Jordanian designers to showcase work at world famous Venice Design 2018

AMMAN — Four Jordanian designers have been invited to take part in Venice Design 2018, the largest international design exhibition alongside La Biennale di Venezia, a statement by Amman Design Week (ADW) said.

Basel Naouri, Ziad Qweider, Mais Al Azab and the Naqsh Collective sisters Nisreen and Nermeen Abudail, all of whom have previously showcased their work at past editions of ADW, will be taking part in the third edition of this world-renowned event.

Around 50 designers from 30 different countries have been invited to present their work and take part in various exhibitions between May 26 and November 25 in the historical location of Palazzo Michiel in Venice, Italy.

Naouri will exhibit his piece titled “Tonal Texture”, an interactive audio-visual installation produced exclusively for the event. A physical embodiment of sound waves through parametrical design, “Tonal Texture” will allow visitors to interact with sound in a new way, the statement said. 

For his part, Qweider will present his entire body of work showcased during ADW 2016, including two pieces of intricate embroidery inspired by traditional Palestinian embroidery titled “Face from Another World” and “Light & Hope Through Apartheid Wall”. These works reflect their own cultural specificity, as each piece tells a story about the struggle of Palestinians, according to the statement. 

Al Azab will display her mirage installation “The Desert Skyline”, an abstract and harmonious silhouette of a low-rise city composed with the horizon line of the desert as a contextual backdrop. The piece aims at challenging trending construction acts that bear no connection to their surroundings, the statement read. 

As for the Abudail sisters, they will display “Umm Qais” and “Umm Assarab”, two of their woks that comprise stone tables engraved with embroidery motifs on basalt and bottocino.

By participating in Venice Design 2018, these four designers join a growing list of designers from the Kingdom who are having their work exhibited abroad, such as former ADW participant, Rula Yaghmour, a Jordanian architect and designer who showcased “Kutleh” last month at the 58th edition of Salone del Mobile Milano as part of Milan Design Week. 

Yaghmour then described “Kutleh” as a “stone block” assembled from layers of found stone, marble, and granite that is used as a new medium to form various objects, the statement said.

ADW’s Director Rana Beiruti expressed happiness to see that “Jordan and its designers are being internationally recognised and invited to celebrate their cultural heritage and bring forth their take on various themes during design weeks, biennials, fairs, and tradeshows across the region and Europe”.

“These participations not only grow the Jordanian creative economy and open up new markets for its young creatives, but also reaffirm our goal of encouraging collaboration and the exchange of ideas, innovations and aspirations in a global context,” she stated. 

ADW aims to connect local designers with the world and promote Jordan as a hub for design that can help expose the Jordanian design scene to an international audience. The next ADW edition is expected to be in the Fall of 2019, the statement said, adding that, in 2018, ADW will be participating with local designers in design exhibitions abroad in countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Lebanon.