Hala Badri visits Downtown Design

Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has visited Downtown Design, the headline event of the 8th Dubai Design Week held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture, at Dubai Design District until 13 November. The visit characterizes Dubai Culture's support to empower talent in various Dubai creative sectors.

Hala Badri started her tour by visiting IOTA, an installation by Lebanese multidisciplinary design duo Karim Tamerji and Elias El Hage, made as a cluster of freestanding and stackable earthen spheres, hand-crafted in varying colours and textures. She also visited the work of a group of local and regional emerging artists at the UAE Designers Exhibition, including Amna Alshamsi, Noura ElNoori and Fatima Alawadhi, among others, in addition to the artworks under the Tanween design programme presented by Tashkeel, which explores sustainability and how design can help promote it.

During her tour, Badri also took in the collection of designs presented by ARE studio, and by 'Doodle and The Gang' studio, which presented artistic designs by the Said sisters, Mentalla and Asmaa Said. She also toured the UAE heritage-inspired artwork created by Emirati designer Omar Al Gurg, founder of MODU. She praised what she saw had been created by a group of local, regional and global creatives that reflect the future and sustainability of design.

During her visit, Hala Badri stressed the importance of the design sector in Dubai, as one of the key pillars of the creative economy, affirming that Dubai Design Week is an important event on the agenda of creative events in Dubai. She sees it as playing a pivotal role in expanding the horizons of design and innovation locally, regionally and globally. Badri indicated that Downtown Design provides a wide space for creatives to express their different visions and ideas to present them to the public, and that the exhibition has become a platform that sheds light on the work presented by talented artists and designers that reflect their visions towards the future of design.

She confirmed that Dubai Culture's support for creatives stems from its responsibilities towards the cultural and creative sector in the emirate, which is in line with its vision to cement Dubai's position as a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity, and a thriving hub for talent.

With more than 200 designers and regional and international brands, Downtown Design revealed a wide range of creations and installations, in addition to over 100 talks and workshops that focus on the business of design with a line-up of compelling keynotes and panel discussions at the Downtown Design Forum.