TheMENAEdit: co-produced by Creative Dialogues x Design Point x Creative Districts, bringing together creatives from Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia and Qatar for the region's first structured cross-border design collaborative exhibition. The collective will present its work during Cairo Design Week, 19–28 November 2026.

Creative Dialogues, the MENA region's leading multidisciplinary creative platform powered by YVT Consultancy, has announced TheMENAEdit: a cross-border design collective co-produced with Cairo-based studio Design Point and Creative Districts, the company behind Cairo Design Week. The programme culminates in a group exhibition at Cairo Design Week's fourth edition this November.

TheMENAEdit is the first initiative of its kind in the region: a structured co-creation programme that pairs seven cross-border groups, each pairing three creatives from the Gulf, Levant, and North Africa with an Egyptian counterpart leading the project on ground to develop an original limited-edition design object rooted in shared heritage, diverse perspectives, and collective experience.

The resulting works are not individual contributions brought together under a common theme; they are collective creations shaped through ongoing dialogue and collaboration. At Cairo Design Week, the creative process behind each piece will be exhibited alongside the finished work, reflecting Creative Dialogues' belief that the act of making is as meaningful as the final outcome.

The Creatives

Confirmed participants span Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Tunisia, Iraq and Qatar, representing disciplines from architecture to conceptual art, interior design to urban practice, and more. The participants working collectively as multidisciplinary creatives prove that the diversity of this collaboration is the future of design and a pathway for creatives in this region.

  • Sara Dhafer Alahbabi (UAE): Conceptual Artist & Educator
  • Gaida Almogren (KSA): Independent Curator & Interior Architect
  • Cherif Morsi (Egypt): Architect & Multidisciplinary Designer
  • Nawaf Al Nassar (KSA): Interior Designer
  • Laith Khalifa Al Shiyadi (Oman): Urban Practitioner & Artist
  • Alia & Tamara Tanani (Egypt): Co Founders of Don Tanani
  • HRH Princess Noura bint Saud Al Saud (KSA): Founder and CEO of Rukun & AlMashtal
  • Nohma Kaaki (Lebanon): Architect, Urbanist & Artist
  • Mohammed Said (Egypt): Founder & Design Director of Ebony & Ivory
  • Alia AlShamsi (UAE): Author, Curator & Multidisciplinary Artist
  • Nermin Habib (Bahrain): Multidisciplinary Artist, Ceramic Artist & Designer
  • Yasmine El Meleegy (Egypt): Multidisciplinary Artist & Sculptor
  • Rand Alkishtaini (Iraq): Multidisciplinary Designer & Interior Stylist
  • Mashhoor Khaled Al Nassar (KSA): Interior Designer & Founder of Thak AlBait
  • Malak Ahmed Helmy (Egypt): Architect, Researcher & Spatial Practitioner
  • Sara Al Nafisi (Kuwait): Designer, Creative & Culture Consultant
  • Ghalia Abdul Jawad (KSA): Multidisciplinary Artist & Textile Designer
  • Alia Mortada (Egypt): Architect & Founder of buro doqi
  • Ghalia Benali (Tunisia): Singer, Composer & Multidisciplinary Artist
  • Abdulrahman Al Muftah (Qatar): Interdisciplinary Artist, Entrepreneur, and Designer
  • Ramzi Makram-Ebeid (Egypt): Designer, Curator & Founder of Human Nature Design

About TheMENAEdit

TheMENAEdit programme unfolds through a series of collaborative phases, including discovery and research, concept development, design, prototyping, refinement, and final production. Throughout the journey, participants will engage through monthly group sessions, ongoing remote collaboration, and an in-person studio visit to Cairo

The programme results in an exhibition debuting at Cairo Design Week 2026, accessible to all Cairo Design Week 2026 ticket holders. The exhibition will showcase the collective design object alongside process documentation and individual practitioner profiles, introducing each collaborator to Cairo’s creative community and a wider regional audience.

Following its Cairo premiere, TheMENAEdit exhibition will travel across the GCC, extending the reach of the programme and reinforcing Creative Dialogues’ commitment to fostering meaningful creative exchange throughout the MENA region. More than an exhibition, TheMENAEdit represents a shift from simply gathering creatives to enabling collective creation, producing a tangible outcome that demonstrates the power of regional collaboration. It stands as a testament to what can emerge when diverse creative voices from across the MENA region come together to imagine, design, and build as one.

"TheMENAEdit exists to prove that design does not stop at borders. We are building a movement that connects creatives across this region, giving them a space to think, create, and tell their stories together. This is bigger than an exhibition, it is a new way of working, and we are only just getting started."

— Yasmine VandaTrofast, Founder & Executive Director, Creative Dialogues / YVT Consultancy

"Cairo Design Week creates the space for ideas to meet, challenge, and inspire diverse creatives locally, regionally and internationally. We're excited to join this year's conversation with Creative Dialogues, bringing together diverse voices, perspectives, and disciplines through design."

— Karim El Hayawan & Nehal Leheta, Co-founders, Design Point Studio

"The MENA Edit reflects something we strongly believe in at Creative Districts: that meaningful cultural exchange happens when people come together around a shared process, not just a shared outcome. By bringing practitioners from across the region into dialogue over an extended period of time, this initiative creates space for new perspectives, new relationships, and new ways of thinking about design. We are proud to host its first edition within Cairo Design Week and to help position Cairo as a meeting point for the region’s creative communities."

— Yosra Sherra, Co-founder, Creative Districts

About Creative Dialogues

Creative Dialogues is the MENA region's first multidisciplinary platform for creatives, powered by YVT Consultancy, spanning educational programming, cultural events, social gatherings, collaborative projects, workshops, virtual programming, and much more. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, curated programming, and meaningful conversation, the platform empowers both emerging talents and established pioneers. Operating across flagship city events, a traveling podcast (Creative Chats), an online community (Creative Connect), collaborative exhibitions (Collab Creative), and pop-up experiences (Curate Creative), the platform has reached 5,000+ attendees, engaged 800+ creatives, and achieved a global Arab media reach of 25M+. Upcoming 2026 editions include Beirut (October), Cairo (November), Manama (December), and Marrakesh (February 2027).

About YVT Consultancy

YVT Consultancy is a regional strategic consultancy operating across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and MENA. With offices in Riyadh, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, and Beirut, YVT partners with organisations to develop strategies, communications, and experiences that create measurable cultural, social, and economic impact.

About Design Point

Design Point is Cairo's leading creative studio, led by Karim El Hayawan and Nehal Leheta. As local creative partner for TheMENAEdit, Design Point connects visiting practitioners with Cairo's craft networks, artisans, spatial context, and cultural landscape, ensuring the work produced is genuinely rooted in Egypt.

About Creative Districts

Creative Districts is the company behind Cairo Design Week and a multidisciplinary platform dedicated to shaping culture through design. Founded by Hisham Mahdy and Yosra Sherra, it develops flagship platforms, temporary activations, and permanent developments across design, art, fashion, and culture.

Media Contact
Yasmine Vanda Trofast
Executive Director, YVT Consultancy / Creative Dialogues
yasmine@yvtco.com | +971 56 310 2721
www.creativedialogues.co | @wearecreativedialogues