Abwab, meaning 'doors' in Arabic, is a programme that supports practitioners from across West, South and East Asia, as well as the African continent, through the commissioning of pavilions that are thematically remodelled each year to reflect timely global and regional contexts.

To date, over 180 designers from across the region have participated in Abwab, representing a range of countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE.

2026 Open Call: In Other Words

This year, Abwab evolves into a curated group exhibition, bringing together multiple participants and contributors. Rather than individual pavilions, this edition presents a shared spatial indoor environment, where individual works come together to form a collective exploration of language through design.​

Every act of communication involves a design decision: what is made visible, what is translated, how meaning is shaped, carried and understood.​

Across public and private space, language takes form in signage, interfaces and the built environment, as well as in gestures, oral histories and forms of address that persist across time and place. It exists in constant negotiation, shaped by migration, translation and exchange, shifting between clarity and ambiguity as it is adapted and reassembled across symbols, scripts and systems.​

In Other Words reframes language as lived experience. It asks how meaning is spoken, remembered, translated and sometimes misread, and how these processes can be expressed through design across visual, spatial and sonic forms.​

Designers and practitioners working across disciplines including graphic design, typography, architecture, spatial practice, writing, research, sound, performance, publishing and digital media are invited to respond to these ideas.​

Production Grant

A production grant will support the execution of successful exhibition proposals, including project development, production and installation.

Submission Process

​Applicants are required to complete the submission form below by July 15 2026, which requires providing essential information and the following documents:

  • Proposal concept statement
  • Relevant research, photography, documentation, video file and material pieces
  • Proposed exhibition display or spatial presentation
  • Portfolio of previous works and CV
  • Approximate cost to produce and install the proposal
  • Dimensions, space and technical requirements
  • Timeline of project completion

Selection Process

Commissioned exhibition proposals will be selected by a selection committee of experts in the design field who will grade proposals based on the predefined criteria, originality of the design and relevance to the open call's theme.

Criteria & Conditions

The proposal must:

  • Demonstrate an evident relationship to the theme
  • Maintain contextual, cultural and geographical relevance to West, South and East Asia, as well as the African continent
  • Adhere to a responsible exhibition design approach, taking into account suitable materials for indoor spaces, production processes, construction, installation and operational processes
  • Be partially or entirely produced in the UAE
  • Adhere to a well-defined timeline for production with the installation ready for the opening of Dubai Design Week scheduled on 3 November 2026
  • Include the thinking and planning for the afterlife and prospects of future deployment and programming


The applicant must:

  • Be able to confirm ownership of all relevant intellectual property rights associated with the submission
  • Be available for virtual calls with the Dubai Design Week team
  • Be present in Dubai to oversee the production and installation of the proposal


For enquiries, please contact [email protected].