Tribune News Network
Doha
Design Doha has announced the return of its international residency programme, Crafting Design Futures, with four designers from Qatar and the wider Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region selected to work alongside Mexican master artisans as part of the 2026 Year of Culture partnership between Qatar and Mexico.
It will bring together designers and artisans as collaborators, using research, experimentation and shared making to explore what inherited craft knowledge can bring to contemporary design.
The participating designers in the residency explore how inherited techniques can take on new forms through contemporary design. From ancestral engraving to the hand-hammered copper of Santa Clara del Cobre, the programme considers how traditional knowledge continues to evolve through creative exchange.
The resulting works will be presented from 8 October - 1 November as part of Design Week Mexico’s Visión y Tradición programme exhibition at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Visión y Tradición is a platform established by Design Week Mexico and Mexico Territorio Creativo that connects contemporary designers with artisan communities across Mexico through research, collaboration and cultural exchange. The programme supports the visibility of traditional knowledge while creating new cultural, professional and creative connections.
Commenting on the programme, Fahad Al Obaidly, director of Design Doha, said, “The success of our first residency with Morocco showed us that the most meaningful design happens when people create together and learn from one another along the way. Through our partnership with Years of Culture, we’re building a global network of designers and artisans who exchange knowledge, challenge perspectives and form relationships that inspire a new generation of design – exactly the type of lasting impact Years of Culture is designed to create.”
The 2026 Pairings
This year’s four collaborations span mediums including clay, engraving, ceramics and metalwork, and hand-hammered copper
Shirine Sbaiti × Norberto y Rosi — Uruapan, Michoacán: Lebanese designer and multidisciplinary artist Shirine Sbaiti, known through her artistic practice LimbObject (Limbo) which uses human limbs as structural and aesthetic elements to create objects, is working with Norberto y Rosi.
Yasamin Shaikhi × Estudio Guerrero — Guadalajara, Jalisco: Qatar-based Iranian interdisciplinary designer Yasamin Shaikhi, whose practice explores material innovation, memory, and the transformation of overlooked materials, has partnered with Estudio Guerrero, known for combining glazed, majolica-type ceramic with ornamental alpaca, or white metal, applications.
Kenan Alkuwatly × José Cruz — Xochimilco, Mexico City: Syrian multidisciplinary designer Kenan Alkuwatly is working with master engraver José Cruz, a specialist in the ancestral Mexican technique of pepita engraving.
Armaan Bansal × Alan Pureco — Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán British-Indian architect, designer, and creative director Armaan Bansal is collaborating with Alan Pureco’s family workshop, which represents more than three generations of copper craftsmanship in Santa Clara del Cobre.
