In a vibrant showcase of creativity, the Dubai Design Week has unveiled the five selected projects set to participate in the 2026 edition of the esteemed ‘A Doors’ programme, which supports designers and talents from across the region and beyond. Under the theme ‘In Other Words’, this year’s exhibition will feature contributions from a diverse array of artists, including Dalia Rafea, Grace Shieh, Kanaka Raghavan, the artist UBIK, and the VARUSSI studio, founded by Owais Asaf Khan and Sameera Junaid Wani.
Event Details and Structure
The ‘A Doors’ programme will take place from November 3 to 8, 2026, in the Dubai Design District. Notably, this edition will be presented for the first time as a collective exhibition. Instead of individual booths that characterised previous iterations, the five selected projects will occupy a shared exhibition space, fostering a more integrated artistic experience.
Creative Vision: ‘In Other Words’
The theme ‘In Other Words’ is rooted in the fundamental idea that every act of communication involves choices about what to reveal and what to conceal, affecting the way individuals understand each other. This programme transcends traditional notions of language as mere speech or text, delving into the visual systems and material linkages that shape knowledge, memory, and meaning across communities.
Featured Artists and Their Works
Dalia Rafea, an artist renowned for her exploration of Arabic language and visual expression, presents an installation titled Shhhhhhhh. This seven-metre-long piece transforms the Arabic letter ‘ش’, signifying a request for silence, into a captivating red lightwork. Drawing inspiration from public and commercial signage, Rafea’s repetition of the letter conceptually transcribes silence into a visual element, inviting diverse interpretations ranging from commands to pause and listen.
Grace Shieh, a writer and visual artist, investigates handmade paper as a distinct language through her work A Library of Paper Memories. This artistic installation merges paper-making, poetry, and experimental writing, highlighting the tactile and formal capabilities of paper to carry memories and meanings. Shieh encourages visitors to explore new ways of reading that transcend traditional notions of written pages.
Kanaka Raghavan, a designer, academic, and researcher based in Dubai, revisits the design of Devanagari script in her project Cheent Devanagari. This work challenges the dominance of Latin type design conventions, celebrating the craft’s traditional techniques by employing semi-transparent fabric layers that visually intermingle with the movement of visitors, transforming the letterforms into a spatial experience.
The Indian artist UBIK draws upon the writings of science fiction author Philip K. Dick for his installation Non/Sense. This ground-based work engages with Dick’s text How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later, manipulating translation, inaccuracies, and the ephemeral nature of language through experimental text known as Lorem Ipsum. This transformation of textual fragments into visual patterns provokes profound inquiries into the interpretation of language and its meanings.
Additionally, the VARUSSI studio, which produces architecture and research, presents Taleem. This work pays homage to traditional coding systems used in the making of Kashmiri carpets and kani shawls. By reinterpreting this ancestral language of design instruction through an architectural installation, visitors can interact with and engage in the rich know-how embedded in traditional craftsmanship.
An Interactive Experience
Visitors will have the opportunity to experience the art firsthand as the exhibition space becomes a part of the artistic journey itself. They will navigate around, between, and within the installations, discovering intricate details from various perspectives, including aerial views. Unlike a singular interpretation of language, the exhibition ‘In Other Words’ invites attendees to explore this concept as a lived, inheritable, and reshaped experience, where meanings can shift depending on the viewer’s angle.
Guided Tours and Accessibility
To enhance engagement, complementary guided tours will be available throughout the exhibition, led by the curatorial team, Alexey Glass-Kantor and Kaweema C. J. Reynolds, along with participating creatives. These tours will illuminate the research, materials, and creative processes behind the five projects, exploring the interconnections among the exhibited works. Admission to the exhibition will be free as part of the Dubai Design Week festivities.
Since its inception in 2015, the ‘A Doors’ programme has supported over 180 designers from regions including West and South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa, enabling projects that respond to cultural and social contexts, material identities, and manufacturing techniques. This initiative offers participating designers and creatives the platform to develop new works while presenting them to an international audience.
For further information on the ‘A Doors’ programme and Dubai Design Week 2026, please visit www.dubaidesignweek.ae.