ALSERKAL AVENUE ANNOUNCES ASSEMBLY - A WEEK OF DESIGN AND MAKING

Dubai, UAE - 4 October, 2016: Alserkal Avenue announces Assembly, a week of design and making that will run from 23 - 29 October, in parallel with Dubai Design Week. The design-focused programme will feature exhibitions and events that will highlight the most innovative designers and makers both regional and global.

The week-long programme will open on the 23rd and feature a host of exhibitions, in addition to hosting workshops and guided tours by galleries and concepts from the Avenue and beyond. Participating concepts include newly opened spaces such as CHI-KA, The Jewel Teller, Mirzam Chocolate Factory, and SVENM, alongside long-standing concepts such as FN Designs, ikonhouse, La Galerie Nationale, MB&F M.A.D.Gallery, The Odd Piece, Traffic, Satellite, Custot Gallery and LMTD. From beyond the Avenue, Zayed University: College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Roca and Dubai Design Culture will also be participating.

From 27-29 October, Assembly will present The Makers, a three-day celebration of the people who make it happen behind the scenes. A collaboration between Alserkal Avenue Programming and ikonhouse, The Makers will take place in Warehouse 46 and will bring together design firms to highlight the contribution of artisans and engineers, who aid the process from conceptualisation to execution. The tools, processes and technology in architecture, design and making will occupy centre stage through a rigorous programme of activities and events.

Also from 27-29 October, The Market of Everything, organised by Traffic, will be situated in The Yard. This event will gather members of the community to buy, sell, trade, donate, lend or rent goods, skills and services. Aiming to promote social sustainability and community involvement, the initiative will spotlight design objects and their makers.

Vilma Jurkute, Director of Alserkal Avenue, said: "Our focus has always been on creative entrepreneurship and supporting the creative economy, and that includes design in all its forms. The extensive programme for Assembly has been created to showcase not just all of our design concepts, from architecture and product design to interiors, cultural design, but also those cultural and design producers that share Al Quoz with us."

Dorian Pauwels, Partner and Executive Director of ikonhouse and the driving force behind ‘The Makers’ said: "In our modern society, we have lost the connection with the craftsmen and this distance lead us to believe that two things that look the same, are the same. The Makers is about bringing people back to valuing craft, technique and durability in the things we use in our lives.”

Assembly will feature a rich mix of talks, workshops, book launches and special events in Nadi Al Quoz, located in Warehouse 90 in the Avenue. These programmes will draw upon the intricacies of design and making, tying them together with the closely related fields of architecture, urban planning and other creative practices.

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ENDS

NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

For media requests, please contact:
The Portsmouth Group
Yasmeen Abughaida +9714 449 0600
yasmeen.abughaida@theportsmouthgroup.com

Alserkal Avenue:

Ambika Rajgopal +971 50 558 7779
ambika@alserkalavenue.ae

About Alserkal Avenue

Alserkal Avenue is a vibrant cultural district in the Al Quoz industrial area of Dubai, and is home to a community of over 70 contemporary art galleries, visual and performing arts organisations, designers, home-grown and entrepreneur-led businesses, and community spaces across 500,000 sqft and 90 warehouses. Alserkal Avenue provides an essential platform for the development of the creative industries in the United Arab Emirates. As one of the region’s foremost destinations for contemporary art, and home to Dubai’s risk-takers, makers and wide-ranging creative communities, Alserkal Avenue provides cultural experiences for local, regional and international audiences through its extensive year-round programming. Alserkal Avenue is home to Concrete, a multi-disciplinary exhibitions space conceptualised and programmed by Alserkal, as well as the artist residency program of Alserkal’s non-profit, Alserkal Arts Foundation. Alserkal Avenue was established in 2008 by Alserkal following the visionary thinking of its founder, Emirati businessman and cultural patron Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, who sought to cultivate a vibrant creative community and support cultural production in Dubai.

About Alserkal Avenue Programming

Alserkal Avenue Programming is a platform for exhibitions, public art commissions, performances, films, talks and workshops that critically and creatively investigate themes pertinent to the region's arts community. Together, these programmes provide a platform to support the development of new ideas, open dialogue and collaboration across disciplines. With a view to working mainly with emerging and mid-career artists living and working in the MENASA region, Alserkal Avenue Programming has a mandate to support artists whose projects are collaborative, participatory and ephemeral. The annual programme is thematically developed to focus on a particular issue, bringing artists and professionals from different fields together to examine a concept through wide-ranging means and perspectives.