Tashkeel Announces New 2026 Tanween Cohort

7 UAE-based designers to develop new product designs over an 11-month programme, culminating in an exhibition at Downtown Design during Dubai Design Week

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Dubai, UAE – February 18, 2026: Tashkeel is delighted to unveil the participants of the Tanween Design Programme 2026, selected via an Open Call, marking the 13th iteration of the programme. The six designers and one duo who will undertake an eleven-month journey of research, experimentation, and making, exploring material-driven design and locally rooted production are: Alia AlShamsi (UAE), Ahmad Al Kattan (Syria), Nethra and Kaushikk Ganesan (India), Rashed Alnuaimi (UAE), Rawdha Alhosani (UAE), Ayah Alkhatib (Palestine), and Abdulla Abbas (UAE).

Working closely with local manufacturers, fabricators, and industry specialists, the new Tanween cohort will develop new product designs to showcase at Downtown Design during Dubai Design Week, slated to take place from 4-8 November 2026. Rooted in locally sourced materials and informed by sustainable production methodologies, the works will contribute to the evolving narrative of contemporary design in the UAE.

Following the exhibition, participants will receive continued support from Tashkeel through funding, marketing and sales resources to produce limited-edition product lines, enabling them to establish a strong foothold in the market.

The designers in the new cohort include:

Alia AlShamsi, a photographer and author whose practice centres on social documentary, archives, and cultural memory in the UAE. She holds degrees from Griffith University and Durham University, where her research explored photography and memory. In 2005, she was the youngest photographer exhibited at the Biennale di Fotografia in Brescia, Italy. She is the recipient of the 2024 Ministry of Culture National Grant for her forthcoming book project.

Ahmad Al Kattan, a multidisciplinary concept designer and architect working at the intersection of architecture, sustainability, and product design. His practice adopts a research-led, form-follows-function approach, developing space-aware installations and environmentally responsive concepts. With a focus on modularity and material experimentation, he advances design solutions that integrate architectural thinking with sustainable innovation, creating immersive work grounded in technical rigor and social responsibility.

Nethra Ganesan, a RIBA Part 2 architect and spatial practitioner focused on adaptive reuse and sustainable production. She holds an MArch and AA Diploma from the Architectural Association, UK. Currently an Architect and Production Coordinator at Sharjah Art Foundation, she works on the rehabilitation of 1970s buildings and exhibition design. She co-founded the Nonurban Foundation (2020), supporting rural craft communities in India through sustainable, community-led frameworks.

Kaushikk Ganesan, an industrial engineer specialising in systems-based and modular design. A graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology in Engineering Management, his work explores material efficiency, circular resource flows, and context-responsive fabrication. He integrates engineering methodology with architectural craft to develop technically rigorous, sustainable solutions, with a particular interest in modular systems adapted to the UAE’s environmental and material landscape.

Rashed Alnuaimi, a multidisciplinary artist working across music, theatre, film, and design. Rooted in Emirati heritage, his practice explores the relationship between cultural lineage and contemporary expression. Trained in theatre, he has released multiple music projects and performed internationally as both actor and vocalist. His cross-disciplinary approach combines performance, visual storytelling, and design to produce conceptually driven and culturally grounded work.

Rawdha Alhosani, a multidisciplinary designer whose practice examines culture, materiality, and contemporary design. A Fine Arts graduate in Interior Design from Zayed University, she is currently Communications Coordinator at the National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia. A finalist in the House of Artisans Design Competition, she developed Modular Harmony, reinterpreting traditional majlis seating through modular, craft-informed design.

Ayah Alkhatib, a Palestinian architect, researcher and designer based in the UAE, whose practice investigates how material traditions and craft knowledge can shape contemporary product and spatial design. An Architecture graduate from Abu Dhabi University, she collaborates with local artisans, including learning wool spinning and natural pigment dyeing, adapting regional craft techniques for both commercial development and bespoke commissions.Her practice has been supported by the Athath Fellowship with MAKE, the House of Artisans Design Prize, and the Al Hosn Emerging Talent initiative.

Abdulla Abbas is an Emirati architect whose work explores Gulf cultural and environmental identity through contemporary design. A graduate of the American University of Sharjah, he won the Abu Dhabi Art Pavilion (2024) and Urban Commissions at Dubai Design Week (2025). He co-leads Some Kind of Practice, a research-driven studio using archival and fieldwork methodologies to develop architecture rooted in regional narratives.