Dubai Design Week has unveiled five new commissions for the 2026 edition of its Abwab programme, which since 2015 has supported more than 180 designers from across Asia and Africa. For the first time, this year's commissions are brought together in a single indoor group exhibition at Dubai Design District rather than displayed in separate pavilions.
Titled "In Other Words," the show runs from November 3 to 8 and centres on how meaning travels through lettering, textiles, paper and architecture.
Among the pieces, designer Dalia Rafeh presents "Shhhhhhhh," a seven-metre installation using red light to explore the Arabic letter "sheen" and its ties to calls for quiet. Varussi, the duo of Owais Asif Khan and Samreen Junaid Wani, contribute "Taleem," an architectural structure drawing on traditional Kashmiri weaving codes used in carpets and shawls. Kanaka Raghavan's "Cheent Devanagari" uses block-printed, translucent textiles to challenge the dominance of Latin typography. Grace Shieh's "A Library of Paper Memories" combines papermaking, poetry and experimental writing, while Ubik, the practice of Vivek Premachandran, examines translation and placeholder text in "Non/Sense."
Entry to the exhibition is free, and visitors can join curator-led walkthroughs throughout the run. Organisers describe Abwab as a platform for designers whose work rarely reaches international audiences, and say this year's commissions are meant to spark conversations about language, material and cultural identity.