The arts and heritage sector in Dubai is undergoing a fundamental push forward at the moment. There are a number of museums due to open in the next twelve months, each with specific and varied ambitions, target audiences and stories to tell. All will therefore require finely calibrated design strategies to generate singular creative outcomes.

This session brings together designers and thinkers related to some of these projects who will explore the unique context of museum design and some of the individual solutions created for Dubai.

Emily Hall, Director, Barker Langham
Christopher Lee, Co-founder and Principal, Serie Architects
Jason Shatilla, Creative Director, GSM Project
Moderated by Annette Welkamp, Director, Culture Counsel

About Emily Hall, Director Barker Langham
A Director at Barker Langham, one of the world’s leading cultural consultancies, Emily’s specialisms include visioning, interpretive planning, curation and script. She leads on strategic and interpretive projects across BL’s international portfolio, in Europe, Russia, North America and the Middle East. Emily’s design background combines with her appreciation of the unique cultural context of each project to inform her creative and passionate approach to her work. Based between Berlin, London and the UAE, Emily heads-up BL Berlin and contributes to Freiburg University’s Museon ‘Interpretive Planning’ course. A former lecturer in Design Theory at London Metropolitan University, she is an alumnus of the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
barkerlangham.co.uk

About Christopher Lee, Co-founder and Principal, Serie Architects
Christopher Lee is the co-founder and principal of Serie Architects London, Mumbai, Singapore and Beijing; and leads the design of Serie across all four ofices. He is Associate Professor in Practice of Urban Design at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He previously served as Design Critic at the GSD (2011-12). Prior to that he was the Director of the AA Projective Cities MPhil Programme (2010-12) and AA Diploma and Intermediate Unit Master (2002-09 ). Lee graduated with the AA Diploma (Honors) from the AA, received the RIBA President’s Medal Commendation Award, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture and Urbanism from the Berlage Institute and TU Delt.
www.serie.co.uk

About Jason Shatilla Creative Director, Dubai, GSM Project
As part of GSM Project’s creative team, Jason brings the visitor experience to life through engaging and immersive exhibition design. Working in collaboration with content directors as well as a multidisciplinary team of interaction designers, art directors and graphic designers, he ensures that the visitor journey is seamless, fluid, and impactful. Jason is an accomplished multidisciplinary designer with 16 years of experience in brand identity development, product design, and interior architecture. Since joining the GSM Project team, Jason has overseen the exhibition design for several major museum projects internationally, including various pavilions of the Shindagha Museum in Dubai.
gsmproject.com

About Annette Welkamp - Director, Culture Counsel
Annette Welkamp is the Director of Culture Counsel, a Dubai-based art and heritage consultancy. She has lived and worked in the Gulf for almost 8 years, and has been engaged by museums, galleries, the corporate sector, collectors, governments, universities and artists in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Annette's museum background is extensive, and includes curating, programmes, exhibitions development and touring, and institutional re-development master-planning. She also developed and taught the 'Exhibitions' unit for Deakin University's Museum Studies post-graduate programme.
www.culturecounsel.art