Saudi DAH, Abraj Avenue sign accord

JEDDAH — Dar Al Hekma University (DAH) and Makkah’s largest department store Abraj Avenue have signed an agreement to open Dukkan Dar Al Hekma at Abraj Avenue.

The new partnership will open doors for young and senior designers of Dar Al Hekma University to display their artistic works in a dedicated section for retail at the Abraj Avenue department store. It will also allow DAH students to gain international exposure through Dukkan Dar Al Hekma, which was launched in February 2018 with an aim to support the startup young designers of Dar Al Hekma University. Dukkan DAH will open its store at the Abraj Avenue Department Store at the Makkah Clock Towner in September.

Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Suhair Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma University, said: “This agreement is undoubtedly important as it helps us expand Dukkan DAH and give a new platform to our students to put their creative works on display to the public and the whole world. It is one of the countless innovative ways Dar Al-Hekma University has adopted in order to encourage its students to be creative and offer them real opportunities to launch their careers.”

The founder of Dukkan and Supervisor, Dean of the School of Design and Architecture Ms. Nada Zaidan said: “Dukkan DAH was an initiative to help empower women and education, with the support of Al Musbah Group and the opening of the Dukkan DAH Abraj Avenue, will empower students and give them much more exposure."

Welcoming thousands of Muslim visitors from around the world daily, Abraj Avenue is a leading retail store of Makkah-based Al Musbah Group (AMG), a successful network of companies, established in 1969. Commencing business as a retailer of perfumes, the group has since expanded into varied sectors including retail and looks forward to welcoming Dukkan Dar Al Hekma to a new store location at Abraj Avenue.

Dukkan Dar Al Hekma is a non-profit gift shop established to support DAH community talents and contribute to DAH scholarship fund. The first official shop was opened in Dar Al Hekma University.