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.
4.07.2016
- 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)
4.06.2016
- 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).
4.05.2016
- 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.
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.
- 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.
4.04.2016
- 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
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