For this year’s edition of 40 Under 40, Apollo is delighted to present a new theme: craft. This list celebrates 40 talented individuals under the age of 40 – artists, gallerists, patrons, collectors and more – all of whom are interested in the space between art and craft.
Rana Beiruti, curatrice de la première Biennale du Design Arabe à Doha, nous offre une plongée fascinante dans le monde de l’artisanat et du design, mettant en lumière leur rôle crucial dans la construction des identités culturelles. À travers son expertise en architecture et sa passion pour l’artisanat, Rana explore l’interaction entre tradition et modernité, et soulève des questions pertinentes sur les pratiques durables et l’avenir de la créativité dans le monde arabe.
Beiruti, an Amman, Jordan–based curator and cofounder and director of Amman Design Week, began her work with a question: What does it mean to create in our region today? During Design Doha’s opening press conference, she remarked that the MENA region has incredible diversity, as seen in its geographies, personal backgrounds, histories, and cultures. “We wanted to celebrate that diversity and make sure that we share all of the stories that this rich region has to offer,” she said. But there are unifying aspects, like a concern for material processes, responses to arid desert climates, a respect for the land, and the Arabic language. Craft is perhaps the central theme for Arab Design Now. Beiruti observed, “A lot of the designers in our region have dug into this past and are trying to revive traditional practices by working closely with craftspeople across the region.”
STIR details the works showcased by the 70 designers in Doha, Qatar, and converses with the exhibition’s curator, Rana Beiruti, to understand its scope and impact.
Design Doha is the latest initiative from Qatar Museums in its bid to transform the city into a global center of art and design.
We visit Qatar for the inauguration of Design Doha, a new biennial event aiming to create connections between designers and institutions in the MENA region.
Amid a plethora of early spring exhibition openings, artist events, and biennales throughout the Middle East, one clearly stands out in terms of its scale, scope, and thought: the Design Doha Biennial. Envisioned by Qatar Museums under the leadership of Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani and carried out by Artistic Director Glenn Adamson and Deputy Director Fahad al-Obaidly, Design Doha ushers in a new phase in Qatar’s long-standing focus on art, culture, and design.
The inaugural Design Doha biennial has gathered 74 designers and studios from the MENA region for a look at “Arab Design Now.”
The headlining show of the debut Design Doha biennial is a visual tale of the region’s rich craft and design culture, lensed through work that intersects tradition with modernity.
We visited the Qatari capital and global center of Arab creativity. The new biennial is a collection of experiences crowning the cultural investments of the past decades.
A series of recent projects showcase the direction that the emirate is building towards, based on its heritage and the richness of its desert and coast, while focusing on culture and education, aiming for a sustainable development model.
Dezeen has teamed up with Design Doha to make a video reel documenting Arab Design Now, the central exhibition of the Qatari capital's newly launched biennial.
Arab Design Now is the headline exhibition of Design Doha, the Qatari capital’s inaugural design biennale.
Establishing a platform in the Arab world, Design Doha 2024 debuted its inaugural edition in Doha, Qatar. Facilitating dialogues between designers, the event challenges the misconception that the Arab world is composed of a singular culture. It highlights, therefore, the diversity of populations, landscapes, and histories it encompasses.
Establishing a platform in the Arab world, Design Doha 2024 debuted its inaugural edition in Doha, Qatar. Facilitating dialogues between designers, the event challenges the misconception that the Arab world is composed of a singular culture. It highlights, therefore, the diversity of populations, landscapes, and histories it encompasses.
La cérémonie du Prix Design Doha a mis en lumière l’excellence en design dans la région MENA, récompensant des designers du Liban et de Jordanie pour leur travail remarquable. Organisé par Qatar Museums, ce prix biennal vise à promouvoir l’innovation et le talent dans divers domaines du design. Les lauréats bénéficient de soutiens significatifs pour encourager leur croissance professionnelle.
Design Doha 2024 marks the event's debut, with a curated programme (until 5 August 2024) under the artistic direction of Glenn Adamson.
The showcase highlights regional talents and how varying geographies and cultural customs influence Arab design
Qatar Museums launches Design Doha platform as part of cultural drive in the oil-rich state.
While giving vent to creativity through his art oeuvre and book trove, Jordanian artist Hussein Alazaat has left a mark at the ongoing ‘Arab Design Now’ exhibition, held within the programmes of the first edition of Design Doha Biennial at M7 of Msheireb Downtown Doha (MDD).
With 100 designers from the Middle East and North Africa, Design Doha is showcasing emerging regional designers, says Rana Beiruti, who is curator of the biennial's Arab Design Now exhibition.
In bilico tra la voglia di farsi conoscere in Occidente e la ricerca di una via originale al progetto, con un occhio all’artigianato e uno all’attualità, i creativi della regione compresa tra Marocco e Iran si incontreranno in Qatar tra il 24 e il 28 febbraio. Abbiamo chiesto a due donne attive nella promozione del design locale in quali direzioni si muovono le loro ricerche
Arabic design between modernity and tradition. The word to Rana Beiruti
In February 2024, the biggest names in regional and international design will converge in Qatar’s capital for the debut edition of the Design Doha biennial. A dynamic museum-based curatorial concept that will engulf the city’s Msheireb downtown in a celebration of creativity and innovation, the biennial will present a multi-layered programme – ranging from never-seen-before installations, new commissions and multi-disciplinary exhibitions, to a design prize, a talks programme featuring superstar creatives, and even, mentoring sessions.
The ‘Performing Bodies’ exhibition looks into the themes of memory and ritual to explore tactile art techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation. As one of 22 collaborating galleries of the Misk Art Week, Lakum Art Space’s “Performing Bodies” exhibition brings six female regional artists together to experiment with various folkcraft techniques, bringing the region’s rich history to life.
Dive into the visionary world of Rana Beiruti, as she explores the intersection of art, architecture, and design. Through compelling exhibitions like 'Re-rooting,' where she illuminates pressing issues in Jordan, from water politics to extractive building practices. Discover her curated collections, like 'Departures,' where Jordanian designers redefine tradition, crafting contemporary marvels rooted in the earth.
For its 200th issue, Identity pays tribute to 50 individuals who have made positive contributions to the development of design, architecture, and culture across the Middle East and North Africa. The list includes design and architecture professionals who have furthered these fields within their respective countries or have expanded the legacy of design onto the world stage. The list also celebrates individuals who have helped establish platforms - be it governmental institutions or design events - that further enhance the development of design and architectre within the region, while maintaining a positive outlook into the future. From creating notable buildings that have put the region on the map, to developing signature interiors and products that are propelling the crafts industry forward and preserving the region's cultural and architectural heritage, the individuals on this list have time and time again, proven their commitment to furthering design and architecture in the region and abroad. Hailing from countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Sudan and France - these 50 individuals present some of the strongest voices within design and architecture across the MENA region today.
The pieces in the Departures Collection reference the haunting beauty and otherworldliness of Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert.
A vase that echoes the colours of Petra and a hot pink piggy bank shaped like a squeezed balloon are among the objects in the Departures collection of Jordanian collectible designs from gallery Adorno. Departures features the work of 10 design studios, working with different materials and processes but all exploring the intersection between the traditional and the contemporary in Jordanian design. The collection was curated by Amman Design Week co-founder Rana Beiruti, who wanted to challenge preconceptions that design from the region was all about "very traditional crafts and geometric patterns".
While most exhibitions have gone digital, Re-rooting did not. Its vast array of subtle, elegant and restrained constellations brings revelation, solace, and inspiration to the multitudes of other valid perspectives in observing our connection to the earth, our literal roots.
Curated for Adorno by Rana Beiruti, the Departures collection reflects the visual power of crafts and the talent of Jordan-based designers.
The biennial Amman Design Week, has a local mission, but big ambitions with focus on consciousness of production and consumption.
At the “Re-rooting” exhibition in Amman's Darat al Funun, the art on display represents issues and initiatives that are by no means conceptual.
An interview as part of The World Made Local, a global collaboration between the seven international editions of Condé Nast Traveler in which 100 people in 100 countries tell why their home turf should be your next destination. The Creative entrepreneur Rana Beiruti tells where she finds inspiration in Amman.
The third edition of Amman Design Week takes place this October 4-12, 2019. The nine-day program will draw in designers, makers, innovators, and creators to showcase the creative talents in Jordan and around the world. Filled with tours, student exhibitions, pop-up events, workshops, musical performances, and more, there’s no shortage of things to do, see, explore, and discover.
أقيم في الأردن أسبوع عمان للتصميم بنسخته الثالثة وبمشاركة أكثر من 250 مبدعا ومصمما من 13 دولة، وعرضت خلاله أعمال في مختلف التخصصات كالعمارة والأثاث، وشمل الأسبوع ورشات ولقاءات وجولات وحفلات فنية.
The third edition of the fair comes to life inside schools, art foundations, abandoned 20th-century buildings and more. The third edition of Amman Design Week breaks many moulds. Under the heading ‘Possibilities,’ this is is not a generic display of design that may appear anywhere, or that may make a difference pragmatically reshaping the world through commercial offerings – there is no truly commercial arm to the fair. There are no professional ‘buyers’ as such. It is a journey of thought and process, a ‘celebration of the fictional, incomplete and unresolved’
The theme behind the 2019 edition of ADW is “Possibilities” and it came about as a reaction to the hopelessness felt in the face of current global issues such as climate change and the political discourse, which in Jordan, for instance, comes with an attitude of ‘throw your hands up in the air.’ The theme of was a way for us to say that through design, we can dream up new possibilities for the future.
For nine days the Jordanian capital of Amman blossomed into the third edition of Amman Design Week, a multi-disciplinary, biannual event hosting over 200 exhibiting regional designers representing established and burgeoning talent alike. Sponsored by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah and orchestrated by creative director Rana Beiruti, this year’s theme of “Possibilities” directs an investigation of design as an exploratory tool in service of resilient optimism and as a vehicle for change in times of uncertainty.
A commodious terra cotta chair, edible figurines and candy-shaped stones were among the creations that greeted visitors to Amman Design Week 2019. Taking place for the third time in the Jordanian capital from Oct. 4-12, the fair brought together 250 participants from 13 countries. This year's theme was “The future is a step away: what are the possibilities?” uniting farmers with designers to offer new perspectives on the future of food. It also included a special "Future City" exhibition that focused on the possibilities of transforming public spaces into secure sites of food production.
Jordan’s Amman Design Week is now in its third edition and has grown in maturity and ambition with each one. Responding to the theme of “Possibilities,” the show featured work from 13 countries in three capital locations—an elegant 1930s electricity hangar in Ras El Ain, an abandoned series of heritage houses in Jabal Amman or the Crafts District, and a district of art galleries called Jabal Al Lweibdeh.
Dive into the innovative world of Rana Beiruti, the driving force behind Amman Design Week. With a visionary perspective, Beiruti shapes a platform celebrating the essence of Jordanian creativity, emphasizing local materials and craftsmanship.
Amman design week 2019 welcomed designers and visitors alike to explore the theme of ‘possibilities’. With creative director Rana Beiruti at the helm, the biannual event focused on the act of making and storytelling to re-imagine what can be achieved for our future and our present. From furniture to textiles and jewellery, 2019’s exhibits showed a clear focus on the use of traditional craftsmanship and a return to locally-available materials.
Immune rispetto ai vincoli commerciali degli omologhi europei, l’Amman Design Week 2019 offre una ricognizione della scena locale ed evidenzia gli intrecci tra Giordania, Palestina, Bahrein, Emirati Arabi Uniti, Libano, Egitto, Turchia e Kuwait. Affiancando slanci sperimentali a risposte concrete alle urgenze del nostro tempo.
Du 9 au 12 octobre, la capitale jordanienne vit au rythme Amman Design Week. Une nouvelle occasion de mettre sous les projecteurs les artistes et plasticiens talentueux que compte notre région. Pour l’événement, l’Agenda Culturel a posé quelques questions à Rana Beiruti, la directrice de cet évènement.
Themed around the question of possibilities – احتمالات literally ‘the odds’ – the third edition of Amman Design Week offers the over 200 designers involved, exhibiting in 55 spaces all over the Jordanian capital, a broad enough brief to flex and flaunt their individual talents and skills.
How do we live from the soil? What if we used local materials to drive our economy? How do we cultivate food through urban means? How do we drive forward an environmental consciousness? And finally, what are the different ‘possibilities’ of our future? These are just a few questions the third edition of Amman Design Week (taking place from 4 – 12 October) aims to explore. And in some instances, it even found some answers. Under the theme of Possibilities, the design week tackles various topics through exhibitions, workshops and talks. These range across a multitude of relevant national and regional issues that look to the future of materials and traditional crafts as well as food and territory.
This year the immersive design week highlights endless possibilities across the realm of art and design Over the past few years, Amman Design Week, an initiative launched by Her Majesty Queen Rania, has showcased a plethora of art and design pieces with over 200 designers taking part in the prestigious fair in the capital of Jordan. This year for its third edition and under the creative direction of Rana Beiruti, the nine-day program is brimming with talks, events, workshops, exhibitions and musical performances.
After Amman Design Week 2017 that really managed to impose itself as one of the regional Design Week that matters, the 2019 edition came back stronger, under the theme of Possibilities.
After its huge success in 2017, Amman Design Week is back for its third edition from the 4th till the 12th of October. The biennial program, supported by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, continues its dedication to promoting local creators and pushing the boundaries of design in the Arab world. This year, the program is focused on the theme of “Possibilities” and probes the potential of design in creating a futuristic narrative for our cities. As this edition of Amman Design Week establishes its impact throughout a comprehensive program (largescale exhibitions, concept stores, cultural events), it’s easy to miss out on some interesting work. Here is JDEED’s guide to Amman Design Week so you know what to expect—and what to look out for.
In a celebration of creativity, amman design week returns for 2019 by exploring the history of jordan intermixed with innovations for the future of the middle east. it builds upon the success of previous years with the third edition expecting 100,000+ visitors across its array of unique exhibitions, talks and performances. all these design-focused displays showcase the work of both local and international creatives, and welcome likewise global guests too.
AMMAN – Under the theme of Possibilities, the third edition of Amman Design Week (ADW) is scheduled to take place between 4th and 12th of October, showcasing the works of designers, artists and architects tackling major local and global issues with the aim of finding possible solutions. The districts will range from the Hangar in Ras Al Ain Gallery to the Kabariti Village in Jabal Amman as well as Jabal Al Lweibdeh.
When thinking of design on a global level, Amman might not be the first city to come to mind. But with the emergence of Amman Design Week, the Middle Eastern capital is quickly weaving its way towards international recognition for its creative industries.
Jordan’s capital is using its creativity – and a whole lot of calligraphy – to rewrite its reputation for art and design.
Tasmeem Doha 2019, the international art and design conference hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) in Education City, concluded on March 15 after three days of workshops, talks, exhibitions by renowned artists and designers from the region and around the world. The theme of the conference was ‘Hekayat’ (stories) and it was co-chaired by four VCUarts Qatar alumni: Hadeer Omar, Noha Fouad, Wajiha Pervez, and Yasmeen Suleiman. The event attracted people of all ages from a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and interests. Tasmeem Doha featured speakers such as Ahmed Alrefaie, an illustrator and graphic designer from Kuwait; and Rana Beiruti, director and co-founder of Amman Design Week.
Dubai has not only become the epicenter of emirati design but, quite simply, for design in the whole MENASA region (middle east, north africa and south asia). and, once more, dubai design week 2018 signified this growing impression. downtown design – the region’s leading trade fair – welcomed global brands including artemide, cassinaand marset. however, it was the new downtown editions section that stunningly showcased local designers, brands and even other regional design weeks. this focus extended throughout the festival and below, designboom rounds-up the best projects from MENASA creatives at dubai design week 2018.
Graphic designers Saeed Abu-Jaber and Mothanna Hussein founded Turbo without fully knowing what it would be. Now, the studio is part of a growing design scene in their hometown.
For kids, sometimes the simplest objects—like a cardboard box or a spoon—can make for the best toys, especially when resources are limited. In Amman, Jordan, where public parks are few, two architects Sarah Abdul Majid and Sandra Hiari designed what is essentially a modular wooden box to address the need for street furniture and playgrounds for children. Playscapes debuted at Amman Design Week in October 2017, and the duo has already received several orders. To learn more, head over to Dezeen.
Two Jordanian architects have devised a modular, easy-to-assemble system of street furniture to bring ad-hoc playgrounds to cities, refugee camps and other environments lacking in public space. Sarah Abdul Majid and Sandra Hiari designed the Playscapes system for use in their own hometown of Amman, where public parks are scarce.
How do you get an entire city, no, an entire country to talk about design? To learn how it evolved from art, culture, and an innate need to solve problems? You host a week-long event open to all, housing some of the greatest design talent from 11 countries, talking about design as not just a profession, but also as a way of life.
Over the past 100 years, the Arabic language has witnessed a continuous state of decline. Calligraphy - the art of writing the word and the craft of creating the letterform - became a casualty of this decline. Fahres Al-Khattat is a nonprofit publication and a humble effort that aims to empower calligraphers in Jordan. Fahres Al-Khattat features a variety of calligraphy works, attributed to their respective calligraphers, paired with contact details, specializations, and services offered. This publication positions itself as a portfolio and a living documentation - rather than the traditional directory listings - encouraging commissioning opportunities in the midst of the demise of this traditional craft. It is the first step towards the project potentially becoming a series, under the umbrella of Fahres. We believe this series has the potential to extend to other crafts and become a reference tool for the rising generations of designers which seek collaborations with craftspeople and supporting industries. During Amman Design Week, we placed the publications inside a vending machine. The purpose of the vending machine - which was designed to reflect the vernacular visual language of shopfronts in certain local areas (neon signage, sticker on glass shopfronts etc.) - is to avoid the concept of a pity donation to a cause, turning it into an interactive commercial transaction for the users instead.
Out of downtown Amman - the Jordanian capital home to over four million inhabitants - Saeed Abu-Jaber and Mothanna Hussein run their design studio Turbo since the year 2016. A remarkable site, which on the one hand acts as an exhibition space, an office space on the other, and on rare occasions a pop-up recording.
Navigating Amman Design Week presents the challenge of navigating an event spread across the sprawl of a riotous and rich metropolis, all complicated by the dense labyrinth of cobblestone, half-disintegrated walkways, and maniacally navigated motorways connecting the city’s numerous neighborhoods. Attendance requires comfortable shoes, the will to climb an endless gauntlet of stairways, and ideally, a local guide to untangle opportunities from deadends, for nothing in Amman is direct or straightforward.
With Amman Design Week underway in the Jordanian capital, we're putting a spotlight on the region's rising talent, who are out in force at the young event.
Faced with profound challenges, from social and economic issues to environmental concerns, the country's designers exude optimism and a determination for progress. In the midst of adversity, the design community in Jordan embraces the power of creativity to foster positive change and innovation, embodying the spirit of 'Design Moves Life Moves Design
Amman Design Week 2017, happening this October 8-14th, opened its door to a great number of extremely talented designers but also young students and artisans in a joyful and educative atmosphere. For its second year, ADW was spread across the city, taking place in several artistic locations (Darat Al Funun, 45 Turbo, Beit Beiruti…) engaging Amman itself as a hub of creativity for this dedicated week.
Amman Design Week will feature events, talks, workshops, installations and concerts that celebrate local craftsmanship in all its forms.
Among a burgeoning wave of design weeks in the MENA region, Amman Design Week is launching its second edition on October 6th, with reflections on Movement. The nine-day series of thematic events will be held at the Hangar exhibition space, Ras Al-Ein Gallery and al-Hussein Cultural Center in Amman’s old Downtown, with multiple ancillary events taking place in other parts of Jordan’s capital.
With the first ever design week underway in the giant industrial city of Shenzhen in China, Dezeen takes a look at some of the newer and more unexpected additions to the calendar – including Riyadh, Medellín and Amman.
Jordanian artist Raya Kassisieh, with the support of American firm NADAAA, has repurposed her exhibit from the Amman Design Week in Jordan to create blankets for Syrian refugees and Jordanian families. The Entrelac exhibit, created by Kassisieh and NADAAA, consists of 300kg of hand-knit, un-dyed wool which was later cut and stitched to create blankets for those fleeing the Syrian Civil War, now approaching its sixth year.
Jordan’s capital city hosted its inaugural design week this month with an impressive showcase of work by designers from across the Middle East. Set up by directors Abeer Seikaly and Rana Beiruti, and curated by architect Sahel Al Hiyari and architect and curator Dina Haddadin, Amman Design Week celebrates local design talent, crafts, and materials. “Jordan is pregnant with design talent,” enthuses Seikaly, “but we want to create a more conscious design community here. The Design Week is a way of connecting everybody together, it’s a platform for creating that dialogue.”
The festival of juxtapositions blended various disciplines, backgrounds and styles in the Jordanian capital.
Stacked in a bright courtyard in the wadi of downtown Amman, curving hills of watermelons formed a topographical map. Onlookers stopped to pose for photos, tapping the fruits to check their ripeness, as excited children ran between the stacks. This wasn’t a pop-up fruit market, but rather a centerpiece of Jordan’s first design week, a nine-day event that runs through Sept 9. Inspired by the hills of Amman and designed by renowned Lebanese architect Hashim Sarkis, the watermelon map was brought to life by Fayez Abu Awwad and Khdeir Abu Huwash, watermelon traders and respected fruit stackers who have spent decades in Jordan’s souqs. The pair provided the fruit for the installation and combined their expertise with Sarkis’ specifications to build it.
