The Beirut Art Residency in collaboration with Joy Mardini Design Gallery is proud to ‘render’ the design residency, as part of Beirut Design Week 2017.
Two international designers, Francesco Pace and Anne-Claire Hostequin, were selected to participate in the residency and inquire into the Beirut design scene. For the past two months the residents worked on conceiving a collection of products. The outcome of their creative journey will be showcased at the Beirut Art Residency on the 23rd of May during Beirut Design Week.
This initiative aims to foster dialogue between resident designers and local designers that are represented by Joy Mardini Design Gallery. Based on their individual proposals and practice the residents were paired with Marc Baroud and Carla Baz. The designers were invited as mentors, providing further insights into local craftsmanship, key players in the design market and industry know-how.
This collaborative structure strives to bring to light intercultural exchange and bridge seemingly different practices through a critical approach to design.
Anne-Claire Hostequin
Hostequin’s approach can be defined as meticulous yet playful, embedded with the spirit of rationality. During the residency she created the ‘Atypical’ series, which strives to re-imagine the functions of classic Lebanese objects and crafts using minimalist metal structures and traditional carpentry. The reading chair and lamps that where conceived from this approach play with the notions of identity and adaptation, while moving between nostalgia and the present inviting us to see our daily environment though a different lens.
Born in 1992 in Amiens, France, Hostequin set out to pursue her career as a designer with a postgraduate degree in Product Design from ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres in Paris (2015). Her diploma project explored the relationship between man and nature with a set of objects that reinterpret specific trek activities through a design lens. She then joined Fabrica, Benetton's research center, where she had the unique opportunity to collaborated with a myriad of renowned brands and international institutions (Please Do Not Enter, LA, Ars Fabricandi, Veuve Clicquot).
Francesco Pace
The relationship between craft and the environments we inhabit has always been at the base of Pace’s practice as a designer. When faced with the many levels of a complex and ancient city like Beirut, Pace set out to create a collection of objects by collaborating with local craftsmen and the spirit of the city. Combining this with a visual investigation of the details of Beirut; it's buildings, open-spaces, ornaments and shapes, he used design as a tool for interpreting an unknown culture.
Born in 1985 in Napoli, Pace is an Italian designer currently based in the Netherlands. In 2010 he moved out from Napoli to pursue his education in Milan, Berlin and Eindhoven. His work has been presented in several reputable exhibitions and museums such as the Triennale di Milano, Museum of modern art Donna Regina (M.A.D.RE) and Bröhan Museum in Berlin. Pace has recently completed his masters in Contextual Design at DAE. In 2016 he founded his own interdisciplinary studio called Tellurico that is based on the crossroads between Eindhoven and Naples.
The inaugural edition of 'render' design residency was made possible through the generous support of Jammal Trust Bank SAL, Hermes Trading, Aimee and Charles Kettaneh Foundation and The Piece Makers.
About BAR:
Beirut Art Residency is a nonprofit, artist-run interdisciplinary space welcoming residents from all artistic backgrounds. Our artist-in-residence program is a prime stepping-stone for emerging artists embarking on their career and established artists exploring new disciplines. The residency seeks to foster cross-cultural relations between participants and the local community.
beirutartresidency.com
About JMDG:
Based in Beirut, Joy Mardini Design Gallery produces and exhibits contemporary pieces of design that are exclusively conceptualized and created for the JM brand. Having been in the design scene since 2012, the gallery works on representing Lebanese, regional, and international designers, whose products are carefully pre-selected, curated, and presented in solo/group exhibitions, as well as showcased at international fairs.
jmdesigngallery.com
