Bringing eleven UK-based contemporary designers to showcase at Design Days Dubai
For the fifth year the Crafts Council, with support from by the British Council, will bring eleven UK-based contemporary designers to showcase in the sixth edition of the Middle East’s principal design fair, Design Days Dubai.
The group of exhibitors (selected by a panel of expert and who represents some of Britain’s brightest talent) represent a range of disciplines and use a variety of experimental materials and techniques including leather, glass, ceramic, crochet and weaving.
The selected exhibitors
The selected makers are: Anita Carnell, Nadia-Anne Ricketts representing BeatWoven, Cristina Vezzini and Stan Chen representing Vezzini & Chen, Harry Morgan, Juli Bolaños-Durman, Lubna Chowdhary, Pia Wüstenberg, Regina Heinz, Shauna Richardson, Stuart Akroyd, and Umut Yamac.
As part of the UK/UAE 2017 Year of Creative Collaboration, the British Council is supporting the delivery of a programme of workshops and talks by the selected makers in the UAE.
Animated Objects - Workshop by Umut Yamac
Registration for this event is now closed. Follow us on Instagram to experience the highlights.
- Date: Tuesday 14 March, 11:00-13:00
- Price: Free admission to workshop - Entry fee applies to the fair (50AED)
Umut Yamac is a London based architect and designer with Turkish heritage. His work is based on the desire to offer different levels of engagement between the user and the object; from being purely functional to the playful and imaginary.
This workshop will explore the concept of working with balance and movement in design. Using lightweight materials such as folded paper and wire, and through employing a hands-on process of designing through making, participants will be able to create their own ‘balancing sculpture’. The workshop aims to generate opportunities for playful engagement in the exploration of the notion of balance and animated design.
Soft Slab Ceramics - Workshop by Regina Heinz
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM TO EXPERIENCE THE HIGHLIGHTS.
- Date: Tuesday 14 March, 14:00-16:00
- Admission: Free admission to workshop - Entry fee applies to the fair (50AED)
Regina Heinz is known internationally for her tactile ceramic sculptures with highly distinctive abstract designs, tessellated and integrated into softly undulating forms. In this workshop, Regina will demonstrate her personal technique and design development methods. Through a live demonstration, participants will learn the unique soft slab building technique in which slabs of clay are rolled out, textured and over a support of crunched up newspaper gently shaped by hand and formed into the signature undulating wall pieces. Regina will also demonstrate how to use this technique to construct functional or free-standing sculptural objects, along with demonstrating how to emphasize texture with colour and how to develop designs from inspirational landscape photographs. Participants will have the opportunity to work with soft clay slabs to make a wall piece, a freestanding sculpture, or functional object of their own design.
Creative Play: Unlimited Source of New Ideas - Workshop by Juli Bolaños-Durman
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM TO EXPERIENCE THE HIGHLIGHTS.
- Date: Thursday 16 March, 11:00-13:00
- Admission: Free admission to workshops - Entry fee applies to the fair (50AED)
With a background in graphic design and mixed media, designer Juli Bolanos-Durman’s approach to research and the creative process of design is multifaceted. Her practice includes repurposing found objects and transforming them into precious artefacts that tell a story.
The intent of this workshop is to tackle ideas and development rather than construction of a final piece. A different approach to the creation of new ideas will be taken by using the ‘Quick Project’ method further developed by Juli after taking a masterclass in 2012 with mixed media artist Michiko Miyake. By allowing the mind to access the creative process without judgment, pressure reduces and the idea of play provokes the creation of new ideas.
Crochet Basics - Workshop by Shauna Richardson
- Register for your place - Capacity of 15
- Date: Thursday 16 March, 14:00-16:00
- Admission: Free admission to workshops - Entry fee applies to the fair (50AED)
British artist Shauna Richardson invented the term Crochetdermy® to describe her distinctive work - realistic life-size animal sculptures created using crochet.
In this workshop Shauna aims to teach basic crochet skills including chain stitch, single/double crochet, increasing etc. by walking through the basics of each stage in a live demonstration. Learning through feedback and hands-on guidance, participants will learn valuable skills and gain confidence to take the craft forward and initiate future projects. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to create a designer eye pin badge inspired by the Crochetdermy® piece being exhibited at the show.
Since the workshop will start by teaching the basics, participants with no crochet skills are encouraged to participate.
