Design Miami Expands to Dubai With Major Alserkal Alliance
The two entities will introduce a jointly curated platform for collectible design in the Middle East, paving the way for a flagship fair and year-round programming starting in 2027 that will deepen the region’s growing cultural influence
Design Miami signaled a bold new chapter today. During a press conference at the VIP preview of its twentieth Miami Beach edition, the fair unveiled a multi-year partnership with Alserkal that will anchor a new platform for collectible design in Dubai, complete with a flagship fair and a year-round slate of activations launching in 2027. “By triangulating Dubai with Design Miami’s platforms in Miami and Paris, we have created a powerful network driven by our shared values,” says Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, founder of Alserkal. “From today onwards, we’re united in a single, forward-looking design vision.”
The collaboration brings together two influential forces with parallel histories of shaping global creative culture. Since converting a former industrial site in 2007, Alserkal has cultivated one of the region’s most dynamic cultural destinations. Its namesake Avenue now hosts more than 100 artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and cultural practitioners, and draws more than two million annual visits. “Alserkal has played a crucial role in building and shaping an international creative district in Dubai,” says Jen Roberts, CEO of Design Miami.
The joint venture builds on Design Miami’s two decades of convening leading galleries, collectors, and practitioners while amplifying perspectives from the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East. Vilma Jurkute, executive director of Alserkal, frames the initiative as a continuation of the organization’s long-term investment in the region’s creative landscape. “Partnering with Design Miami to launch this Middle Eastern debut is a natural trajectory not only for us as institutions, but for the cultural landscape we’re part of,” she says. “Alserkal has been instrumental in developing MENA’s arts ecosystem and its publics over the past 15 years, and we see design as the next chapter in that growth.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a momentous year for Design Miami, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary edition with the theme of “Make. Believe.” The framework considers collectible design as a realm where bold ideas find vivid physical expression, a perspective that underscores the fair’s anniversary year. “It seems like a unique opportunity to reflect on the fair’s legacy while considering new paths forward,” says Glenn Adamson, the fair’s artistic director. Indeed, over the past year, its parent company, Basic Space, expanded its reach with shopping events in Los Angeles and New York, launched Design Miami In Situ in Seoul, and strengthened its presence in Paris. Likewise, the Middle East has become a collectible design hotbed: Salone del Mobile debuted an edition in Riyadh, Nomad staged a fair in Abu Dhabi, and Downtown Design Dubai recently wrapped its biggest edition yet.