Work — BLZE STUDIO

Pearls & Jewels of the Gulf

Exhibition Identity, Design & Catalogues

‘Pearls & Jewels of the Gulf’, a collaboration between L’Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels and Cultural Engineering, was an exhibition that took place at Dubai Design District (d3) as part of a larger program of workshops, exhibitions and events. This exhibition shed light on the history and aesthetics of pearl diving, trading and jewelry making in the Gulf. It celebrated the authentic craftmanship and artistry unique to the region and inspired visitors to explore traditional means and methods of design.

I Love You, Urgently

Exhibition Identity, Design & Catalogue

Entitled I Love You, Urgently, curated by Maya El Khalil, is a call to action in response to the environmental emergency from a local context. Local and international artists, architects, designers and thinkers were asked to propose solutions and alternative methods of living to directly engage society, encouraging dialogue and urging action.

Independent, non-governmental.

Mudun مدن Urban Cultures in Transit

Exhibition Design & Co-Curation

Mudun مدن Urban Cultures in Transit is an international exhibition of Vitra Design Museum and Brownbook Magazine/Cultural Engineering, that traveled to the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.

Mudun مدن is the Arabic word for ‘cities’. This exhibition documented the dynamics and atmosphere of vastly different urban areas of the ‘MENA’ region (Middle East North Africa). Cities like Ankara, Baghdad, Sharjah and Tangier, as well as the diaspora in Altach, Nashville, Santiago or Södertälje, are shown from a micro-perspective across the 3 pillars of: Societies, Places and Architecture.

Brownbook Magazine has been documenting contemporary urban culture in the MENA for ten years, and its archive provided the input and material for the development of this joint exhibition. The resulting collaged presentation of contemporary photographs, text, audio and film material provided a thorough documentation and authentic reflection of the region’s multifaceted urban transition since the 1960s.

See the exhibition video here.

VITRA EDITION:

AA EDITION:

HERE AFTER at B7L9, Tunisia

Exhibition Design & Curation

Contributing Artists: Lifta volumes - Larissa Sansour - Karim Kattan

This exhibition brings together practitioners across various disciplines, including contemporary art, publishing, and writing. This includes a trio of video works by artist Larissa Sansour, a newly commissioned work of literary short fiction by author Karim Kattan, and the adaptation of a volume published the platform Lifta, whose contributors include writing, conversations, and videos by artists, designers, writers, cultural practitioners and musicians such as Ala Younis, Mooni Studio, Mirna Bamieh, Muqata’a, and Julmud.

Here After is conceived of as a timely intervention in the B7L9 programme that addresses ideas about the future, specifically focused on the work of Palestinian artists and practitioners who have taken on this theme. Often addressed in science and speculative fiction, the theme of ‘the future’ takes on a different dimension when the construction or the conception of a future is a challenging and even defiant act.

The exhibition title is derived from a term related to this theme. Rather than focusing on the past, and on a location often conceived as somewhere ‘over there’, Here After places one’s ideas, experience, and imagination at the center, in space and in time, positioned forward, towards whatever future that lies ahead. This intervention seeks to provide a counterpoint to the schism between monochromatic and fixed conceptions of Palestine, and the numerous, diverse, and divergent speculations, lived experiences, imaginations, critiques, and ideas whose possibilities are only hinted at here.

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Learn more about the exhibition here and watch the exhibition videos here and here.

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LIFTA Contributors Featured:

Haneen Adi - Alia Al Sabi - Mirna Bamieh / Palestine Hosting Society - Selma Dabbagh - Alia Gilbert - Lina Hegazi, Makimakkuk, Muqata'a, and Julmud - Abdullah Hindash and Jenan Ismail - Lena Mansour, XO, and Al-Hirra Al-Sawdaa - Mooni Studio - Lina Meruane - Dima Srouji - Ala Younis

Supporting Programming:

-Watch In Conversation: Author Selma Dabbagh & Curator Karim Sultan

Press:

-Article 1 (FRENCH)

-Article 2 (FRENCH)

-Article 3 (ENGLISH)

-B7L9 Instagram