Sarah Al Dulaimi is an Iraqi-British artist, designer, and architect whose extraordinary practice is deeply rooted in her experience as a visual artist. Renowned for her thoughtful cross-disciplinary approach, Sarah draws upon everyday techniques and reimagines them into new mediums, crafting results that feel groundbreaking yet intimately personal. Her portfolio seamlessly combines contemporary aesthetics with playful, intricate details, reflecting echoes of her dual heritage and immediate surroundings. With a degree in Architecture from the prestigious American University of Sharjah, Sarah further honed her expertise through the Athath Fellowship (2022) and the MAKE Abu Dhabi furniture design course, contributing to the new MAKE workspace in Mina Zayed. Her ever-evolving creations have found their way to exhibitions at twofour54 Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Art, and recently, at the 2023 UAE Designer’s Exhibition during Dubai Design Week.
Below, Art&Gulf Magazine sits down with Sarah Al Dulaimi to discuss her inspirations, creative process, and the role culture plays in her work.
Quick product inspiration text:
The inspiration came from gesture of the abaya and what it represents. I wanted to express its true meaning as a symbol of autonomy, giving women the choice of how they want to be perceived. When out in public, the abaya is worn, yet in a private setting, many women choose to remove the abaya and reveal the beautiful, colourful dresses they wear underneath.
Oculus is a metaphor for that moment of reveal. When turned off, it is a pitch black and mystical circle, revealing nothing. When the light is switched on, an array of colours appear that you would have never expected to be there. It’s a metaphor for identity, privacy, and presence within Emirati and Arab culture.
Your work merges artistic expression, design, and architecture with a distinctive emphasis on color and storytelling. How do you navigate the intersection between these disciplines to create a cohesive design language?
I often wonder why we even have disciplines within design. Who says you can’t merge fashion with lighting, or pottery with furniture, or any other discipline? I find those playful intersections to be the most interesting and most refreshing concepts, because you’re not bound by the typical aesthetics or “rules” that any one medium brings. You are given more creative freedom that way.
I often wonder why we even have disciplines within design. Who says you can’t merge fashion with lighting, or pottery with furniture, or any other discipline? I find those playful intersections to be the most interesting and most refreshing concepts, because you’re not bound by the typical aesthetics or “rules” that any one medium brings. You are given more creative freedom that way.
Having an Iraqi-British background and working in the UAE, how do cultural influences shape your creative identity and aesthetic decisions?
Having been brought up first within a western world and then settling in the UAE, I often feel like I belong at the intersection of two different cultures, and I think this is reflected in my design work. I like to take cultural queues or influences from my surroundings, and think about how this could be then translated into contemporary, minimalist pieces in a new and playful way, that feels authentic to myself. That is also the core of my brand aesthetic, “shaarqi”.
Sarah Al Dulaimi alongside “Oculus”
You participated in the Athath Fellowship while simultaneously being a part of the design team for the new MAKE workspace in Mina Zayed. How did that experience impact your perspective on collaboration and functional design?
Working on the new MAKE space within my job while being part of the Athath Fellowship put me in two roles at once: designer and user. Not only was I designing, I had to think about how people like me actually move, work, and create inside it. It made me more aware of the small details that matter in functional design, and how collaboration isn’t just between designers and clients, but also between the space and the people who use it. I think that mindset stays with me in everything I create. I always try to imagine the person interacting with the piece and how it fits into their daily rhythm.
I always try to imagine the person interacting with the piece and how it fits into their daily rhythm.
Your designs often feature playful and unexpected elements inspired by “my culture and surroundings”. What draws you to these influences, and how do you reinterpret them within contemporary design contexts?
I naturally pull from my surroundings and the cultures I grew up around. A lot of those influences are subtle, like gestures, materials, colours, or small rituals that feel familiar. I don’t try to replicate traditional forms or references; I reinterpret them in quieter, contemporary ways. I like taking something people think they already know and showing it to them from a different angle. It keeps the work rooted but still fresh.
In its unlit state, the abaya fabric appears fully opaque.
As you continue developing your own furniture line, what key ideas or emotions do you hope your future pieces will evoke, and how do they reflect your personal evolution as a designer and artist?
I think curiosity is the emotion I return to the most. I love when a piece makes someone pause for a second or look twice. My process moves between two sides of myself: the meticulous designer who cares about details, and the more intuitive artist who works by feeling. When those two sides balance each other, the work feels the most “me.” With my future pieces, I hope people feel that sense of discovery: something familiar, but shifted just enough to make them think differently.
In talking to Sarah Al Dulaimi, it’s clear that her journey is not just about merging disciplines, but about giving voice to layered identities, cultural memory, and human curiosity. Through her evolving work, she inspires us to see possibility where others see boundaries, offering a vivid invitation to imagine, explore, and discover anew.
Editorial Staff 2025
