Doha, August 31 (QNA) - Qatar Museums has announced the events for Design Doha, Qatar’s premier contemporary design platform, which will return for its highly anticipated second edition, from 5 November 2026 to 31 January 2027. 

  Design Doha was established under the leadership of Her Excellency Chairperson of Qatar Museums Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The 2026 edition is led by Director of Design Doha Fahad Al Obaidly, with Glenn Adamson serving as Artistic Director to guide the biennial’s curatorial vision and international dialogue.

  Building on the remarkable success of its inaugural edition in 2024, Design Doha 2026 marks a significant expansion in scale, ambition, and international reach. The biennial will present more than 15 exhibitions, headlined by Arab Design Now 2026, curated by Noura Al Sayeh and bringing together 81 designers, 78 new commissions and 15 films, with a production scale rarely seen in regional design exhibitions. The participating designers represent 27 countries, working across more than 15 disciplines ranging from architecture, furniture, and product design to craft, urbanism, sound, and social design.

  Central to this edition is Fereej Al Asmakh, one of Qatar’s most significant heritage districts, which will serve as a key hub for Design Doha 2026. Rather than functioning solely as a backdrop for exhibitions, Al Asmakh will be a site of cultural production, community engagement, and design-led urban renewal, drawing on the region’s deep well of generational knowledge. 

  Alongside Arab Design Now 2026, exhibitions will unfold across Doha, as well as in Qatar Museums institutions, heritage sites, and public spaces, transforming the city into a connected network of design experiences. The biennial will present these exhibitions in collaboration with leading regional and international institutions including Turquoise Mountain, Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council, Ithra, Liwan Design Studios and Labs, among others.

  Extending the biennial beyond traditional exhibition spaces and into the fabric of the city, Design Doha 2026 will launch Public Design Commissions, an ambitious programme curated by Javier Peña Ibáñez, Director of Concéntrico, the International Festival of Design and Architecture in Logroño, Spain. Through an open call across the MENASA region, ten designers, architects, and urban practitioners were selected to reimagine public spaces across Qatar. 

  Recognising emerging and established voices across the region, the Design Doha Prize returns in 2026 with four winners selected across the categories of Craft, Product Design, Furniture Design, and Emerging Talent. The Prize is chaired by HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, with a 24-member international jury headed by Iranian-French architect and designer India Mahdavi. 

  Two major bilingual publications—one dedicated to Arab Design Now 2026, and a second documenting the full scope of the biennial—will be complemented by a robust schedule of talks, workshops, and networking platforms.

  Director of Design Doha Fahad Al Obaidly said, “Design Doha 2026 marks the next chapter in the biennial’s evolution. What began as a platform to map the design landscape of the MENASA region has developed into an institution that understands design as a system of knowledge shaped by language, landscape, ecology, craft, and the accumulated intelligence of generations. By extending the biennial into the public realm and placing equal emphasis on research, making, and collaboration, Design Doha positions Qatar as a place where design is not only exhibited, but cultivated, produced, and shared. In doing so, the biennial contributes to Qatar’s broader ambitions for cultural, social, economic, and environmental development, strengthening the connections between heritage, innovation, industry, education, and international exchange.”

  Artistic Director of Design Doha Glenn Adamson said, “Design Doha 2026 expands both the biennial’s scope and international reach. This edition illuminates a constellation of voices across the MENASA region and beyond, demonstrating how design operates through dialogue and exchange. Together, these projects affirm Qatar as a global point of orientation for the future of design.” (QNA)