DUBAI: Tashkeel – a leading proponent of creativity and innovation – will celebrate a decade of incubating design projects in the UAE through its Tanween design programme, unveiling four new works that have been conceived, created and will now be commercially available at Downtown Design during Dubai Design Week 2023 from November 7-12.
Taking centrestage at Downtown Design are the four new sustainable furniture and lighting pieces developed by the latest Tanween cohort: Marwa Abdelrahim, an Abu Dhabi-based architect; Wafa Al Falahi, an Emirati multidisciplinary designer; Chinara Darwish, a former mechanical engineer from Kazakhstan, and Maryam Elattar (a ceramic artist) & Mohamed Elnaggar (an electrical engineer), both from Egypt.
Since its inception in 2014, Tanween has trained 36 early-career design professionals, resulting in 49 original furniture and lighting designs both developed and manufactured in the Emirates. Today, 23 of these limited-edition pieces are offered to collectors through Tashkeel’s furniture and lighting series, The Tanween Collection.
“Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Programme empowers emerging designers to embark on a journey of innovation, guided by a passionate team of design professionals and local manufacturers and makers. With a decade of learning and a range of products now available to collectors, our program has cultivated original, sustainable pieces that underscore the creativity and capability to produce these works right here in the UAE,” said Lisa Ball-Lechgar, Deputy Director at Tashkeel.
While the forms of the four new Tanween works will be officially revealed during Dubai Design Week, all the designers and their pieces share a common focus on sustainability of materials and the production process, especially pertinent as the UAE prepares to host COP28 in late November.
The Mishkah Collection by Marwa Abdelrahim combines traditional lighting techniques from the UAE with 3D printing, incorporating clay as a sustainable material. Wafa Al Falahi’s Roots lighting design pays tribute to her Emirati women ancestors through a combination of steel and biodegradable plastic materials infused with henna. Chinara Darwish used 100 per cent locally sourced, marine industry and construction waste sourced from redundant marine marker buoys, dredging floats, road barriers and water tanks to develop her dining table design, The Alchemy Series that celebrates hospitality and family. The shelving unit/standing desk Doroob, developed by Maryam Elattar & Mohamed Elnaggar, is a triumph of the circular economy, made from reclaimed materials from the UAE’s construction and infrastructure sector as well as pottery studios.
A Decade of Creativity and Impact: Tanween’s Tenth Edition
In addition to unveiling its latest Tanween cohort at Dubai Design Week, Tashkeel celebrates a decade of design innovation through a series of workshops on Thursday & Friday 9-10 November at the Art Jameel pop-up space in the heart of Dubai Design District to advise emerging designers on issues including commercial licensing, intellectual property protection as well as processes, materials and production aspects of the Made-in-UAE design movement. On Friday 10 November, the Tashkeel initiative Make Works UAE is offering a guided bus tour on of manufacturers, fabricators and suppliers in Al Quoz, while the Tashkeel Makerspace Al Serkal Avenue hosts an Open Day of workshops including printmaking, RISOgraph printing and bookbinding.
Cultivating the UAE’s design landscape
Tanween’s impact extends to supporting UAE design as a social enterprise. All profits from The Tanween Collection sales contribute to the development of local design, benefiting alumni and future participants of the Tanween Design Programme, Tashkeel’s premier training initiative for talented UAE-based designers. Notably, the collection has launched sell-out works Moza by Studio MUJU and The Braided Series chair by Lateefa Saeed, designs that blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics, reflecting the essence of Emirati culture.
A pledge to the environment
Additionally, Tanween has been committed to sustainability since its seventh edition in 2020, resulting in the creation of highly sustainable furniture and lighting designs, including those by Reema Al Mheiri, Huda Al Aithan, Sara Abu Farha & Khaled Shalkha, Nuhayr Zein, Khawla Al Balooshi, and Lina Ghalib. These designs exemplify innovative and environmentally responsible approaches, aligning with a vision of a sustainable future. Each piece features an innovative material sourced from the UAE natural environment and developed in partnership with local scientists and fabricators. The materials includes datecrete, leukeather, plypalm, fishscale moulds and ghaf wood.
