During last year’s Dubai Design Week, founding members of DRAK – Design Ras Al Khor – set in motion an annual event focused on reviving one of the emirate’s oldest industrial areas as a design district.
It’s something that has been done before. Think New York’s Meatpacking District or Shoreditch in London; creative communities coming together to revitalise forgotten, even rough neighbourhoods is part of the organic evolution of fast growing cities as they often leave behind old quarters for new.
In a city as fast paced and obsessed with the next new thing as Dubai, DRAK was a movement waiting to happen. The premier edition was a show of intent, as founding members – Khalid Shafar, Khulood Thani, Nadine Kanso and Tarik Al Zaharna – celebrated the wealth of fauna at Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary through their métier. Flamingoes inspired a wide exploration into design – from jewellery (Kanso designed a cuff in gold, extolling the profile of the bird against that of Burj Khalifa) to product design (Shafar presented an installation using paving blocks to create candle stands in the abstract presentation of the bird’s silhouette).
For its second edition, DRAK unveils its well-etched mission as it invites new designers to present never seen before works under its theme for 2016, Celebrating Wood.
In collaboration with Eyes on Talents, a Paris-based, invitation only, digital platform that connects innovative brands with creative talents, American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and 1971 Design Space, four upcoming designers were selected across a wide spectrum of design exploration.
Lina Younes, founder of The Animation Chamber, a Dubai-based animation initiative, will present a film – In figure We Wood. “Wood is a lifelong mapping of trees; an archive of memories, livelihood and age is revealed,” says Younes. “The film is a mirror to what we experience as humans. The more complex the figure, the more intriguing is the mapping.” Hala Kaiksow, the luxury womenswear designer from Bahrain will present a large scale installation of textiles hanging from the ceiling, mimicking the grains of the wood with the path they create.
Born in Aleppo, Syria, and based in the UAE, designer and visual artist Tulip Hazbar will present a series of posters depicting a terrain covered with wood textures and patterns based on photos she gathered and wood research conducted here in the UAE. “These panels are designed as a celebration of the visual fixation and sensory experience of wood through treated textures,” she explains. “The panels will serve as a palette of textures and will be a tool to create textures on paper, fabrics, etc.”
Hind Bin Demaithan Al Qemzi is a visual artist, video composer and curator. Using wood in a contextual and physical sense, she will present an interactive installation building on the poetic concept of the Mashrabya as it unveils and protects the private domain all at once. Through video object panels and masked delayed-live projections, the installation will be a vantage point of sorts between mobility and locality, visibility and introspection, public modesty and privacy.
In addition to the main projects, DRAK16 will also present for the first time, an ‘International Projects Selection’. A collective showcase of international projects selected by this year’s official partners, this exhibit will feature the award-winning Aleni seat by David Trubridge presented by the AHEC and Surfaces Sonores by Pierre Charrie, presented by Eyes on Talents.
Also new to the 2016 edition will be a conversation and a panel discussion by a group of international speakers and designers. Centred on industry design topics and trends, these talks will take place on the October 27 at Intersect by Lexus at the Dubai International Financial Centre. A panel discussion in association with AHEC will present a fresh approach for timber consumption under DRAK’s topic for this year.
In collaboration with global leaders in tile manufacturing Mirage (who will also run a fleet of cars between Mirage Project Point in Dubai Design District and the venue), DRAK will present this year’s showcase at the Lever Building Materials warehouse in Ras Al Khor. The exhibition space will be designed by the London–based Morales Finch Architecture Studio. In addition to hosting the exhibit, the venue will also set the scene for 6 unique pop-up culinary experiences catered by Ghaf Kitchen.
