By Amal Issa 
From October 22–26, 2025, the second edition of We Design Beirut will transform the Lebanese capital into a site of cultural exchange and healing. Sponsored by a coalition of artists, designers and architects, the event spans seven venues across Beirut and offers six exhibitions that grapple with memory, heritage and sustainability.
Highlights include:
- “Threads of Life,” “Métiers d’Art” and “Skin of a City” at the Abroyan Factory — these exhibitions showcase the craftsmanship and resilience of Lebanese artisans, juxtaposing textile traditions with contemporary design.
- “Design ‘In’ Conflict” at the unfinished Burj El Murr, a high-rise that has remained a concrete shell since the civil war, where young designers explore how design can address social and political conflict.
- “Totems of the Present and the Absent” at Villa Audi, curated by Pascale Sabra and L’École Van Cleef & Arpels, which uses jewelry and sculpture to meditate on absence.
- “Of Water & Stone” at the Roman Baths, a collaboration between René Mouawad Museum and the University of Balamand focusing on the relationship between nature, memory and public space.
- “Union: A Journey Through Architecture and Light” and “Rising With Purpose” at Immeuble de l’Union and the Bossa Nova Hotel, presenting installations that look at modernist heritage and the role of architecture in collective healing.
Unlike art fairs that peddle spectacle, We Design Beirut uses architecture and design as tools for preservation and empowerment. The event invites audiences to engage with Lebanon’s layered history and encourages collaboration instead of commodification.
Our take: In a region where art is often instrumentalized for tourism or soft power, We Design Beirut offers a refreshing model. By foregrounding heritage and community rather than hype, it champions serious artistic practice over theatrical “banana on a wall” antics.
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