The power of storytelling in design is embedded in the act of building deep awareness towards one's own understanding of the world. A good designer is a good storyteller.
In this year’s Majal 2 Design Incubator, the participants are excavating local narratives, delineating the importance of personal and communal history while addressing the needs of their dearest community members and co-habitants. Issues here are issues repeating elsewhere. In this design thinking journey, participants have questioned, interviewed, investigated, prototyped and tested numerous design ideations to get closer to understanding these issues of social and environmental concern. Strategic collaborations with generations-old craftsmen in Bahrain as boat makers, textile and basket weavers, local clay potters, were also activated with hope to bring a revived take of these valuable community techniques.
In this exhibition each designer proposes a timely question, such as how might we live in a more equitable, healthy, sustainable world by addressing the local natural environment through games, illustrations, or interactive interior design? How might we bring awareness to complex topics such as heat tolerance and rapid urban development through the revival of traditions from generations past? Or how can design help promote healing, build meaningful connections between people and their land, and within ourselves? In all of these topics one common goal is present: the need to utilize design as a way to connect the past and present to the desired and preferable future while honoring the history so deeply contained within us.
Participating Artists: Deema Al Tharman ، Saryeh Al Rumaihi، Sumana Buhasan، Aysha Abdulqader، Fatema Yusuf، Waleed Alfadhel، Yasmeen Al Rumaidh، Hasan Albasri، Maryam Humood Al Khalifa and Huda Aldaqaq
Curated by: Yana Dimitrova and Maryam Khaled Al Khalifa
Exhibition opened on 17th September 2024.
