Sharjah: Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK) marked the completion of the first cohort of the BASE39 Creative Accelerator through a final showcase and awards ceremony held at the Park, bringing together designers, industry specialists and professionals from the design and creative industries.

The final showcase marked the culmination of an intensive journey undertaken by participants throughout the programme, whose inaugural edition focused on furniture and collectible design. The programme was designed to support emerging creative talent and enable participants to develop their ideas into tangible products with the potential for further development, production and market access.

As part of its commitment to fostering collaboration with leading organisations in the design and creative industries, the programme was delivered in collaboration with Isola Design, Colab, American University of Sharjah, and May Barber. These partnerships contributed to enriching the participants’ experience and creating opportunities for knowledge exchange, industry engagement and professional development within the creative industries ecosystem.

Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Executive Director of Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, said: “The completion of the first cohort of the BASE39 Creative Accelerator represents an important milestone in our efforts to expand Sharjah’s innovation ecosystem across sectors and disciplines that contribute to a knowledge- and creativity-driven economy. The work and projects showcased today demonstrate the ability of emerging talent to transform initial ideas into products with genuine creative and commercial value.”

He added: “We believe that innovation extends beyond technology to encompass design, the arts and the creative industries, as well as every field where ideas can be transformed into tangible impact. Through BASE39, we provide designers and creatives with an integrated environment that brings together knowledge, experimentation, development and production, helping them move their ideas from concept to execution and ultimately towards the market.”

Throughout the programme, participants took part in a series of mentoring, training and hands-on development sessions covering product development, prototyping and production readiness, as well as pricing, brand building, product positioning and creative storytelling. Participants also gained access to development and fabrication facilities, while engaging with specialists, partners and stakeholders interested in creative products.

The Creative Accelerator is one of the initiatives of BASE39, a dedicated platform established by SPARK to support designers, architects, artists and entrepreneurs across the creative industries. It provides an environment that brings together design, experimentation, fabrication and entrepreneurship.

The programme reflects SPARK’s broader efforts to expand Sharjah’s innovation ecosystem and strengthen the integration of creativity, entrepreneurship and manufacturing, contributing to the attraction of talent and creative ventures while helping promising ideas evolve into products and projects with potential for growth and investment.

The programme concluded with a showcase running from 14 to 18 September, offering visitors and industry professionals an opportunity to explore the participants’ work and follow the stages through which their projects were developed. The programme also culminated in an awards ceremony recognising outstanding participating projects.

The ceremony also witnessed the announcement of the winners of the awards for the best participating projects. Andy Cartier won for “Mushroomiya,” a pendant light inspired by the traditional mashrabiya and developed using mycelium grown on UAE date-palm fibre waste; Ghoson Alqurashi and Ula Albasheer won for “Al-Sukham,” a contemporary lighting design inspired by the Emirati tradition of charcoal making and repurposing eucalyptus wood waste; while Alya AlGhfeli won for “The Med Collection,” a series of side tables inspired by dhow boats, reinterpreting Emirati maritime heritage through a contemporary design language.