Alia AlShamsi, a first-year Ph.D. student in Global Studies on the Cultural, Visual, and Literary Studies track at Global Studies University, is presenting Waq Waq Island, a collection of furniture and textile art inspired by the historic connections between South Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and East Africa.
Exhibited at Downtown Design during Dubai Design Week, the collection draws on the monsoon trade routes that carried people, goods, stories, and knowledge across the Indian Ocean. Through reimagined furniture and textile works, Alia explores how folklore, memories, and cultural exchanges can take shape in contemporary objects.
Dubai Design Week brings together exhibitions, installations, talks, and workshops exploring design, architecture, and creative practice.
At the collection’s center is the “Offline Corner,” a space within the home dedicated to reading, journaling, reflection, and imagination. Its pieces invite people to step away from digital activity and make time for quiet, everyday rituals.
The collection includes a pre-owned rocking chair reimagined with tufted illustrations, a rocking footrest, a modular table that separates into two ottomans, a vintage three-part mirror, and textile artwork. Wood, hand-dyed Merino wool, upholstery, and illustrated surfaces bring texture and storytelling to familiar domestic forms.
An Emirati-Italian author and artist, Alia brings more than two decades of experience in arts and culture to her practice, spanning photography, illustration, children’s literature, poetry, and cultural programming.
Waq Waq Island is on view at Downtown Design from November 4–8, 2026, at Dubai Design District (d3).
