Pad (Dec 2020)
HERstory. A Women Design Project in UAE
Abstract
When dealing with women, stereotypes always exist. They manifest, mainly in two kinds of attitudes: the first resort to outdated models and the second address feminist models. Years ago, me and my colleague, the architect Indu Varanasi have been called to create a design-driven experience to promote the dialogue between different generations of women and female leaders in UAE. The setting was the Dubai Women Museum, founded by doctor Rafia Goubash, where is located the main collection of women stories and objects in Emirates. The project HERstory. A women design project in UAE aimed to promote a different kind of approach, the one that considers female thinking and practice as an inclusive model. HERstory project was a result of plural desires: of meeting and speaking with the women in the UAE, who are trying to change their world; of investigating their forms of dialogue, confrontation and expression; of using design as a tool for building dialogue, listening, creations. The idea was to build a strong contact between women living in UAE, asking them to use their senses as a meta-language for an authentic communication. The project, and the final exhibition, was curated and designed by Politecnico di Milano together with the architect Indu Varanasi (IRDesign) and sponsored by Iguzzini Lighting Middle East.
