OPPORTUNITIES

OPPORTUNITIES

A page of local competitions, open calls, residencies and other opportunities open to the Gulf’s creative community

DCAD / Tiffany & Co Design Residency 🔗

DESIGN
DEADLINE 20 September 2026

Apply to participate in a programme of workshops and mentoring on jewellery and watch design. Very few details

  • Residency introduces jewellery and watch design as “powerful creative disciplines where craftsmanship, innovation, material exploration and cultural storytelling converge to shape contemporary design”.
  • Developed by DCAD in collaboration with Tiffany & Co to combine “the richness of Emirati culture, architecture and artistic heritage with [Tiffany’s] nearly two centuries of design innovation and creative excellence
  • Participants will explore the conceptual, creative and technical foundations of jewellery and watch design while developing their own design language through experimentation, research and material exploration
  • Programme inc workshops and mentoring sessions in Abu Dhabi (but no further details of content, schedule etc)
  • Open to UAE Nationals or holders of a valid UAE residency visa who are …
    – aged 21+
    – currently resident in UAE
    – a graduate in a relevant field (jewellery design, watch design, product design, architecture, “or a related discipline”)
    – have min 2 years hands-on design practice – studio work, academic projects with a professional brief, design assistant roles, or maker experience
    – can commit to full programme participation, inc workshops, mentorship sessions in Abu Dhabi
  • Apply online here with …
    – Resume (PDF, max 10mb)
    – Cover Letter or Statement of Intent (PDF, max 10mb)
    – Portfolio showcasing technical skill, creativity, and design development (PDF, max 100mb)
  • Final selection announced 23 October
  • No entry fee
  • UAE Nationals or holders of a valid UAE residency visa
  • Aged 21+
  • Currently resident in UAE
  • Graduate in appropriate discipline
  • Participation in residency

AI Park Design Challenge 🔗

ART
DEADLINE EXTENDED 21 September 2026

Redesign Dubai’s Al Safa Park 2 using AI tools (demonstrating that such tools can be at the heart of creating inclusive, human-centred environments). Three cash prizes totalling AED 200,000

  • Redesign Dubai’s Al Safa 2 Park (15,000m2 neighbourhood park) with AI tools deployed to produce “innovative concepts that are both visionary and implementable”
  • Dubai Municipality pilot initiative “to harness the power of AI across urban planning, architecture, and park design – reimagining the future of parks and public spaces in Dubai”
  • Aim: to explore how an integrated AI ecosystem can augment “the entire design journey from site analysis and user insights to concept generation, scenario testing, and solution development … ultimately elevating design quality while accelerating innovation, creativity, and human-centred outcomes … Exploring AI as a tool not the designer, every design must begin and end with human experience, ensuring spaces are shaped around people and their daily needs … enabling the exploration of new possibilities, challenging conventional approaches, and generating innovative, human-centred public spaces”
  • Specifically: challenge aims to use artificial intelligence as a design support and decision-making tool, rather than as an end product or a requirement to incorporate AI technologies within the park itself
  • Prizes: 1st AED 100,000 2nd AED 65,000 3rd AED 35,000
  • Target applicants: “a diverse community of participants at the intersection of design, artificial intelligence, and innovation across the fields of urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and public space design”. Specifically referenced:
    – architecture, urban planning, landscape design professionals
    – startups innovating in design and AI
    – AI and technology innovators
    – “creative individuals”
  • Apply individually or as a team (one member must be designated as the team leader and primary point of contact)
  • Very detailed project files available to download. Proposals must include (as a minimum) these elements:
    – Walking and jogging tracks
    – Children’s play areas for different ages
    – Shaded seating and gathering spaces
    – Landscaped green areas and open lawns
    – Community plazas and flexible event spaces
    – Family picnic and social interaction areas
    – Outdoor fitness and wellness spaces
    – Universal accessibility and inclusive design features
    – Public amenities and services inc restrooms and drinking fountains
    – Wayfinding, lighting, safety features
    – Commercial facilities
  • Submit …
    1. Executive Summary Presentation: summary of design vision, concept, key innovations
    2. Design Narrative and Concept Statement: design philosophy, vision, placemaking approach, overall concept
    3. Site Analysis and Opportunities Assessment: site context, opportunities and constraints, environmental and climatic analysis
    4. User and Community Analysis: user groups, personas, community needs, aspirations, human-centred design considerations
    5. Artificial Intelligence Methodology Report: AI tools and platforms utilised, workflows, methodologies, design alternatives explored, role of AI in decision-making
    6. Concept and Preliminary Masterplan: overall masterplan illustrating spatial organisation, zoning, and activity distribution
    7. Landscape and Public Realm Plans: landscape strategy, public realm design, planting strategy, and open space framework
    8. Accessibility and Circulation Strategy: universal accessibility, pedestrian and bicycle circulation, service access strategy
    9. Sustainability and Resilience Strategy: environmental, social, and economic sustainability measures and resilience strategies
    10. Concept Diagrams and Preliminary Design Drawings: concept evolution, user journey, environmental, circulation, and analytical diagrams
    11. Sections and Elevations: key sections and elevations required to communicate the proposal
    12. Visualisations and Renderings: aerial perspectives, human-scale perspectives, key experiential views
    13. Day and Night Perspectives: visualisations illustrating the park experience during daytime and nighttime activation
    14. Full Project Presentation: presentation summarising the proposal, including analysis, concept, masterplan, diagrams, and visualisations
    15. One-Minute Concept Animation Video: illustrating the design vision, user experience, key interventions
  • Total implementation budget: AED 35 million
  • Proposals …
    – should organise paths, activities, and open spaces into a clear and cohesive spatial experience with strong connectivity, accessibility, and functional zoning
    – design must be practical, buildable, and functional – must exhibit human-centred design approach with “practical solutions that enhance sustainability and quality of life”
    – AI used to explore design iteration, analyse data, user behaviour, optimise spatial layouts (focus not on automation, but how on how AI can strengthen human-centred, sustainable, context-responsive design)
  • Use of AI: Participants must demonstrate how AI tools were integrated into the design process, eg …
    – Concept Exploration: generating and testing design ideas
    – Design Iteration: refining layouts and spatial arrangements
    – Environmental Analysis (shade, heat, solar exposure, wind) and Response: optimising shade, microclimate, sustainability strategies
    – User Experience Insights: design decisions based on predicted user behaviour
    – Design Optimisation: efficiency, performance, functionality
    – Visualisation: visuals to communicate design intent
    – Site/User Data Analysis: climate, context, behaviour patterns
  • Selection process:
    1. submissions are evaluated by jury
    2. shortlisted designs presented to the local community, who “participate” in selecting winner
  • Jury members:
    – Maryam Al Muhairi
    – Abdulaziz Al Jaziri
    – Shaikha Al Jarman
    – Bader Anwahi
    – Ahmed Bin Shabib
    – Rashid Bin Shabib
    – Carlo Ratti
    – Ahmed Bukhash
    – Adam Scott
    – chair: Maryam Al Muhairi, CEO Dubai Municipality Building Regulation & Permits Agency
  • Jury evaluation scoring
    – 1. Innovation and Creativity: 20%
    – 2. Human-centred design, quality of life: 20%
    – 3. Integration and Effective Use of AI: 20%
    – 4. Quality of Design and User Experience: 15%
    – 5. Feasibility: 20%
    – 6. Quality of Presentation and communication: 5%
  • Queries: ulab@dm.gov.ae before 5 Aug
  • No entry fee
  • None stated
  • Opportunity to win prize:
    1st AED 100,000
    2nd AED 65,000
    3rd AED 35,000
  • Possibility that winning design will be implemented

Rove Hotels / World Art Dubai Emerging Artist Prize 🔗

ART
DEADLINE 30 September 2026

Apply to be part of the shortlist exhibit at World Art Dubai 2026; one Grand Winner gets a booth at WAD 2027, one People’s Prize winner gets AED 5,000

  • Collaboration between Rove Hotels and World Art Dubai, “attracting thousands of entries every year”
  • Submit works on the theme Threads of Connection (“encourages artists to explore human connection in the digital age, how relationships, communication, and empathy evolve as technology intertwines with daily life”)
  • Submissions:
    – Accepted media: images, illustrations, animations, 2D and 3D digital art
    – Min resolution: 1000×1000px
    – Accepted formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, MP4
    – No indication of how many works can be submitted (we’d guess one per entry)
  • Shortlist announced by 13 April 2026, contains up to 10 works (we assume only one work per submission and per artist)
  • Shortlisted artworks will be displayed at the Rove Hotels’ Emerging Artist Prize stand at World Art Dubai (19-22 Nov)
  • Two winners will be selected from shortlist:
    – Grand Winner, selected by jury (prize: exhibition space at World Art Dubai 2027)
    – People’s Choice Winner, chosen by the public (presumably at WAD – prize: AED 5,000)
  • Selection jury comprises …
    – Petra Kaltenbach, World Art Dubai Art Advisor
    – Samar Kamel, World Art Dubai Curator
    – unspecified members of Rove Hotels Design Team
  • No entry fee
  • None stated (though there is no definition for what constitutes an “emerging” artist)
  • Participation in shortlist exhibition at World Art Dubai 2026 (total of 10 artworks on show)
  • Grand Prize:
    – one work selected by jury from shortlist
    – complimentary space to exhibit at World Art Dubai 2027
    – one-night stay at Rove Hotels
  • People’s Choice Award:
    – one work selected by public vote (no indication how this works)
    – AED 5,000 cash
    – one-night stay at Rove Hotels

Venice Internships for National Pavilion UAE at 20th International Architecture Exhibition 🔗

ART
DEADLINE 16 October 2026

Apply to intern onsite for a month at the Biennale Architecture 2027 (Venice, slots available May 2026 to Nov 2027)

  • Since its inception in 2009, 300+ Emiratis and UAE residents have been Venice interns
  • Selected interns work across all facets of the UAE pavilion at Biennale Architettura 2027 (6 May to 21 Nov 2027) in Venice for one month. UAE pavilion is permanently located at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2027
  • Open to …
    – Emiratis and long-term residents (min 6 years)
    – aged 21 and above
    – with an interest or background in arts, architecture, design, diplomacy, international relations “or representing the UAE on a significant global platform”
    – graduates or students in relevant majors
    – fluent in English
  • Applicants must be available to travel for up to 40 days (with written consent from parents)
  • Internship activities include:
    – Guest Services: Managing the pavilion during opening hours, assisting visitors and journalists, guided tours
    – Exhibition Management: Ensuring the pavilion space is tidy, and collateral are replenished and in good condition, equipment is in working order; filing condition reports, exhibition inventory
    – Communications Support: document visitor feedback, contribute to social media
  • Programme begins with training and workshops in the UAE then a month-long placement in Venice. Interns are grouped into cohorts of three and will work in Venice alongside an Italian interns from Ca’Foscari University or IUAV
  • Timeline:
    1. Applications are reviewed against the program’s eligibility and selection criteria. By our count, 21-24 interns will be selected
    2. Shortlisted applicants interviewed in December
    3. All applicants (successful and unsuccessful) notified by February
    4. Mandatory training sessions and workshops weekends to April
    5. Batches of 3 interns are sent to Venice on a 30-day rotation from April to November (selection is at the discretion of the organiser “but we take availability into account”)
  • Provided:
    – Travel Dubai-Venice-Dubai ­
    – Accommodation in Venice (shared room) – Per diem expenses (amount unspecified)
    – Local Internship Coordinator to manage the program and support interns
    – Help with EU visa application
  • Apply online with …
    – personal details, CV etc
    – Cover Letter giving your motivation for applying for the internship (max one letter page in 11pt font, max 2MB)
    – Supporting materials – eg essays, previous works, artwork
  • No application fee
  • Queries to internship@nationalpavilionuae.org
  • Emirati national or long-term UAE resident (six consecutive years’ residency)
  • Aged 21+
  • Graduate or student in a relevant major
  • Fluent in English
  • Participation in shortlist exhibition at World Art Dubai 2026 (total of 10 artworks on show)
  • Grand Prize:
    – one work selected by jury from shortlist
    – complimentary space to exhibit at World Art Dubai 2027
    – one-night stay at Rove Hotels
  • People’s Choice Award:
    – one work selected by public vote (no indication how this works)
    – AED 5,000 cash
    – one-night stay at Rove Hotels