- 12 - Najib Mitri (Blogger / Blogbaladi)

BlogBaladi aims to stay away from Lebanese politics and give the online Lebanese community and the whole world a beautiful picture about Lebanon. Occasionally, BlogBaladi authors tend to share their experiences on new places such as restaurants, pubs, venues and others as well as insert sarcastic and fun posts that relate to the Lebanese society.

- 11 - Jana Traboulsi (Graphic Designer and Illustrator / ArD faculty)

Jana Traboulsi is a graphic designer and illustrator.

She collaborates with institutions in the cultural and social fields, for the design of identities, posters and publications mainly. Combining both her practices, she also explores lettering and calligraphy, mostly in Arabic.

On a regular basis, she is the designer and art director of Bidayat socio-cultural quarterly, Dawawine cultural center for performing arts, and Snoubar Bayrout publishing house.

In illustration, she draws comics and editorial illustrations for magazines and newspapers locally and abroad. Her work most often addresses the political dimension of daily life. She published over 10 illustrated books including 3 in children literature.

As a graphic artist, she has worked on limited edition and artist books and prints, and has been exhibited locally and internationally.

A graduate from AUB, Jana teaches there since 2004. She also taught at the Lebanese University for 3 years.

She posts her illustrations and sketches on: ayloul.blogspot.com

- 10 - George Arbid (Architect / ArD faculty)

George Arbid has conducted research on modern architecture in Lebanon and has lectured widely. He graduated in architecture in 1988 from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, and in 2002 with a Doctor of Design degree from Harvard University. He is an Associate Professor at the American University of Beirut, currently teaching design studios, regional architecture and history of modern architecture in the Arab World. He is a founding member and director of the Arab Center for Architecture (ACA).

- 8 - Raffi Tchakerian (Aerospace Product Designer / ArD faculty)

Lebanese of Armenian origin, born 1st of January 1985 in Beirut. In 2004 transfers to Italy to continue his studies in the field of Industrial Design at the IUAV University of Venice graduating in September 2008. Raffi remains in the IUAV’s design faculty following a 2-year program and graduating with honors in July 2010 in the Master’s Course in Product Design, with a final thesis project in aerospace design.

Starting from his graduate degree years in 2008 he starts collaborating with Architecture and Vision (AV), a cutting edge practice involved in art, architecture, product and transportation design based in Italy, working with the Space Architects Arturo Vittori and Andreas Vogler and contributing to many multidisciplinary projects such MoonVille, MoonBaseTwo, Fiore del Cielo and MercuryHouseOne. This professional background enables Raffi to pursue a PhD in Design Sciences in the IUAV’s PhD school, graduating in 2014 with honors and dignity of publication with a thesis discussing the role of designers in the newly emerging entrepreneurial aerospace industry.

During his years of collaboration with AV, In 2012 Raffi becomes part of the main team of the on-going Warka Water project, the water harvesting tower installed in southern Ethiopia in 2015.

As an Industrial Designer, Raffi Tchakerian has matured experience in several fields such as aerospace, aviation, medical, humanitarian design, product, interaction design and robotics, acquiring the ability to transform thoughts into tangible solutions nurtured through cross-fertilizations, spin-in’s and spin-offs between these various fields toward the goal of improving the interactions between humans, tools and technologies they use as their extensions, and the environments in which they live with which they interact.

- 9 - Mashrou’ Leila (indie-pop band)

"A Lebanese band with an eclectic sound, tears up the conventions of Arabic pop culture" - BBC

Born of a nocturnal encounter at the American University of Beirut in 2008, Mashrou’ Leila is a five-member band that fuses the craftiness of a music workshop with the punch of stadium rock. With their distinct approach to storytelling and orchestration, they have crafted some of the most melancholic ballads and raucous anthems in contemporary alternative Arabic music, and went on to perform them live at sold-out venues in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Tunis, Morocco, France, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, USA and Canada to name a few, as well as international festivals such as Byblos, Baalbeck, POP Montreal, Roman theatre in Amman, Paleo and Exit.

"It’s such an impressive performance that stadiums seem not only possible but imminent." - The Guardian

The band has released four albums to date: Mashrou’ Leila (2008), El Hal Romancy (2011), Raasük (2013), and Ibn El Leil (2015). Their music unfolds like cinematographic fictions starring lovesick characters in desolate motels or wandering insomniacs in ghostly cities. At times quirky and playful, at others bitter and somber, the songs demonstrate the band’s great versatility in dealing with musical form, narrative, and social issues.

"The voice of their generation" - CNN

The fourth album Ibn El Leil was recorded in Paris at La Frette Studios and released at the Barbican Centre in London. 

- 7 - Ayssar Arida and Sabine de Maussion (Founders / urbacraft)

Urbacraft (@urbacraft) is an on-demand toy platform. It combines the physicality of LEGO and the hackability of Minecraft, and allows anyone to imagine, manufacture, and sell their own designs.

Urbacraft has recently graduated from the UK Lebanon Tech Hub and the New York based XRC Labs accelerators.

Ayssar Arida (@ayssar) is an urbatect, writer, educator, and entrepreneur. One of “the brightest urban minds of today” according to Manuel Castells, his writing includes the influential book Quantum City. He practiced between London, Paris and Beirut including as representative for Parsons The New School for Design. His work covers architecture, urban planning, game development and toy design. Ayssar holds an MA in Urban Design with Distinction from Oxford Brookes, and a BArch from AUB.

Sabine de Maussion (@urbasab) is a curator and educator. She was the Head of the Arts Department at the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, International Affairs Officer at Le Centquatre, and Publics and Education Officer at the Centre Pompidou. She is PhD candidate at Goldsmiths College in Visual Cultures and teaches both at Alba and USJ. She holds two Masters with Distinction from La Sorbonne (Postcolonial Studies) and Paris Dauphine (Economics), and a BA from Inalco (Arabic Language and Middle Eastern Studies).

- 6 - Ibrahim Nehme and Hicham Faraj (Publication/ The Outpost)

Published from Beirut twice a year, The Outpost is a self-proclaimed 'magazine of possibilities'. It aims to become a catalyst for social change in the Arab region. The magazine is ambitious and multidisciplinary, and covers a wide range of stories that are meant to educate, inspire, and shift perspectives. 

Launched in September 2012, The Outpost has since garnered international critical acclaim. The Guardian called it “a successor to the Economist” and Buzzfeed named it as one of “15 magazines you need to read”. It was awarded Magazine of the Year at the Magpile Magazine Awards 2014 and was recently nominated for Magazine of the Year at the Stack Awards 2015 and won the Subscribers' Choice Award at the same awards.

Hicham Faraj is the art director, I (Ibrahim Nehme) am the founder and editor in chief, and Lara Shabb is a staff writer.

- 5 - Boisbuchet Workshop (ArD students)

For 25 years C.I.R.E.C.A. (Centre International de Recherche et d’Education Culturelle et Agricole) has organized a series of interdisciplinary workshops that take place every summer, an initiative of Vitra Design Museum’s founding director Alexander von Vegesack, who started both projects at the same time. These workshops draw participants from all over the world to live and work for one week with renowned designers, architects and artists at the Domaine de Boisbuchet, a secluded country estate in the Southwest of France.

    The aim of our courses is not to produce a “perfect” product, but to offer insights into the creative process and the challenges involved – to think rationally, work imaginatively and display manual dexterity. The courses focus on practical design and range from concrete topics to questions purposely left unanswered, from furniture and products, choreography, fashion, scenography, installations, interior design and architecture to robotics and engineering. In the evenings an accompanying programme is offered with lectures, talks and leisure activities. The extensive grounds of Domaine de Boisbuchet are perfect for jogging and rambling, and the shores of our private lake invites for swimming or campfires in the evening.

- 4 - Carla Salem (Graphic Designer/ ArD faculty)

Carla R. Salem (Lebanese, 1978) is a papermaker and printmaker whose work explores words and language.

Having lived in Japan for seven years, Salem merges Japanese language and culture with her native Arabic through an exploration of the surface and texture of self made mulberry paper (washi) and its relationship and interaction with light.

Salem continuously develops her own printmaking techniques while teaching printmaking as well as papermaking, at the American University of Beirut.

She is also currently teaching at the Lebanese University of FIne Arts.

Her work is currently on show at AGIAL Art Gallery, Hamra.

The current exhibit is entitled "twofold", March 31 - April 23, 2016.

- 3 - Hatem Imam and Maya Moumne (Graphic Designers / Studio Safar)

Studio Safar is a Beirut-based design and art direction studio founded by Hatem Imam, Maral Mikirditsian, Maya Moumne, and Ayman Abiad. As team members coming from a variety of disciplines, we work in the kind of dynamic and exploratory environment evoked by the studio's name (Safar being Arabic for travel). Our projects span different media and formats such as publications, visual identities, display and set design, packaging, album artwork, and websites.

The studio's members have been trained both locally and internationally in the visual arts, cultural management, graphic design, product design, marketing, and business development. This acquired knowledge feeds into an integrated studio practice that strives on collaboration and dedication.

As opposed to having a signature style, we are committed to creating singular design approaches to each project. While we draw on a number of artistic influences and inspirations, research remains central to our design process. We work closely with our clients to consider all the directions a project might take.

We work with a network of creative people from a wide array of fields including film, literature, music, fashion, and photography. Members of our team continue to take initiatives in starting a number of projects, such as Annihaya Records, Journal Safar and Samandal comics magazine, which contribute to the Lebanese cultural scene and that have become part of international art and design networks

- 2 - Alfred Tarazi (Artist)

In an artistic practice shaped by the ultimate event horizon of the Lebanese Civil War, Alfred Tarazi deploys his visual strategies in order to dig out fields of memory, emplaced haphazardly in a vast expanse of the present tense, often without direction or destination. A narrative emphasis occurs, at the root of which, the artist is unearthing critical and historical tools to read past events, provided by the past itself in the manner of a reluctant heritage. Tackling the Lebanese obsession with history, prevalent in artistic interventions in Lebanon,Tarazi playfully interrogates its questionable sources and selective archival practices, highlighting the role of the past as both origin and destination.

Alfred Tarazi was born in Beirut in 1980. In 2004, he graduated with a degree in graphic design from the American University of Beirut. His entire body of work, ranging across painting, photography, drawing, digital collage, sculpture and installation, revolves around complex historical investigations into the Lebanese Civil War. Tarazi is a member of Atelier Hapsitus, a multi-disciplinary working group founded by architect Nadim Karam and also a member of the cultural activism group The Feel Collective.

- 1 - Adib Dada (Architect/theOtherDada)

Born and raised in Beirut, Adib Dada earned a BAr in Architecture at the American University of Beirut - Lebanon in 2006, a Master’s Degree in the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU - USA in 2011 and completed a Biomimicry Graduate Certificate from the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute and Arizona State University. Dada reconsiders the world differently: like a system of relationships, exchanges, and not like a system of isolated objects and actions. His interests lie in the transdisciplinary dialogue between architecture, living systems, technology and art, which he aims to pursue through his integrated architecture lab theOtherDada (tOD).

tOD’s mission is to activate projects across architecture, design, and art by creating unconventional links at the frontier of science; acting as a catalyst to make a positive impact. tOD promotes a symbiotic relationship between nature and the built environment by being locally attuned and responsive, taking advantage of available resources and opportunities. tOD focuses on reducing the impact of its projects on the environment and exploring new ways of creating generous and regenerative buildings that place humans back within our global ecosystem, in harmony with other living species and nature.

TALK20 edition 10 - 2016

TALK20 edition 10 - 2016

*Designed by Graphic design student at AUB: Nareg, Nour, Stephanie and Farah