Design exhibition with a difference

'Design is Downtown', an exhibition organised by Naila al-Thani (L) and Shaikha al-Sulaiti (R) from Doha Design District, hopes to make design accessible to the general the public.

* Display organized by two VCUarts Qatar alumni 'promises to both inspire and educate public' Doha Design District (DDD), a design hub launched by two Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) alumni Shaikha al-Sulaiti and Naila al-Thani, brings to the public an exhibition of a different sort. The exhibition, titled ‘Design is Downtown’ – a collaboration between DDD and Almana Maples, a retailer of branded furniture labels in Qatar for more than 30 years – is on display for three weeks since March 17 at a pop-up location in Sikkat AlWadi, Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD), and offers visitors a more educative experience where they can learn more about the designs, and the designers, of the pieces of furniture on display. The exhibit itself features avante garde furniture from designers, including Moroso, USM & Moooi, to name a few. Each piece of furniture has a QR code, which visitors can scan to access the details of the design and the designers.