Art Dubai 2013 presents the third edition of dXb Store

The dXb Store was launched in 2011 as a not-for-profit space to promote UAE-based artists and designers by providing them with a platform to showcase and sell their creations including limited-edition objects, artists' multiples, jewelry, portable furniture, stationary and clothes. All dXb Store products are conceived and produced in the UAE. dXb is presented at Dubai Culture's SIKKA, Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, March 14-24; Design Days Dubai, Downtown Dubai, March 18-21; and Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, March 20-23, 2013.

This year, dXb seeks to feature not only the works of established names, but to further discover and encourage new and aspiring talent on the local scene. First time dxb participants include: Emirati designers and sisters Rasha and Rawaan Alkhatib, who are presenting lasercut jewellery and a series of boldly printed scarves, respectively; Ola Dajani, a Dubai-based doll designer whose hand crafted figures represent leading international and regional artists; SOUGHA, a social enterprise initiative and launched by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, which seeks to preserve Emirati heritage by nurturing skilled local crafts men and women across the UAE; and Egyptian architect Yousra Shaher, with modular shelving units developed in her Dubai-based interior and product design firm ys-studio.

dXb veterans returning in 2013 include graphic illustrator Khalid Mezaina, jewellery designer Nadine Kanso and fashion designer Nisreen Krimed.

The 35 UAE-based designers and artists who are participating in the 2013 dXb Store include: Sehyr Ahmad; Rasha Alkhatib; Rawaan Alkhatib; Sara Jassim Al Arif; Adnan Arif; Canvas Magazine; Ayang Cempaka; Emanuela Corti; Ola Dajani; FN Designs; Amal Haliq; HKD by Farah Nasri; Julia Ibini; Masataka Ito; Mubarik Jafery; Nadine Kanso; Nada Khalid; Nisreen Krimed; LoNa; Lubna Mobied & Amar Abu Zahr; Mobius Studio; Khalid Mezaina; Nasir Nasrallah; OTT; Wafa Khalifa AlQasaimi; Ali Rahman Khan; Ali Rouhani; Yusra Shaher; SOUGHA; Tashkeel; Kate Toledo; Alifiyah Vali we.raq; and WTD Magazine.

Participants were selected by a jury that includes Furniture and Objects Designer Khalid Shafar, Creative Entrepreneur Saadia Zahid and Design Days Fair Director Cyril Zammit.

dXb Store History

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of creativity in the UAE, with young designers and artists, working predominantly in home studios, experimenting with locally-produced materials to produce limited edition objects, artists' multiples, and other design products. Many of these practitioners, mostly Emirati nationals and long-term residents, were first featured in and commissioned by the concept store 5 Green (2004-9, run by 9714 and designed by DXB-LAB), and then by other boutiques and galleries, including 50 degrees C, s*uce, Shelter, Traffic and The Third Line.

In 2011, Art Dubai launched dXb Store, a not-for-profit space designed in collaboration with the College of Architecture, Art and Design, the American University of Sharjah (AUS). In 2012, Art Dubai joined forces with MAKE Business Hub to co-commission a "pop-up pavilion" to host the dXb Store at Art Dubai and in its other iterations throughout the year. The 2012 dXb Store was designed by anarchitects.