AUS’ Six Degrees Offsite highlights emerging voices in architecture and design at Dubai Design Week

The College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) recently presented its Six Degrees Offsite exhibition at Dubai Design Week, held November 4–9, 2025, at Building 9, Unit 5 in Dubai Design District.

A subset of the original Six Degrees, the annual exhibition of work by graduating CAAD students, this year’s edition of Offsite was only the second time the exhibit took place at Dubai Design Week. It offered visitors selected works from the graduate show and highlighted the creativity and innovation of AUS’ architecture, design and multimedia graduates.

Following the original exhibition held at Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK) in June 2025, this special Offsite edition featured selected projects by Spring 2025 graduates, now CAAD alumni, who are beginning to make their mark across the region and beyond. The exhibition offered the creative community and industry professionals a chance to experience the originality and depth of work produced within CAAD’s programs.

Throughout the week, Six Degrees Offsite hosted a series of talks, workshops and gatherings celebrating CAAD’s creative community. Events began with “Practice, Process and Print” on November 5, a faculty conversation on making books moderated by CAAD Dean Joe Colistra and featuring Jason Carlow, Kevin Mitchell, Hala Al Ani, Riem Ibrahim, Seth Thompson and John Montague. Workshops and events continued from November 6 to 8, led by various CAAD alumni and student-led initiatives, such as The Student Collective.

“Making and testing are at the heart of how we teach and learn in CAAD,” said Professor Joe Colistra, Dean of CAAD. “Six Degrees Offsite is an important annual platform that connects our students with professionals across art, design and architecture. It gives them the opportunity to gain visibility for their work, engage with CAAD alumni and network with potential employers. I want to thank everyone from CAAD who contributed to this year’s edition. We received excellent feedback from industry partners who attended the exhibition, many of whom remarked on how impressive and well prepared our graduates are as they enter the profession.”

“I also want to acknowledge the generous support from Sheikh Mohammed Al Qasimi, which allowed us to participate in this event.”

CAAD is recognized across the Middle East and globally for its distinct approach to design education, emphasizing hands-on, studio-based learning, as well as conceptual development. It ranks first (tied) in the UAE and among the top 260 universities globally for architecture and the built environment, and second in the UAE and among the top 260 globally for art and design (QS World University Rankings by Narrow Subject 2025). Graduates who studied architecture or art and design at CAAD were also the top choice for UAE employers in 2025.

For more information about CAAD’s participation in Dubai Design Week, visit the Six Degrees Offsite page on the Dubai Design Week website or www.aus.edu/caad.