The 2016 Dubai Design Week will feature more than 100 events over six days in October.

Now in its second year and billed as the Middle East’s biggest celebration of design, Dubai Design Week will be held from October 24 to 29 across the UAE city.

Last year’s inaugural event attracted aficionados, designers and architects from over 150 of the world’s leading studios, agencies, brands and educational institutions.

This year’s will see with more than 100 events taking place in Dubai Design District (d3) over six days, with significantly more visitors and internationally renowned exhibitors expected  to  attend, according to Art Dubai Group, which organises the event in partnership with d3.

The event is held under the patronage of HH Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and sponsored by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, the Dubai Design & Fashion Council and Audi. 

Downtown Design (October 25 to 28), the design trade fair, returns for its fourth edition as the commercial centrepiece of Dubai Design Week and will bring together over 100 brands from 25 countries. Visitors will discover products across furniture, lighting, bathrooms, kitchens, textiles and accessories not ordinarily seen at the big shows. Reaffirming Downtown Design’s position as a fair of discovery, the popular ‘Destination at Downtown Design’, an alliance of international design weeks, returns featuring emerging brands from Addis Ababa, Barcelona, Beirut, Reykjavík and Taipei.

The Global Grad Show will feature 135 projects from 51 of the leading universities in 30 countries, offering an insight into the visions of the designers of the future, and a glimpse into tomorrow’s world.

Named after the Arabic word for ‘doors’, the Abwab initiative is dedicated to exploring the design narrative within the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (Menasa) region. This year, emerging and established graphic designers, product designers, photographers and architects  from Algeria, Bahrain, India, Iraq, Palestine and the UAE will respond to the theme of ‘The Human Senses’. Abwab’s temporary pavilion this year has been designed by UAE-based practice Hypothetical Office that will be built into the walkways of d3.

The exhibition, ‘Iconic City: Cairo Now! City Incomplete’ follows last year’s focus on Beirut and takes inspiration from the Egyptian capital’s host of red brick buildings in varying stages of completion, aiming to gauge the current mood of the city’s creative scene. 

Also, a series of 15 public installations by renowned international, regional and local designers will unite and transform the city throughout Dubai Design Week’s six days.

There will also be daily talks and workshops, details of which will be released in late summer, along with a list of the satellite events from studios, ateliers, universities and galleries that will take place.