 12-30cm. At Abwab. Image courtesy of the designer

Soukaina Aziz El Idrissi. Chemistry’s Greatest Achievement: Black/Blue/Orange/Yellow. Low Density Polyethylene, Plexiglass, LEDs, 132 x 73 x 7.5 cm. At Abwab. Image courtesy of the designer

Jassim Alnashmi. Culture Cross. Cherry wood, woven cane, rattan, 50 x 54 x 132 cm. At Abwab. Image courtesy of the designer

DUBAI DESIGN WEEK

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At times it’s rethinking the traditional elements and techniques that

makes a design fresh. Nikhil Paul of Paul Matter Studio speaks of their debut

collection TANGO being born from a playful experiment with vintage lighting

components. The Kuwaiti furniture designer Jassim Alnashmi, who presents

a beautiful wooden chair with stitching reminiscent of a musical instrument

or handmade boat, is another case in point, although he mentions that

traditional craft needs to remain relevant via the latest technologies.

This is advice that Emirati designer Khalid Shafar has taken on board, as

he presents the ambitious Silent Call, a project done in collaboration with

LASVIT. This kinetic light installation signals the five daily calls to prayer

in an eloquent example of making tradition more accessible and up to

date. Though Silent Call is adaptable to any customised schedule, Islamic

architecture is the visual anchor, the surface a sequence of 60 glass domes

taken from five mosques. Shafar’s approach to design has always been

through experience, emotion and storytelling. Working with movement

was a natural transition for him. “Light is connected to time and city zones,”

he says. “We use alarm clocks, but why not create an indication through light

instead. The project then shifts from pure audio to visual movement, from

being an object to an experience that integrates all your senses.”

Alongside homegrown talent are internationally known brands and

experts, such as Paula Zuccotti, an ethnographer and trend forecaster in

global consumption, who brings Everything We Touch: a 24-hour Inventory

of our lives to DDW, an object-based sensual journey through our daily

interactions. Other commissioned installations include the monumental

work Prologue, presented by Swarovski with Fredrikson Stallard. The trade

fair Downtown Design doubles in size this year, offering a Portuguese

Pavilion for the first time, together with many Middle Eastern debuts for

international design brands such as Vondom.

Salma Lahlou, curator of Iconic City – previous editions were on Beirut

and Cairo – has gone for a narrative, exploratory approach this year, having

commissioned the illustrator Aicha El Beloui to translate her native city of

Casablanca into a graphic mural landscape. Here, snippets of the city’s life

and history will be told via sound art, film, photography and weaving.

Also drawing from the urban framework is the collaborative design studio

Apical Reform in the form of a new sculpture that is inspired by #mydubai,

an open call to create a social media biography of the city. “Design should be

democratic – its first call, apart from function, should be that it is seen,” says

founder and principal Amrish Patel. “Public art also connects the community”.

Their Sonuslexica installation was a hit at Design Days in March and this

month sees the launch of AR Gallery in d3 with State of the Earth, a curated

collection of designs addressing global warming and climate change.

There are plenty of other DDW projects offering interesting, eco-friendly

architectural solutions, such as BETTair-House by SUPERFUTUREDESIGN*,

demonstrating the importance of clean air to healthy lifestyles.

These forward-looking trends are most discernible in the designs

showcased at Global Grad Show this year, where 200 innovative projects by students from 90 universities are presented as a barometer of today’s design

climate. “It’s the breadth of it all that’s fascinating,” explains curator Brendan

McGetrick. “On one hand you can experience an absolute future that isn’t

even available yet, while on the other you see proposals to improve traditional

ways of life with tasks that can be done in a healthier, more efficient way. You

are spanning many centuries in the subject matter that the students are

responding to.” Due to outreach, there are more regional schools than in

previous years. From the projects that seek to preserve heritage, there’s The

Loss of Words by Basma El-Naggar from Cairo, an online space for preserving

languages that are in danger of disappearing. Reuse is a common theme, an

important aspect of sustainability being the reactivation of resources that

are not being used effectively. Examples come from opposite sides of the

globe. Guma is a set of household objects created from discarded tyres by

a student from Mexico, where 91 per cent of old tyres are abandoned. The

Waterfront Tanks by Badih Rameh from Lebanon uses vacated oil silos to

create alternative public spaces. Experimental approaches to architectural

techniques emerge from students at Politecnico, Milan (a new addition this

year), such as Trabecular Tectonics from Roberto Naboni, co-founder of the

Architecture Computation and Technology Laboratory (ACTLAB), which

proposes a lightweight system that mimics nature’s evolutionary approach

to design – such as the structure of our bones.

It’s particularly timely for architectural practice to be high on the agenda

in Dubai. Alserkal Avenue sees the launch of the first Architectural Biennale

next year, previewing as ARCH.SEASON and spearheaded by SVENM. At

Concrete’s warehouse space, While We Wait by Palestinian architects and

designers Elias and Yousef Anastas will be set up. Commissioned by the

Victoria and Albert Museum, it is a poignant example of how a structure can

represent the plight of a people. DDW’s keynote speaker is David Adjaye,

whose unique approach to architecture has always had a social agenda.

With major architectural practices committing to offices in Dubai and

plans for Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation taking shape, DDW is a

welcome moment to consolidate, brainstorm and showcase current trends.

As Tariq Khayyat, the head of the Middle East for Zaha Hadid Architects, tells

us, “DDW effectively encourages the sharing of knowledge and creativity to

promote innovation and growth within the city’s creative industry.”

Dubai Design Week runs from 13-18 November and Downtown Design runs from 14-17 November in d3, Dubai’s design district.

Ota Svoboda for Bomma. SOAP. Hand-blown crystal with coating silver stainless steel fitting. At Downtown Design. Image courtesy of the desginer. Photography by Salim Issa

Lasvit, Khalid Shafar. Silent Call. A kinetic light installation. At Dubai Design Week / Around the City. Image courtesy of the designer and Lasvit

Apical Reform. Locoma. Wood and steel, matte finish credenza, 75 x 160 x 60 cm. At Dubai Design Week. Image courtesy of Apical Reform

Zineb Arraki. Diptych. 2017. For Iconic City 2017. Loading...Casa.

Image courtesy of the artist

Zineb Arraki. Diptych. 2017. For Iconic City 2017. Loading...Casa.

Image courtesy of the artist

Badih Rameh. The Waterfront Tanks. Notre Dame University - Louaize,

Lebanon. For the Global Grad Show.Image courtesy of the designer

Roberto Naboni. Trabecular Tectonics. ACTLAB at Politecnico di Milano.

For the Global Grad Show.Image courtesy of the designer