A unique and creative design scene, an exciting, entrepreneurial spirit, a cosmopolitan crossroads, and a culture of exceptional craftsmanship: these qualities and others will be on display to the world during the first edition of BEIRUT DESIGN FAIR, set to take place in the Lebanese capital in September 2017.
BEIRUT DESIGN FAIR will be held at the Beirut International Exhibition & Leisure Center, from 20 to 24 September 2017. It will take place at the same time, and in the same location, as BEIRUT ART FAIR (23,000 visitors), a contemporary art fair which since 2010 has sought to promote the artistic and cultural effervescence of Beirut, Lebanon and the countries of the ME.NA region (Middle East, North Africa).
BEIRUT DESIGN FAIR responds to the expectations of amateurs, collectors and professionals in search of different and innovative methods, ideas and inspirations in the field of design. The fair aims first and foremost to reveal, on an international scale, the tremendous excitement that characterizes the current Lebanese design scene—a singular atmosphere that is at once global and local, in which international and regional design trends meet and influence each other.
BEIRUT DESIGN FAIR aims to bring together the most important actors - designers, brands, distributors - and to connect them with the sponsors and investors present in Beirut, a fertilecity in constant development and home to countless innovative projects: hotels, restaurants, luxury residences and offices.
Beirut pulsates with extraordinary energy as a cultural hub at the crossroads of East and West. By virtue of its openness to the world and the cosmopolitan culture that it embodies, the Lebanese capital occupies a unique position. Renowned for its lifestyle, its sense of hospitality and its tremendous dynamism, Beirut has been a global source of creativity for many years, thanks both to its highly active local scene and to the Lebanese diaspora, which maintains a strong attachment to the country’s cultural values??.
As a result, the Lebanese design scene is vibrant and scintillating, open to the world while remaining rooted in its birthplace. Creative currents from throughout the region converge upon this energetic and inspiring center, where an international flavor mixes with the rich profusion of local, artisan workshops that set standards for their crafts: metalwork, marquetry, cabinetmaking, glassmaking, weaving, embroidery, leather, etc.
BEIRUT DESIGN FAIR will be an active participant in the dynamism of a city that is both a global crossroads and the point of origin for a vast international diaspora, in order to promote Beirut as the annual meeting place for discoveries, encounters, and business opportunities among design enthusiasts and professionals working in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, the Gulf countries and Asia.
BEIRUT DESIGN FAIR has been created at the initiative of Guillaume Taslé d’Héliand. Hala Moubarak has been named “Head of Exhibitors Relations”. Bénédicte Colpin, from the agency Lightboard (Paris), will participate as “Special Advisor”.
