Dubai Design Week: Exhibits in Harmony with Nature

The Dubai Design Week consists of several exhibitions, the most anticipated among them is “Downtown Design”, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. (Dubai Design Week)
The Dubai Design Week consists of several exhibitions, the most anticipated among them is “Downtown Design”, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. (Dubai Design Week)
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Dubai Design Week: Exhibits in Harmony with Nature

The Dubai Design Week consists of several exhibitions, the most anticipated among them is “Downtown Design”, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. (Dubai Design Week)
The Dubai Design Week consists of several exhibitions, the most anticipated among them is “Downtown Design”, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. (Dubai Design Week)

The Dubai Design Week opened its doors on Tuesday, bringing together over 500 designers and architects, displaying conceptual and structural works, as well as design projects specially curated for the event.

The event also features discussion panels and workshops on sustainability, emerging techniques and shifts in the design world.

Held at the Dubai Design District, the event runs until November 12, and is free to the public.

The Dubai Design Week consists of several exhibitions, the most anticipated among them is “Downtown Design”, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

It kicks off on Wednesday, welcoming designers and architects from the region and the world to showcase the latest trends and innovations.

Downtown Design is a bridge that connects creative designers with local and global brands by providing a hub showcasing the latest designs of international brands, emerging studios and independent designers from around the world.

The program of Downtown Design offers exhibitors the opportunity to connect with peers and new clients.

This huge annual event raises questions about how much designs can change people’s lives, and whether life changes could impose different designs and trends on designers.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Mette Degn-Christensen, director of Downtown Design, believes that design provides solutions to the challenges that people, communities and industries face, whether it’s related to functional objects, such as furniture and lightning, or to interior subjects, such as decor and accessories.

Downtown Design hosts a wide range of brands and firms from around the world, as well as exclusive exhibitions presenting limited editions and unique designs created by individuals and studios.

For the 10th edition of Downtown Design, exhibitors were challenged to contemplate the spaces at the venue to provide and create their own designs and ideas, so their spaces look like an integral part of the exhibition’s general theme.

Every edition is developed in collaboration with the creative community, highly considering the demand and interests of the market, and accomplishing the exhibit’s main mission, which is providing contemporary high-quality designs that meet the standards of the visitors, Degn-Christensen said.

The director of Downtown Design doesn’t like to put labels on the trends of this year’s design, noting that for the first time, the exhibition showcases experiences that celebrate the beauty and importance of nature for the country. The focus is on the essential elements of nature: sea, sky, earth and greenery.

The narrative of the 10th edition of Downtown Design is aimed at discussing and highlighting the importance of natural resources and outdoor spaces. When the visitors enter the exhibition, they are welcomed with various exhibits that emphasize this concept. For instance, the designs of Spanish company Cosentino, among many others, trigger a sense of calmness and harmony with the main theme: nature.

Other events at Dubai Design Week include a designer exhibition from the UAE sponsored by Fatima al-Mahmoud, hosting over 25 UAE-based innovators; an independent presentation by Omar Al Gurg; and a collection of limited editions of wooden and stone sculptures by designer Fadi Sarieddine.

The events will focus on sustainability and addressing the major challenges facing the world today with artists like Wafaa al-Falahi, Marwa Abdulrahim, Mariam al-Attar and Mohammed al-Najjar.



The Women behind Zimbabwe’s Striking Hut Painting Art

A general view of a mud painted house seen through a window of a house under construction in Matobo, Matabeleland on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
A general view of a mud painted house seen through a window of a house under construction in Matobo, Matabeleland on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
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The Women behind Zimbabwe’s Striking Hut Painting Art

A general view of a mud painted house seen through a window of a house under construction in Matobo, Matabeleland on September 29, 2024. (AFP)
A general view of a mud painted house seen through a window of a house under construction in Matobo, Matabeleland on September 29, 2024. (AFP)

The golden rays of the afternoon sun enhance the bold, hand-painted patterns on the mud walls of a round, thatched hut in Peggy Masuku's village of Matobo in southwestern Zimbabwe.

Outside, at a small table with two curved seats -- all fashioned out of mud -- Masuku shows visitors how she mixes soil pigments, charcoal and ash to create the earth tones that make the striking motifs.

The 54-year-old is admired as one of the best among hundreds of women who practice the traditional art of hut painting in the picturesque granite hills of Matobo, where the rocks hold spiritual value.

The art is gaining recognition beyond this part of rural Zimbabwe, with the bold patterns incorporated into fashion and designs that are finding a small market as far away as Europe and bringing income to its village artists.

For the self-effacing Masuku, it all started when her stepmother assigned her, as the youngest girl in the family, the duty of smearing a cow-dung paste onto the walls and floors of the family huts, a traditional technique to maintain the structures.

"My stepmother would oversee this chore and make sure I did it to perfection. Initially, I thought this was abuse but I later realized it was good training," Masuku told AFP.

"I graduated to doing the hut painting, which elderly women did, and over time became quite good at it."

- International interest -

Masuku's talent first found recognition through a competition called My Beautiful Home, in which she has featured among the winners several times since its launch in 2014.

The annual event is the brainchild of Veronique Attala, a French woman who stumbled on "a beautifully decorated hut" when lost while hiking in the Matobo Hills, a UNESCO heritage site that has one of the highest concentrations of rock paintings in Africa.

Attala, who has lived in Zimbabwe for more than 30 years, was inspired to nurture the tradition and support the women artists and their farming communities.

A new project headed by the German Embassy has also started testing out the commercial promise of these designs.

In collaboration with Zimbabwe's National Gallery and Fashion Council, it has launched the Matobo Collection featuring the work of selected artists reproduced on saleable items such as textiles, flowerpots and lampshades.

The project is helping to find markets in other parts of Zimbabwe and also abroad, mainly in Germany, with the artists receiving a license fee for their designs and royalties for every sale.

To help the women navigate issues of copyright and compensation, the embassy has also brought in intellectual property lawyers.

"The aim is to further promote the artistry of the ladies of Matobo and, subsequently, create greater awareness of this unique cultural heritage, nationally as well as internationally," the embassy's cultural attache Katrin Simon told AFP.

One of those selected for the Matobo Collection is Elgar Maphosa, who is impressed that the traditions of her community have "come this far".

"It is something that we do as routine," the 58-year-old villager said. "I never at any time imagined that I would one day get an income out of it while also learning new things."

- Younger generation -

Hut painting is an ancient Ndebele tradition in which the motifs were originally imbued with meaning.

It was a "mode of communicating the worldview or beliefs, as well as ideals and values of communities that lived long ago," said cultural historian Pathisa Nyathi.

"Over time the meanings got lost and, owing to the interaction with other cultures including Western, emphasis is now on aesthetics," Nyathi told AFP.

Emboldened by her success at My Beautiful Home, Masuku has been commissioned to paint buildings at Zimbabwe's top tourist resort town of Victoria Falls, which she hopes will lead to more projects.

Younger women are also learning the craft, including 26-year-old Nozipho, a development studies graduate and civil servant who is currently learning the art from her mother, and hopes to follow the steps of the older women in her community.