“Forget pretty objects.”
Beirut Design Week Director Doreen Toutikian’s words might seem at odds with the mission of an event that showcases creative talent in the design capital of the Middle East, but it does shift the focus beyond just a few pieces in a gallery.
“Design is a tool for innovation in social change and business development,” said Toutikian. “We believe in the value of design, which is far more than just aesthetics.”
Focusing on the theme ‘Social Beings,’ BDW is the largest of its kind in the MENA region, “nurturing the relations between the people that make up the creative industry of Lebanon through the sharing of skills and expertise.”
Organized by the non-profit MENA Design Research Center, the event annual event takes place June 1-7, celebrating the best of local, regional and global design with 150 events spread across 100 different locations in Beirut.
This year’s festival is guided by three principles – value over aesthetics, inclusiveness over elitism and dialogue over dictation – with a stellar line-up of renowned local and international designers including the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, Bang & Olfusen and Parsons New York.
“Designers have not had a unified national platform and voice in this country for a long time, and most had to go to the Milan Furniture Fair to draw attention to their work,” said Toutikian. “BDW provides them with the necessary exposure to make them important contributors to Lebanon’s design scene. And it shares new knowledge through workshops, talks, exhibitions and a conference. We also aim to put Beirut on the global design map. Last year, we promoted seven areas of the city boasting a high concentration of designers, studios and design shops, and the event attracted more than 25,000 visitors.”
Speakers are the conference included local and international designers Johannes Torpe, creative director of Bang & Olufsen, Doug Powell, the design principal at IBM, and Hala A. Malak, co-founder of KAFLAB, a platform that looks at Arab identity through the lens of art and design. The event will also include a Dutch Design Exhibition featuring 12 Dutch design studios, a Finnish Design Exhibition to promote upcoming designs from Helsinki as well as the “Based in Beirut” exhibition focusing on young local talent.
“Most of you will know about the Scandinavian design; very simple, very clear. It worked for us very well because we are a simple, pragmatic people, and we were quite poor also at the beginning of our independence,” said Matti Lassila, Finnish Ambassador to Lebanon, who was a speaker at the news conference. “When you work in design in today’s world I think you need to have influence from elsewhere and influence from everywhere.”
Despite Lebanon’s long history of instability, the country’s reputation as “Paris of the Middle East” still rings true through the country’s flourishing design, fashion and architecture community which continues to gain global recognition from the red carpet to galleries and skylines around the world.
“The environment here can be difficult, due to lack of government support but as a result our design community is supportive, open to new ideas. The current situation impacts on our manufacturing methods but makes us more creative and resourceful,” said Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri, co-founders of Bokja, a design studio in Lebanon.
Paired with exciting showcases of local talent such as BDW, the resilience and resourcefulness of Beirut’s tight-knit design community is successfully cementing the city’s place on the global design map and translating the essence of Lebanon’s stimulating cultural pulse through their design philosophy.
“I’ve tried to define ‘Lebanese style’ but it’s not easy as we’re a mix of cultures, religions, lifestyles,” said Lebanese-born designer Nada Debs, who was brought up in Japan, studied interior architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design in the US and set up a design company in the UK before returning to Lebanon after a 40 year absence. “I’d say we try to mix different styles to come up with something on-trend. Also, our designs reflect who we are: we Lebanese are emotional people and this is reflected in our designs, which evoke a feeling of nostalgia but also of modernity.”
Beirut Design Week runs from June 1-7, 2015. For more information about the event, visit their official website.
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