Shaikha Al-Sulaiti
Shaikha Al-Sulaiti is a Qatari multidisciplinary designer based in Doha whose work explores the relationship between cultural identity, memory and contemporary life. Through furniture, objects and collaborative projects, she considers how design can carry stories from one generation to the next while opening new possibilities for the future. Her practice is rooted in a close engagement with Qatari heritage, drawing on familiar traditions and references to create works with a distinct sense of place. Under the evolving framework of Imagining Utopia, she brings these interests together, imagining how a design language shaped by local culture might continue to develop.
THE PROCESS
Shaikha Al-Sulaiti’s process begins with an exploration of cultural memory: the architecture, rituals, symbols and everyday objects through which a community expresses its identity. Research informs her work from the outset, tracing the stories behind familiar forms and considering how they might be expressed through contemporary design. She approaches objects as records of the values and knowledge of the people who make and live with them.
Material experimentation develops alongside this research. Her approach moves between working directly with traditional crafts and translating historical references through contemporary fabrication. Across furniture, lighting and textiles, she collaborates with artisans to explore how texture, pattern and construction can give physical expression to an idea. In her work with Egyptian weaving house Kahhal1871, these concerns take shape through handcrafted rugs and prayer pieces, where symbolic motifs and the arrangement of forms explore faith, connection and togetherness.
Collaboration also opens her process to other cultural perspectives. With Colombian artist Ángela Ramos Garcés, she explores the unexpected affinities between craft traditions in their respective cultures, using shared techniques and references as starting points for new work. These exchanges allow inherited knowledge to evolve through making. Throughout her practice, Shaikha seeks to create pieces that retain a sense of cultural familiarity while offering new ways to experience and carry that heritage forward.
For available works, commissions or further information, we welcome your enquiry. We would be pleased to share a selection of pieces and discuss their place in your collection or interior project.