Culture & Education | Thursday 6 April, 2017 2:20 pm |

Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, is attending Milan Design Week 2017 – the world-leading design industry event which began on 4th April and runs until 9th April.

Dubai Culture’s delegation received high support from His Excellency Abdullah Hassan Al Shamsi, Consul General of the United Arab Emirates in Milan, and was headed by Latifa bin Demaithan, Chief of Happiness & Positivity and Office Manager of Her Highness the Vice Chairman at Dubai Culture, accompanied by two UAE based designers – Aljoud Lootah and Talin Hazbar.

The delegation met he delegation met with the UAE Consulate officials in Milan, and introduced Dubai Culture’s design and culture strategies. The Consulate in Italy serves as a proactive partner to Dubai Culture and is responsible for helping the Authority to develop relationships between the key players in its design industry and the UAE’s cultural scene. The Consulate officials also attended Dubai Culture’s ‘power breakfast’ sessions, which saw sector professionals gathering to exchange views on developing the design industry.

During Milan Design Week, Dubai Culture delegates met with professionals from various backgrounds and discussed creative thinking processes, the environment they evolve in, and the wider design scene, while also gaining insights into the perception of Dubai’s design industry among international designers. The meetings in Milan focused on four main pillars of the design world – Producers, Designers, Institutions and Press – aiming to deliver an in-depth focus on these influential branches of the industry with renowned producers such as Marta Sala Editions and Haymann Editions, and designers like Tom Fereday, Studio Wine and Mathieu Lehanneur. The Dubai Culture delegates also exchanged views with institutions including Triennale Milan, the Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL) in Switzerland, and design organiser Ventura Lambrate & Centrale.

The presence of Dubai Culture at Milan Design Week 2017 is part of the Authority’s mission to help strengthen Dubai’s presence as a dynamic force in the world’s arts and cultural landscape. This is one of a number of Dubai Culture initiatives that focus on establishing the Emirate as a global centre for creativity and enhancing the city's cultural identity in order to drive the creative economy. The Authority also works to strengthen and promote the diverse cultural and creative fabric of Dubai, to support and empower a new creative generation while preserving Emirati heritage.