Expo’s Emirati Design Platform MENASA Brings Crafts To A Global Stage
We speak to the curator and creative director, Samer Yamani, about the interactive initiative set to make waves in the culture scene…
With a primary purpose to bring diverse stories forward, Expo’s Design and Crafts Programme has unveiled MENASA – an Emirati design platform comprising over 40 local and international designers. MENASA is set to be a one-of-a-kind venture for artisans to tell stories of the United Arab Emirates through exclusively curated design collections.
As a key voice of the design and crafts scene in the country, the content for the initiative is curated in a specific way – promising the visitors of Expo 2020 an opportunity to explore and experience Emirati traditions through a contemporary lens.
“Each of the seven Emirates is working on presenting what they can best show to the world,” says Samer Yamani, Curator of MENASA. “As a curator, I wanted to create a platform that unifies all the voices from the UAE, letting the visitors clearly see what the country has to offer, resulting in a clear conclusion about the craft scene in the country.”
Commissioned and curated by MENASA, ‘Craft Stories’ will feature seven exciting design collaborations between local and international artisans. Additionally, collaborative dialogue will highlight the reimagined Emirati crafts and culture scene. Each story is a multilayered journey that portrays many parts of the UAE – from its geography, people, customs and values to identity by combining the skills and rich heritage of Emirati artisans and contemporary creativity and innovation in techniques and materials.
“Craft not only represents the heritage and history of the region, but also tells stories of the people, representing the highest levels of creativity.” shares Samer. “While craft is a dialogue amalgamating multicultural design, culture and heritage, it is the skills of the artisans and the knowledge which is the actual asset that represents the region.”
For instance, 8,000 Waves: The Pearl Diving Story was MENASA’s debut Craft Story – a beautiful collaboration between Todomuta Studio, a Spanish design studio and Asateer, an Emirati design studio. While the collection features a wall sculpture and limited-edition candleholders and an incense burner, the beautiful story behind the creation centres on the 8,000-year history of pearl diving in the Emirates, the waves of the Arabian Gulf, the reflections of the sun, and the shape of boats that once carried pearl divers for months at a time.
Whereas ‘Design of the Week’ focuses on presenting crafts from 24 UAE-based established and emerging designers to public and private organisations across the country, highlighting the breadth and vibrancy of the country’s contemporary design scenography.
“It’s so appealing for a curator to work with such amazing outcomes. The incredible human experience that merges the pleasure of creating with that eagerness of excellence and the power of communication, which makes craft an effective tool in today’s design and craft world.”
The selection of designers and craft organisations at MENASA is drawn from 11 countries, across four continents. UAE designers and organisations include Al Ghadeer UAE Crafts, Alia Bin Omair and Tashkeel, to name a few. International designers and design brands include BD Barcelona Design (Spain), Estudio Campana (Brazil), Iwan Maktabi (Lebanon), Klove Studio (India) and Nicolas Jebran (Lebanon).
MENASA will be open every day for the length of Expo 2020 Dubai, and will be located on the ground level of the Rove Expo 2020 hotel, next to Al Wasl Plaza.
For more information, please visit expo2020dubai.com
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