Dora Dalila Cheffi - ‘People’ restaurant by Bone StudioDubai 2025 I am thrilled to share the wonderful opportunity that Bone Studio offered me to curate an artwork for their new project!
I’ve always been excited to discover what Bone is working on, as I truly admire how distinct and special their aesthetic is in Dubai. So it felt a bit like a dream to receive the renders and curatorial brief, and to imagine which artist could embody the values and aesthetic of the project. The restaurant is called People and celebrates togetherness — gathering around the table and culinary fusions — a theme that deeply reflects the spirit of Dubai.
The first artist who came to my mind was Dora Dalila Cheffi (b. 1990, Helsinki), a Tunis- and Helsinki-based artist working across painting, sculpture, video, and installation. With a background in art education from Aalto University, her practice is rooted in vivid, personal observations that often reflect her multicultural experience. Cheffi’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in several major collections, including the Finnish National Gallery and MACAAL. Her acclaimed series Tunisian Sceneries — with its bold colors and intimate storytelling — felt beautifully aligned with the spirit of People, so we chose to draw inspiration from it in creating the painting.
I felt truly lucky to collaborate with an artist I’ve admired for a long time. We shared the same enthusiasm for this project, and everything came together seamlessly — from the short timeline to shipping the painting from Tunisia to Dubai!
