The exhibition Design for a Nomadic World explores how art, architecture, and design can address the emotional, cultural, educational, and aesthetic needs of refugees while fostering cross-cultural understanding and social cohesion between refugees and host communities. The exhibition title refers to Victor Papanek's seminal book Design for the Real World (1971). Papanek's work exposed the disconnect between design and the "real needs" of people, especially the underprivileged and marginalized. The exhibition Design for a Nomadic World takes up Papanek's mission to rethink refugee camps as civic spaces where crucial social healing, innovation, creativity, and cross-cultural interactions take place. The exhibition aims to broaden the dialogue about the role of art and design in conditions of conflict and crisis within a global perspective. Design for a Nomadic World features past and ongoing work developed in collaboration between the Future Heritage Lab at the MIT Department of Architecture, the GJU Department of Architecture, and the residents of Al Azraq Refugee Camp, with support from CARE-Jordan. The two-year collaboration has resulted in three ongoing projects:
1. A study of the inventions of the residents of Al Azraq camp: This work highlights the creativity and resilience of refugees through design work that demonstrates refugee needs. It has the potential to inform future forms of humanitarian assistance.
2. The Code of Ethics: A platform for exploring the ethics of cultural interventions in the refugee context, with the aim of formulating an online resource for practitioners entering the field.
3. The Lightweaver: A playful kinetic light machine and educational tool developed through a creative co-creation process that crosses borders. The Lightweaver translates stories from textiles into a sensory play of light to preserve cultural memory and inspire hope.
Curatorial concept: Azra Akšamija (MIT)
Curatorial Team: Zeid Madi (GJU), Melina Philippou (MIT).
Production: Azra Akšamija, Mohammad Yaghan, Rasha Al-Sharqawi, Omar Al-Darwish, Yasmeen Barakat, Zeid Madi, Melina Philippou.
Sponsoring: MIT Future Heritage Lab, with the institutional support of the German-Jordanian University and Amman Design Week
Amman Design Week, JO
Group exhibition at the Darat Othman Bdeir, German-Jordanian University
Duration: 6 - 14 October 2017