How cool is it that in the modern world, expressing yourself can take so many forms? Cute outfits, unusual jewellery, fun shoes, all of this is sorted by the great minds in fashion. My current personal obsession is Matthieu Blazy, but that’s a topic for another conversation.
But what about expressing ourselves through our homes?
I’d say styling your house is like designing your soul. This is your comfort space, a place you create and tune for your mind to be at peace (or drama, if that’s what you prefer). Walking into someone’s home is always a way of getting to know them better. Seeing the patterns, the choice of materials, and also spotting the art pieces and maybe collectible design.
Who among us wouldn’t want to live in a place like Peggy Guggenheim’s house, or Yves Saint Laurent’s villa in Morocco, surrounded by all the cool art pieces that brighten your day-to-day life just a bit more?
Well, that dream has just become easier to achieve, let’s take a stroll through the MENA artists showcased at Design Miami. This year, Design Miami is celebrating its 20th anniversary. And, as with any important milestone celebration, this one also comes with a surprise. But we’ll get to that later.
Design Miami 2025
For two decades, Design Miami has stood at the forefront of collectible design, platforming the most daring creators, cutting-edge studios, and the world’s leading galleries. Its annual Miami Beach fair continues to cement the event as a global nexus for ideas, experimentation, and craft, operating at the intersection of imagination and material mastery.
This edition is revolving around the theme “Make. Believe.” bringing together over 70 galleries and special projects to highlight design’s power to “turn imagination into reality,” as noted by Glenn Adamson, the Curatorial Director. Those of us, who have visited Nomad in Abu Dhabi, could now feel a subtle connection with “Antidote” by Creator and Curator experience, right?
Among this array of wtudios and galleries great regional creators were also selected to be showcased this year, extending Miami’s design vocabulary. Their presence signals something larger than just a regional representation, it marks the moment, when the Middle East becomes an emotional core of the global design scene.
MENA Artists at Design Miami 2025
As a part of Design Miami 2.0 edition, the popular incognito artist KAMEH (Dubai) debuts KAMEH 6.0, a collection inspired by the desert rose, its crystalline geometry, fragility, permanence. He translated this symbol into charred-wood sculptural objects placed on mirrors, encouraging viewers to experience the interplay of light, shadow, and desert materiality.
“Ashwood has its own character, it responds beautifully when burned. Instead of painting it, I scorch the surface, then seal it with a matte lacquer. Matte is incredibly difficult to work with because every fingerprint shows, but visually it feels more honest. Everyone chooses glossy finishes, but I wanted something more raw and textural.”- KAMEH explains.
Sharing his experience as a representative of the region, KAMEH noted, ”People are always surprised about my origin, in a good way. Today several visitors said, “Wait, this was produced in Dubai?” There’s this assumption that high-level production can’t happen here, and I love proving that wrong. It wasn’t easy. I spent entire summers working in a warehouse at 50–60 degrees with no AC. But I’m proud, proud of my team, proud of the craftsmanship, proud of the final details. And most of all, proud that people now see what’s possible here.”
Another regional exhibitor is a multidisciplinary designer, Roham Shamekh (Dubai), presented this Roots Collection, including a monumental sculptural sofa presented under Design Miami’s Spirituality & Storytelling highlights.
Hand-crafted over the course of a year, the piece is built from an epoxy resin base layered with melted aluminium and overlaid with silk fabric, creating a textured surface that appears simultaneously geological and fluid.
“Everything is sculpted and moulded by hand first. Once the base is shaped, I layer the porcelain and aluminium, letting them melt and interact naturally. Every drip you see is intentional, created one by one.” — Roham explains.
Conceived as an “ode to the universe” and described as a journey of inner exploration, the work invites viewers to sit, breathe, and reconnect with their emotions.
Their presence at the fair has a symbolic meaning of witnessing a great change in the global scene, because, as of now, Dubai is no longer watching global design from afar, but is actively remapping it.
Design Miami Comes to Dubai
On 3 December, Alserkal and Design Miami announced a milestone partnership: Design Miami is officially coming to Dubai in 2027. The initiative will introduce a flagship fair and year-round programming, expanding into the wider Middle East. More than a new location, it marks a shift in cultural gravity.
Dubai now joins Miami and Paris to form a global design triangle, cities connected by experimentation, community-building, and a shared belief in design as a universal language. For the region, it signals a long-awaited platform for collectible design to take its place on the world stage.
To understand the significance of this moment, we spoke with Vilma Jurkute, Executive Director of Alserkal:
THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL MILESTONES IN THE REGION. IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THIS PARTNERSHIP?
This partnership is anchored in shared vision and knowledge exchange. It positions our commitment to our artists, practitioners, designers, gallerists, everyone in our community, to be exhibited on a truly global stage.
Design Miami is a benchmark for collectible design, and it’s remarkable that this benchmark is now coming to the Middle East. What excites us is the opportunity to co-produce and co-present an edition of the fair that speaks directly to our region, our perspectives, and our talent.
The most exciting part is witnessing the opportunities that will unfold. There are so many exceptional practitioners in our ecosystem already, and this platform gives them the visibility and dialogue they deserve. It’s a pivotal moment: a new arena for exchange, collaboration, and co-creation that will allow the next generation of designers to emerge.
The partnership between Design Miami, Alserkal, and Dubai is a commitment to our publics and to everyone who has supported us over the years. When the community stands with us, engages with us, and sees themselves represented in a global context, that is success.
WHY DO YOU FEEL DUBAI IS THE RIGHT HOME FOR DESIGN MIAMI’S MIDDLE EASTERN DEBUT?
Dubai is already a financial capital, a tourism capital, and a magnet for talent and ideas. It has a thriving contemporary art market, so design is the next natural chapter. If we were able to build an ecosystem for contemporary art, we can now build one for collectible design. The city’s cosmopolitan nature makes it the ideal location for this next phase.
ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS MOMENT?
I’m overwhelmed with excitement. Genuinely. The calls and messages we’re receiving show how united the creative community is in this moment. People feel this milestone belongs to them too — and that’s exactly how it should be. Alserkal has always been about collective authorship and collaborative spirit. To see so many people stand with us is incredibly meaningful.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR REGIONAL COLLECTABLE DESIGN
Truly this shift, as mentioned by Vilma Jurkute, is first and foremost about and for the community. The Middle East has always been big when it came to interior character and functional design, and now all the creatives will have a bigger playground to exchange and collaborate worldwide.
Sharing his thoughts on the partnership announcement, both KAMEH and Roham Samekh mentioned it feels like a natural development of the cultural course.
Roham mentioned, “It creates a real balance. For years, we came from Dubai to Miami, now Miami is coming to Dubai. This exchange is so important. I’m excited to support the fair when it arrives in 2027. It finally places Dubai at the bigger table.”
KAMEH extended, “For me, it’s incredible because Dubai finally has a platform dedicated to collectible design. I’m hoping that instead of constantly flying abroad, there will now be opportunities at home that support designers at the same level, not just in exposure, but in resources. It’s something we’ve needed for a long time.
I loved what Vilma said, for years, art was the primary focus. Now people are beginning to see the potential in collectible design as well. I really believe this will help all of us educate our audiences and grow the market together. It’s a shift we’ve all been waiting for.”
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