LAUSANNE.- A pioneer of its kind, Beirut. The Eras of Design seeks to capture the dynamics that have enabled design to develop in Lebanon. In co-production with CID – Grand Hornu (Innovation and Design Centre), the exhibition will be held from 7 April to 6 August 2023 at mudac.

At the crossroads of the East and the West, Lebanon has been in artistic turmoil since the beginning of the 2000s. Design too has enjoyed this dynamic and is even one of its most significant indicators. The exhibition Beirut. The Eras of Design seeks to ana- lyse this specific situation which simultaneously combines economic and architectu- ral reconstruction with social awareness and international development. Design alone crystallizes this desire to take hold of one’s destiny and image by offering objects and forms that are not only steeped in a multifaceted cultural heritage but also deeply rooted in a complex reality.

Until the elaboration of this exhibition project, no study has been conducted on the history of design in Lebanon, from the country’s independence in 1943 to the pre- sent day. This colossal project aims to fill this gap by presenting an overview based on rich documentation, while accepting some shortcomings due in particular to the disappearance of whole sections of archives during and after the civil war.

In order to grasp the dynamic lines that have enabled design to develop in the country, the exhibition is structured in three parts: the first on the beginnings of the discipline in Lebanon between the 1950s and 1970s, the second on the period between the 1990s to the present day and the third on the Minjara project and its philosophy.

The exhibition is accompanied by the first publication to also address the different aspects of this emerging scene.