Source: www.ameinfo.com
The Pavilion Downtown Dubai, a leading artistic venue for the local UAE artist community, has announced that it will be hosting three exciting days of design-centric events for the inaugural Festival of Interior Design (FoID), which will be held from October 22 to October 24, 2011 throughout Dubai.
The three-day program will include design talks, movie screenings, networking events and other activities under the themes – ‘Prognostication’ day, ‘Preservation’ day, and ‘Illumination’ day.
FoID is being organized by the Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID), an organization representing professional interior designers in the Gulf Region, and will run in conjunction with this year’s edition of the INDEX International Design Exhibition 2011, which will be at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICE).
“We are very excited to host these events as part of the inaugural Festival of Interior Design as this will also allow us to live up to our vision of being a prime venue where local artistic community can meet, hold art exhibitions and host lectures and workshops,” said Yasmine Rasool, Art Coordinator, The Pavilion Downtown Dubai.
“Our partnership with APID reflects a common goal of being able to showcase the creativity of emerging talents in the UAE and act as a strategic platform to discuss new trends and issues in the artistic community.” Yasmine added.
According to FoID organizers, ‘Prognostication’ day will be held on October 22, 2011 and will include a seminar titled ‘Catch the Color’ by NCS, movie screenings, and a presentation on the latest design trends by Scarlet Opus, a leading trend forecasting and business development firm for interior products and services. The second day will be ‘Illumination’ day and will feature a presentation by Danilo Mandelli from Viabizzuno on the ‘8 rules of Light’ in addition to a special lighting workshop and lighting themed soiree by multi-award winning lighting design expert Beau McClellan.
The third and final day called ‘Preservation’ day will include a screening of the ‘Greenhouse’ movie followed by a special video teleconference with ‘Greenhouse’ creator Joost Bakker. The day will conclude with a special networking event featuring leading young British artist Amartey Golding who will create live art at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai.
Joost Bakker is a discipline-crossing creative who constantly draws on his ‘horti-culture’ to make artful commentary on the world’s wasteful ways. Working exclusively with the discard of human activity, he has been commissioned to design furniture, vertical gardens and event spaces in his trademark style juxtaposing nature and industry.
In March 2006, Joost set about the construction of a new home for his family, employing a unique building system; a contemporary take on a great sustainable construction method utilising straw bales set into a 100% recyclable steel framework. In 2008, the same building principles were utilized to construct the first ‘Greenhouse by Joost’, an exhibition and event space at Melbourne’s Federation Square.
“Being able to reach out to a Middle East audience allows me to convey my vision of a more environment friendly world to live in,” said Joost Bakker. “Despite not being able to physically present at the event, the wonders of modern technology will give me the chance to share my experiences and views on the world’s wasteful ways and how we can start making a difference by adopting and implementing more green initiatives.”
Beau McClellan is a widely renowned artist and multi-award winning lighting design expert. Under his design firm, Beau McClellan Design, he has created a wide collection of lighting based products and has also been commissioned to render lighting design services for film, set design, music and advertising. When a chance commission to create an artwork involving illumination came along in 2000, Beau threw himself into researching the world of lighting design, which later resulted in an emotive, exciting and expressive medium that has changed his perspective forever. McClellan’s work can be seen across major projects in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
Scarlet Opus is a leading business development and trend forecasting company specialising in Interior Products and Services. The company, which offers strategic services like trends forecasting, business development and product design, works closely with its diverse clientele to help achieve sustainable increases in profits, revenues and market shares.
Meanwhile, Amartey Golding is a young British artist who draws large figurative portraits on paper and canvas mixed with photography, a key focus being the thoughts and contemplations of the individual and their identities. He puts his art on the streets as well as in galleries, which resembles his feeling of being at home and working in any environment or crowd. In 2009, he had his first solo exhibition entitled ‘Charcoal Diary’ at Showcase Gallery in Dubai, and has followed this up with 2 more successful solo exhibitions, ‘One for Sorrow, Two for Joy’ in 2010 and ‘Thorns have Roses’ in 2011.
“We are delighted to be taking part in the first FoID as it gives us an opportunity to talk about the key trends and changes in today’s interiors market sector,” said Phil Pond, Dream Weaver, Scarlet Opus. “The Middle East region has a wonderful cultural heritage demonstrating a wonderful synthesis of vibrant hues and colors in traditional Arabic elements. Our presentation at The Pavilion Downtown Dubai will focus on talking new trends and sharing a view of the future in consumer motivation, design direction and color.”
With less than a month to go before FoID, APID has revealed that it is right on track with regards to the preparations of activities and events for FoID. Some of the major events for the festival include a Product Design competition, with the top eight entries to be showcased at ‘thejamjar’. The top four finalists will later be auctioned off at the FoID Gala Dinner on October 22, 2011. APID has also revealed its partnership with the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), which is set to attract strong participation from the UAE retail sector. The activities during the festival reflect its objectives to bind and unify interior design professionals in the Middle East region and provide a strategic venue to showcase the designs and work of emerging individuals and firms while also allowing access to key opportunities created by the event. More info
