Dubai Design Week Returns for Twelfth Edition Celebrating Connection and Creative Exchange
The region's premier design festival convenes in November under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, exploring how design strengthens human connection and shapes the future of our cities and communities.
Dubai Design Week will return to Dubai Design District for its twelfth edition from 3rd to 8th November 2026, reaffirming its position as the Middle East’s leading forum for creative excellence. Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the festival unites designers, architects and creative practitioners from across the region and beyond in a celebration of innovation and cultural significance.
This year’s edition directs particular attention towards design’s profound capacity to strengthen human connection during an era of unprecedented transformation in how we interact, communicate and collaborate. The multidisciplinary programme encompasses exhibitions, commissions, installations, talks, workshops and public activations spanning architecture, design, craft, technology and material experimentation, each exploring the experiences and relationships that crystallise around creative practice.
Khadija Al Bastaki, Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District, expressed enthusiasm for the festival’s continued role in nurturing creative talent. She noted that the strategic partnership reinforces Dubai’s position as a global hub for design excellence whilst supporting the emirate’s Design Sector Strategy 2033, championing the wealth of creative ability emanating from Dubai and the wider region.
Shaima Rashed Al Suwaidi, CEO of the Arts, Design and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, emphasised the festival’s significance in advancing the design sector and expanding opportunities for emerging talent. As the first city in the Middle East designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design, Dubai continues to cultivate a thriving creative community that connects international practitioners with local visionaries, fostering experimentation with materials and technologies whilst building capabilities that strengthen the cultural and creative industries.
Natasha Carella, Director for Dubai Design Week, highlighted the festival’s purpose in examining design’s expansive influence beyond aesthetic objects and spaces. Design fundamentally shapes how cities function and how societies respond to complex, interconnected challenges. By bringing diverse perspectives and forms of knowledge into conversation, the festival creates an environment where assumptions are questioned, different modes of thinking are encountered, and participants consider how design might architect the world we aspire to inhabit.
Source: WAM