Call for Entries to Tanween Programme

UAE-based designers bridge luxury and sustainability with new furniture pieces on display at Downtown Design and Tashkeel – Nad Al Sheba in November.

Dubai, UAE – 10 November 2022 – This November, visitors are invited to view never-before-seen pieces from Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Programme – a year-long training initiative for UAE-based to designers. 

Ahead of the UAE Year of Sustainability 2023, the 2022 Tanween cohort were challenged to investigate the nation’s natural resources to create seven limited edition pieces, using raw natural materials such as bark, trees, scales and animal fibres. In collaboration with Dubai Design Week 2022, the 5 furniture and lighting pieces can be viewed at Stand D36 – Downtown Design 2022 from 8 – 13 November while the stories behind the ground-breaking new materials used in each design can be seen in The Agency of Nature exhibition at Tashkeel in Nad Al Sheba until 24 November. 

The Tanween designers making their design debut at Downtown Design 2022 are Reema Al Mheiri, Huda Al Aithan, Shaza Khalil, Ebrahim Assur, Sara Abu Farha & Khaled Shalkha. Now part of The Tanween Collection (Tashkeel’s furniture and lighting line), the limited-edition pieces are now commercially available. 

For aspiring and emerging designers working in the UAE, Tashkeel is now accepting applications for the tenth edition of Tanween Design Programme in 2023.  The deadline is 27 November and more information can be found at https://tashkeel.org/projects/call-for-entries-tanween-2023-2

“With November’s focus on design, it’s the ideal time to visit both Downtown Design and Tashkeel in Nad Al Sheba and experience the range of sustainability-centric pieces resulting from the Tanween Design Programme, while we encourage all designers in the UAE to apply for the 2023 edition,” said deputy director of Tashkeel, Lisa Ball-Lechgar.

“Tashkeel’s focus on training and mentoring designers in the UAE and facilitating the conception and creation of pieces locally contributes to the professional evolution of the country’s creative sector,” she added.

The Tashkeel gallery is free to enter with special guided tours by the Tanween designers on Sunday 20 November: 11am-12pm & 12-1pm.

Tashkeel Nad Al Sheba | 1 – 24 November 2022

Open 10am–10pm (Sunday-Thursday) & 9am-12pm (Friday); closed Saturday

Guided Tours: 

Sunday 20 November: 11am-12pm & 12-1pm in partnership with Make Works UAE