Beirut, 11 June 2019: Beirut Design Week held a press conference on the 11th of June at MusicHall Starco to announce the theme of its 8th edition, to reveal the program and to introduce the names of the international and local speakers who will be leading the workshops and talks.
This year, Beirut Design Week will be exploring ‘Design & Nostalgia’.
The theme merges the concept of nostalgia and the innovations of the past with modern design and all its facets.
Beirut Design Week will offer a space for both local and international creative actors and leaders to explore the relationship between nostalgia and the different design disciplines that have arisen across the years. It will also shed light on the value of heritage for the future of design. This retrospection aims to highlight Beirut’s precious “golden days” while projecting a futuristic perspective of the Lebanese design industry.
Rola Ghotmeh, Founder of The Creative 9 agency and Director of Beirut Design Week 2019 said: “Beirut Design Week is an initiative under the MENA Design Research Center NGO, and the Creative 9 agency is proud to be the curator of this wonderful design festival this year. As we learned more about this project, we felt the need to get involved in it, because not only is it a special celebration of design in the country, but it is also for a good cause. As a designer entrepreneur myself, I am personally driven by this festival and more specifically the idea of fostering creative entrepreneurship. With this in mind, this year, we decided on “nostalgia”, a trending manifestation across various design disciplines, as a theme that also highlights the paradox that we live in Lebanon on a daily basis. The theme of “Design and Nostalgia” is both an inclusive and relatable choice. We want to move people with design and art, and remind them of the positive happenings in the country, all the while providing young and established talents a voice to express themselves. We invite you to take a break from the shadows of the routine, and experience the various Lebanese design interventions, ones which when harvested, would drive better economies. We are also hosting a pool of international speakers and exhibitors, during the first week of July at BDW main venue, Starco, and we are all excited to witness this exchange between local and international creative actors and leaders.
This year, we expect an interesting mix of talents, as we exhibit works by prominent Lebanese designers across various disciplines, and bring in international speakers from Lebanese origins, middle eastern influences, or global appeal. Going about Beirut Design Week 2019, you will question the relationship between time and design, the influences of nostalgia on design, and get to live the stories that today’s technology creates when merged with traditional processes.
Last but not least we would like to thank our 3 gold sponsors STARCO, MINI and Absolut Vodka.”
The 8th edition of Beirut Design Week will begin with an opening ceremony set to take place on Monday July 1st in STARCO, and will last until Sunday the 7th of July. The curated program will be held at STARCO, featuring a series of installations, exhibitions, talks and workshops by local & international creatives:
The exciting lineup of speakers and exhibitors across different disciplines includes:
-Lina Ghotmeh | Award-winning Franco-Lebanese Architect based in Paris July 6th
– Mathieu Le Sourd (MAOTIK) | French New Media Artist All-week exhibition
-Thomas Ollivier | Freelance creative and art director based in London All-week exhibition
– Sofiane Si Merabet | The Confused Arab | Franco- Algerian Cultural cartographer July 4th
– Diletta Toniolo | Lecturer at Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) July 2nd
– Platau | Architecture and urbanism studio July 6th
– Alfred Tarazi | Acclaimed Lebanese Artist July 6th
– Pablo Sendra | Lecturer at The Bartlett School of Planning (UCL) July 4th
-Filipa Wunderlich | Course Director of MRes
Inter-Disciplinary Urban Design at The Bartlett (UCL) July 6th
-Pascal Zoghbi | Lebanese Typographer July 3rd
-Aoi Hasegawa | Course Leader of the Domus Academy Master in Interior Design July
6th
-Ramsey Naja | CCO of J. Walter Thompson
Middle East & Africa July 5th
– Salim Azzam | Lebanese Award-Winning Fashion
Designer July 6th
-Johannes
Torpe | Former Creative Direcor of Bang & Olufsen July 2nd
-Nour Tabet | Senior Art Director at HUGE in Washington DC July 5th
-Athina
Papadopoulou | Senior Architect /
Planning Officer at Nicosia Municipality July 6th
-Carmel Gradoli | Adjunct professor of
the Department of Architectural Composition at the Escuela Técnica Superior de
Arquitectura – Universitat Politècnica de València July 6th
-Jana Traboulsi | Lebanese visual artist, graphic designer and illustrator July
5th
-Moshtari Hilal | Visual artist from Hamburg All-week exhibition
-Adra Kandil | Lebanese Art Director All-week
exhibition
-Sarah Bahbah | Palestinian-Austrialian artist All-week exhibition
-Sara Johannesson | Design Director at Doberman July 2nd
In addition, a series of exhibitions and events organized by Beirut Design Week will take place across Beirut. Participants and their respective events are scheduled per region as follows:
July 1 BDW opening at STARCO
July 2 Hamra / Verdun / DownTown + Starco
July 3 Gemmayze / Mar Mikhael / Jisr El Wati + Starco
July 4 Badaro / Achrafieh / Monot + Starco
July 5 BDW main venue Starco
July 6 BDW main venue Starco
July 7 BDW sunset closing party
Over the years, Beirut Design Week has consistently managed to bring together creatives from different parts of Lebanon to express themselves in a novel way each year. The 2019 edition will surely be yet another success, especially considering the emotional resonance of the theme that has made BDW all the more unique.