Female designers are the focus of a rug exhibition currently on show during November at Warehouse 32, Alserkal Avenue in Dubai for Downtown Design Dubai. Iwan Maktabi’s Research and Experimentation platform Iwan Maktabi Lab is taking over the venue for a series of exhibitions and cultural events.
The exhibition features the rugs of six women who have collaborated with Milanese brand cc-tapis, co-organisers of the show, alongside designs by Nadine Kanso, who has worked on designs for the Iwan Maktabi Lab. Here seven women who are at the forefront of design display work that speaks of tradition, craftsmanship, and contemporary thinking. Comprising an exceptionally high level of diverse rug creativity, the show includes six different collections by Patricia Urquiola for cc-tapis: Venus Power, Visioni, Slinkie, Rotazioni, Fordite and Patcha. Alongside this, Mae Englegeer’s Mindscape and Bliss collections, Faye Toogood’s Doodles, the Stroke collection by Sabine Marcelis, Super Fake by Bethan Laura Wood and Cristina Celestino’s Avino and Paysage rugs, are the other cc-tapis collaborators on show. Making up the seventh member of the all-women team is photographer and jewellery designer Nadine Kanso, who designed the All Eyes rug collection for the Iwan Maktabi Lab.
As can be seen in the images here, a design talk was held in the exhibition space on Monday 8 November. The conversation between Bethan Laura Wood, Nadine Kanso, cc-tapis’ Fabrizio Cantoni, Mohammad Maktabi and Iwan Maktabi collaborator Rumi Dalle, was moderated by Alya AlShaibani, Manager of the Women’s Pavilion and Country Manager at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Bethan Laura Wood and her Super Fake rug for cc tapis 
Nadine Kanso and her All Eves rug for Iwan Maktabi
With all this Venus energy on display it is clearly a powerful show not to be missed. To see it in-person get to Warehouse 32 in Dubai before 30 November.
