‘Editions, Dubai’ art & design fair is key event at DDW 10th anniversary
- 13 Jul 2024
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
‘Editions, Dubai’, a new art and design fair, is joining Dubai’s culture calendar, making its debut during Dubai Design Week (DDW). Running November 6 – 9 at Dubai Design District (d3), a nurturer of a global creative ecosystem, ‘Editions, Dubai’ will run alongside Downtown Design — it will be the Middle East’s first limited-edition art and design fair with an inaugural curation of works by over 50 galleries, design studios, and collectives. Downtown Design showcases international and regional exhibiting brands, manufacturers and designers. It is the annual destination for contemporary design, attracting leading design professionals and industry decision makers from the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and beyond, alongside top-tier public visitors. A B2B and B2C fair, it showcases the latest collections, innovative products and design solutions.
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A diverse collection of prints, contemporary design, photography, ceramics and works on paper will be on view and for sale at ‘Editions, Dubai’. Artworks will be available at a range of price points, inviting established and aspiring art collectors to explore a new segment of the art market, yet to be widely showcased in the region. ‘Editions, Dubai’ aims to join together the audiences and programming of Downtown Design and Art Dubai, the region’s leading international art fair. The goal is to further expand investment in the region’s creatives. The ‘Editions, Dubai’ fair will be a key fixture of DDW, which, in strategic partnership with d3, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Dubai’s cultural landscape has grown significantly in recent years, particularly with the influx of high-net-worth residents to the UAE. In The Artsy Art Fair Report 2024, Dubai was ranked seventh in the world’s most important art fair cities. Strategic government investment and initiatives, are nurturing new opportunities in the art and design sectors, providing local, regional and international creatives and culture professionals a stage to tap into new markets and partnerships.
Platforms such as DDW, Downtown Design and now ‘Editions, Dubai’, enhance efforts to cultivate a world-class network of opportunities, visibility and access to power sustainable economic growth. ‘Editions, Dubai’ is owned and managed by the Art Dubai Group that has been a platform for cultural exchange and discovery since it was launched in 2007. Dubai Design District (d3) is part of TECOM Group’s portfolio of business districts, which includes Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, Dubai Production City, Dubai Knowledge Park, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai Industrial City, and Dubai Science Park.
DDW is the largest design festival in the region and is supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture). Taking place annually across d3, DDW hosts a diverse programme of installations, new commissions, exhibitions, workshops, talks, a marketplace as well as Downtown Design, the leading fair for contemporary design. The festival acts as a platform for designers from across the region to showcase their work to an international audience. It projects traditional practices and emerging technologies to environmental sustainability and design-led social impact solutions.
The Art Dubai Group is a commercial public/private partnership. The company owns the Middle East’s leading art and design fairs and festivals, with audiences from across the globe, providing platforms for social and cultural connections, and contributing to the growth of the local creative economy. Art Dubai Group’s mission is to build ecosystems that have a global impact through initiatives that include world class events, commissioning creative talent and innovative professional development programmes, alongside offering industry expertise to private and government institutions.
The group now comprises over 30 initiatives, including Art Dubai and Downtown Design. Dubai Design District (d3) is a global creative ecosystem dedicated to design, fashion, architecture and art. Strategically located in the heart of Dubai, d3 is the city’s lifestyle and business district, challenging thousands of people to rethink the regular and the normal. With state-of-the-art infrastructure designed to meet the needs of the industry and a business-friendly framework, the community offers creative talents the tools for collaboration and growth. d3 further reinforcing Dubai’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Design.
It consists of a cutting-edge retail district offering a variety of multi-brand boutiques, fashion brands, art galleries and showrooms. In addition, d3 is home to leading companies and talent including architects, interior designers, photography studios, product and fashion designers. Some of the region’s most popular events take place in d3, attracting international artists and audiences to cultural and fashion exhibitions and gatherings such as DDW, Dubai Fashion Week and Sole DXB. The district also regularly hosts a roster of industry talks, workshops and educational programming, accessible to people of all ages. d3 is home to business incubator - in5 - that aims to support the fashion and design industries by offering students and entrepreneurs the opportunity to transform their ideas into successful commercial ventures. This is further supported by the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), the region’s only university exclusively dedicated to design and innovation, offering a curriculum crafted with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The New School’s Parsons School of Design. The district also features the city’s first canal side recreational development, The Block. The open-air destination offers a range of different outdoor and leisure areas, including a basketball and volleyball court, a skate park, outdoor gym and climbing wall.