Arab Design Now M7
Arab Design Now at M7
22.07.2024
Reading 4 min

Arab Design Now, a central exhibition of the Design Doha biennial, showcases the work of 74 remarkable designers and collectives from the MENA region. On view are more than 100 unique pieces that draw from the region’s artistic heritage and natural resources, encompassing installations, furniture, ornaments, and graphic design. Curated by Rana Beiruti, a co-founder of Amman Design Week, the show is being held at the M7 art centre and will be open to the public until 5 August 2024.

Arab Design Now revolves around themes of sustainability, cultural identity, and technological innovation. It explores how local and regional designers address global challenges through sustainable practices and materials and how they balance contemporary design with traditional methods.

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Arab Design Now (installation view). In the foreground: Georges Mohasseb’s crushed marble and resin tables. On the right-hand wall, hand-embroidered tapestries by Louis Barthelemy. In the background, suspended lamps by Booabbood. M7, Doha, Qatar, 2024. Photo: Edmund Sumner.

The exhibition comprises several sections, each showcasing different aspects of design. The first section, Architecture, highlights innovative building techniques that tackle environmental and cultural challenges in the Middle East. The second section, Contemporary Crafts, displays ceramics, textiles, and jewellery that reflect their creators’ aim to preserve ancient techniques while integrating contemporary aesthetics and functionality.

Meanwhile, the Fashion section spotlights Arab designers who redefine style with their interpretations of cultural attire by combining traditional elements with modern trends. The participants include Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab, whose creations blend luxurious Eastern fabrics and embellishments with Western silhouettes, and Lebanese designer Nada Debs. Famous for her contemporary take on traditional Middle Eastern craftsmanship, she creates furniture and home accessories with intricate marquetry and minimalist lines. Visitors can also look at the work of the Bokja studio founded by Huda Baroudi and Maria Hibri. Their eclectic furniture and textiles celebrate rich Middle Eastern cultures, employing vintage fabrics and colourful patterns.

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Omar Chakil, Nubia, Hathor, and Gros Guillaume Stool (installation view). M7, Doha, Qatar, 2024. Photo: Edmund Sumner.

Among the most notable pieces shown in the Arab Design Now exhibition are Omar Chakil‘s Nubia, Hathor, and Gros Guillaume Stool, a monolithic shelving, a coffee table, and a stool on wheels, respectively. The French-Egyptian-Lebanese designer kept his father’s homeland, Egypt, in mind when he chose to use alabaster onyx to create the exhibited pieces. Inspired by ancient practices, Chakil carved the rounded furniture from raw blocks of the material sanded down over time using water.

Another outstanding exhibit is the dune-shaped Tiamat installation by AAU Anastas, an award-winning Palestinian architecture studio. It is part of the studio’s Stone Matters project that examines the fusion of historical stone building techniques with modern technologies. Made of stone sourced from Bethlehem, the installation is informed by the Gothic-style architecture from Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon.

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AAU Anastas, Tiamat (installation view). M7, Doha, Qatar, 2024. Photo: Edmund Sumner.

Constellations 2.0: Object. Light. Consciousness is a chandelier by Jordanian-Palestinian designer Abeer Seikaly crafted from more than 5,000 Murano glass pieces woven together. This sculptural artwork combines Bedouin weaving practices from Jordan with traditional Venetian glassmaking techniques. Once illuminated, the chandelier creates beautiful light patterns that are reminiscent of a starry night sky seen from the Badia desert, as the designer says.

Clay in Context, an installation by Jordanian architect and ceramicist Sama El Saket, is the result of two years of research on Jordanian clay properties. The art piece consists of spindle bottle-style vessels, each made of a different natural clay, which gives them their unique colours, textures, and character.

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Sama El Saket, Clay in Context (installation view). M7, Doha, Qatar, 2024. Photo: Edmund Sumner.

The exhibition also features Sharing the Earth, Moroccan architect Salima Naji‘s two-part installation. This cave-like structure created on-site using traditional adobe technique reflects Naji’s decades-long research into vernacular building techniques in the region.

To get more information about Arab Design Now, please visit the exhibition’s official web page.

In addition, you may be interested in reading about the Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 which was dedicated to the theme The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability. We also recommend that you read our articles about sustainable architectural projects, such as the Dubai Reefs floating complex by URB, the wasl Tower by UNStudio, and the Red Sea International (RSI) Airport.