Designing the Stage for Culture: What Ten Years in Arts and Culture Taught Me

7 min read

Some of my earliest memories of culture come from summers spent at Teatro Marikina in my hometown in the Philippines.

As a child, my siblings and I spent our school breaks attending workshops there. Much of my early exposure to the arts came through dance performances and visual art, surrounded by other young dancers and performers learning about Filipino traditions.

At the time it simply felt like creative play: rehearsing, performing, and just being around people making art. Only later did I realise how much those early experiences shaped the way I see my work today. They gave me a deep appreciation for Filipino culture and, over time, a curiosity about other cultures.

Years later, I found myself on a much larger stage. Working in the UAE’s literary and cultural sector means engaging not only with Filipino heritage, but also with Emirati traditions and the many different communities that meet in Dubai.
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When I first arrived in Dubai to join the Emirates Literature Foundation, everything felt new: the city, our office in a traditional Emirati house, and the scale of the work ahead of me. At the heart of the Foundation’s work is the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, one of the region’s leading literary festivals, bringing together authors, readers, and thinkers from around the world.
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I had joined the team as a Marketing Coordinator, and much of my work quickly revolved around design: creating campaign materials, visual assets, and shaping the way the Festival presented itself to audiences.

I still remember one of my first conversations with Isobel Abulhoul, the Festival’s founder and director at the time. “Be like a sponge,” she told me. Starting my first job in a new country, I took that advice seriously. I watched how the festival was organised, how audiences engaged with events, and how literary programmes were brought to life.

The more I observed, the more I saw how design shapes how people experience culture.​

Before the Design

Early in my career, much of my attention naturally went to execution — the graphics, the layouts, the campaign materials. But working on cultural programmes reinforced something I had long understood from marketing: design only works when it reflects a deeper understanding of the project itself.

Before creating anything, you have to understand what a project stands for, who it serves, and how audiences will encounter it. It may sound obvious, but it’s often overlooked when the pressure to produce visuals comes first.

​Working within a literary institution made this process especially meaningful. Many projects begin with a story, a theme, or an idea that needs to be explored before it can be translated into visuals.

Research became part of the work, and often it meant going out of my way to immerse myself in ideas. I would spend time in bookshops, browsing titles related to a festival theme, or make trips to exhibitions and cultural events around the city. It’s inspiring to see how stories can be told not only through words, but through space, visuals, and atmosphere.

The strongest creative work rarely begins with design. It begins with understanding what the work is meant to do.

Design Creates the Experience

One of the clearest places I see this in practice is during the Festival.

Once venue branding is installed, an ordinary conference space begins to feel like a literary festival. The environment signals to audiences that something special is happening there. In many ways, the Festival’s idea of “Where Stories Happen” is not only expressed through its programming, but also through the spaces we create through branding and design.

I saw the same dynamic when we produced Sulyap, a Filipino cultural showcase in Dubai.

The artists involved were already incredibly talented, many of them active in the community for years. But presenting their work at the Theatre of Digital Art, an immersive digital art space in Dubai, supported by thoughtful production and visual direction, changed how audiences experienced their performances.

The talent is already there. Design and branding create the stage where it can truly shine.
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Moments like this also revealed the depth of creative talent within the Filipino community in the UAE, and how powerful it can be when those artists are given the right platform.

Sulyap: A Celebration of Filipino Language at Theatre of Digital Art, Dubai.

Learning to Lead Creative Work

One of the biggest shifts in my career came when my role expanded from designing the work to also leading creative teams.​

For most of my early career, I approached the work as both a marketer and a designer. I was very much a doer and not particularly outspoken. I preferred focusing on the work itself. But leadership required a different skill: learning to communicate clearly why a certain direction mattered, not only to the team but also to leadership, especially after rounds of brainstorming and exploration.

​I also became increasingly aware of something that frustrates many creatives: leaders who dictate creative decisions without understanding the craft behind them. It can easily feel dismissive of the expertise that creative teams bring to the work. 
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Strong creative leadership looks very different. Rather than controlling every detail, good leaders create the conditions for their teams to do what they do best.  The role of a creative lead is not to dominate the process, but to guide it, offering direction, clarifying the thinking behind decisions, and trusting the expertise of the people around you.

The Role of Community

Over the years, I’ve seen that when artists are given space to share their work, they naturally become advocates for the institutions and platforms that support them. Seeing this firsthand helped me understand how cultural ecosystems grow. Relationships are at the heart of building cultural programmes.​

​There is no shortage of talent within the community, but many artists often work in isolation. Bringing creatives together through festivals, collaborations, or creative collectives creates opportunities for shared platforms and stronger impact.

​When artists from different backgrounds come together, they also bring the stories, traditions, and perspectives of the cultures they represent. In these shared spaces, cultures enrich one another. I’ve seen this beautifully in Dubai’s multicultural arts scene. It makes this an exciting time to be part of the city’s growth, as Dubai continues to invest in talent and the creative industries.

​When creatives and institutions support one another, the entire ecosystem grows stronger. ​And in cities like Dubai, where cultures meet and ideas travel across borders, these connections shape how culture continues to evolve.
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Looking Back — and Forward

If I could speak to my 20-year-old self starting her career, I would probably say: be patient, keep learning, and keep doing the work.

At the time, I never imagined that I would one day lead creative work within the same organisation where I started. But over the years, opportunities opened in ways I did not expect.

As I enter the next chapter of my life, including becoming a mom, I’m excited about the next phase of my creative journey. More than ever, I’m interested in sharing what I’ve learned: mentoring younger creatives, speaking about creative leadership, and contributing to conversations about how culture is shaped and experienced.

Because if the past decade has taught me anything, it’s this: design can shape how culture is experienced, but it is people — artists, communities, and storytellers — who bring that culture to life.

Images courtesy of the Emirates Literature Foundation.

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About the Author

Krishna Dela Paz is a creative director and brand strategist based in Dubai. She writes about culture, creativity, and creative leadership. Learn more →