Following the success of previous years, the Rising Talents Awards are once again showing how important it is to support up and coming designers.
Part of Maison&Objet Paris, the awards provide a platform for young designers to show their work to an international audience and, after the UK and Italy, it’s now up to Lebanon to present its talents.
Design is currently booming in the country, even though it was only introduced as a discipline very recently when designers like Nada Debs, Karen Chekerdjian and Karim Chaya returned to their home country in the late 90s.
Marc Baroud, an experienced designer who established and chaired the design department at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, says Lebanon is a melting pot of languages and religions which have inspired today’s designs.
“The essential characteristic of design in Lebanon is the multiplicity of its influences,” he explains.
“There is no cultural standard, no industrial heritage, and therefore no ‘ideology’ on function, whether formalised or otherwise. It is a great liberty, which is very exciting.”
Some of the Lebanese young talents chosen to showcase their works include Carlo Massoud, Marc Dibeh, Carla Baz, Anastasia Nysten, Caramel Studio and Paola Sakr.
“This new generation shares one common trait: optimism,” says jury member and founder of Lebanese design platform House of Today, Cherine Magrabi.
“At a time when Lebanon is facing grim prospects and facing challenges to solve its problems, these young designers produce pieces that express happiness. From their offices in Beirut, they share their hope to overcome the clichés that the rest of the world has imposed on the country.”
The six designers use this enthusiasm to bring new energy to Lebanon’s creative scene, as each of them contributes his or her own vision to the furniture industry, says jury member Joy Mardini.
“Whether in terms of craft, material use or technical innovation, it is clear that Lebanese design is not static.”
Indeed, jury member Aline Asmar d’Amman, adds, “the Lebanese feel a sense of urgency to live their lives and celebrate the mundane, they have a certain culture of pleasure and objects that tell stories”.
Bridging the gap between east and west, the choice to honour a country with a booming creative scene shows Maison&Objet is willing to keep pushing the boundaries of creation.
By Marion Gerritsen
