M7's Zwara programme returns with its fourth edition focusing on furniture design

This year’s cohort, which features interior, furniture and interdisciplineray designers, will showcase their final creations during an M7 exhibition this September.

The Zwara Programme has returned to Msheireb’s M7 – Qatar’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in design, fashion and technology.

This year’s edition comes with a twist as the focus is on furniture design.

This is a nod to M7’s ‘Masterpieces of Furniture Design’ exhibition last year in collaboration with Germany’s Vitra Design Museum.

The exhibition showcased over 50 iconic pieces, transporting visitors visually through time to enrich their understanding of the evolution of furniture over the past 200 years.

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On display were an array of timeless pieces, including works from the lateVirgil Abloh and Zaha Hadid.

Drawing on inspiration from the classics, this year’s Zwara Programme explore how the past can create new visions for the contemporary design future.

M7 and the Vitra Design Museum collaborated once again, with the museum’s education department offering tailored support and mentorship to this year’s cohort of Zwara designers.

A ‘visit’

In an Instagram post, M7 introduced this year’s designers. Namely, Hammam Al Abdulla, an interior designer who in 2021 was selected as M7’s ‘creative of the week.’

Meanwhile, fellow interior designer Galiyah Al Mohannadi also specialises as a furniture designer.

This year’s cohort also includes two interdisciplinary designers: Abdul Basit and Stephen Amoyo.

By September, their finished creations are set to be unveiled with a dedicated exhibition at M7.

Zwara is the brainchild of Qatar Museums and the initiative launched in 2021. The conglomerate described the goal of the initiative as “utilising the rich tapestry of Qatar’s creative landscape to highlight the importance of storytelling and experimentation in design.”

During an interview in 2022, Maha Al Sulaiti, the Director of M7, added that “Through Zwara – which means visit in English – M7 takes designers on a journey through the world of exhibitions to explore and be inspired by existing arts and design.”