Emirati Designers Map Journey Across Three Countries In Inaugural Design Road Professional
The four Emirati designers selected for the inaugural Design Road Professional, organised by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage, have hit the half-way mark in their extensive training. The initiative is held in association with Tashkeel, an independent resource for artists and designers in the UAE, and the Creative Dialogue Association (CDA), a private independent and not-for-profit organisation based in Barcelona.
The participants, designer Khalid Shafar, multidisciplinary designer Aljoud Lootah, visual artist Zeinab Al Hashemi, and computational artist and designer Salem Al Mansoori, flagged off the creative journey with an inspirational trip to London, where they attended the London Design Festival. They then participated in a four-day workshop led by Kingston University. While in London, the artists also evaluated the creative landscape of the city and its role in the global design scene.
The Design Road Professional team then attended the Barcelona Design Week to initiate the creative process for their own works through discussions on the ‘Academic Programme,’ ‘Shadowing Programme,’ and ‘Production Process Template’ aimed at stimulating dialogue and informing designers on the intricacies of their chosen field of design.
During their stint in Barcelona, the artists attended workshops at the Elisava School of Design, covering numerous facets of design – from conception to execution; visited 20 leading Spanish design studios and factories, including the legendary Javier Mariscal Studio and Santa&Cole, among others.
Based on the extensive training and research undertaken in London and Barcelona, the four designers are now working in Dubai under the guidance of Le Granja Design Studio to develop their initial design concepts, and work on the prototypes. The artists will have the opportunity to complete their projects in UAE, or alternatively Barcelona or Milan. The final works will be showcased at Design Days Dubai 2013.
The first-of-its-kind initiative to be launched in the GCC, the inaugural Design Road Professional programme will provide invaluable insights through partnerships with local and international creative institutions, targeting graphic and media designers, fashion designers, and industrial/product designers.
The Design Road Professional programme builds on the Authority’s collaboration on the 2011 Design Road workshops and exhibitions, which were aimed at encouraging intercultural dialogue and creative exchange between local and international designs.
For more information, please contact Dubai Culture on email at artsServices@dubaiculture.ae or call 04 8004003 or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DubaiCultureArtsAuthority) or Twitter (@Dubai_Culture)
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Dec 19, 2012
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