House of Today

About

House of Today is dedicated to the enrichment of Lebanon’s design culture. Founded in 2012, House of Today (HoT) is a non-profit organisation that identifies, showcases, nurtures, and connects emerging Lebanese designers to a regional and global design network. House of Today was established by the influential Lebanese entrepreneur, Cherine Magrabi Tayeb, whose aim is to support Lebanese design and to provide a platform for designers to build their profile and to speak to an international audience.

Following the success of the inaugural exhibition Confessions in 2012, House of Today presents the next (biennial) exhibition this December in Beirut, Lebanon. This edition shows the work of 30 acclaimed Lebanese and international designers. The work collectively shares an intriguing mix of known Arabic forms, shapes and materials, with contemporary, international influences aimed at an international, global audience.

Design in Lebanon has historically been informed by a rich tradition in local crafts and local materials. Contemporary Lebanese design is a covetable blend of vernacular sensibilities with an international, optimistic outlook, in part thanks to a new generation of Lebanese designers who are influenced by studies in Holland, Japan, London, France and Italy and who bring a sense of humour to their work.

Invited designers: Sam Baron, Marc Baroud, Sarah / Malak Beydoun, Valentina Carretta, Karim Chaya, Rami Dalle, David / Nicolas, Najla El Zein, Noor Fares, Nabil Gholam, Christian Haas, Dina Kamal, Fadi Mansour, Michele / Georges Maria, Claude Missir, Nabil Nahas, Elie Saab, Nagib Tabbah.

Winning participants (selected from an open call): Kamal Aoun, Tamara Barrage, Vrouyr Joubanian, Lea Rosa Kirdikian, Celine Stephan.

Special Features by: Tala Hajjar, Azza Mahmassani, Cynthia Merhej / Gilles Khoury and Rouba Mourtada.

Lebanon, with its rich history dating back more than seven thousand years, is a culturally diverse nation of four million situated at the meeting point of three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Although the political situation cannot be described as ‘stable’ (there are over 18 different religions in Lebanon and it borders Syria and Israel) there is, and has always been, an entrepreneurial spirit, a pro-active nature derived from turning adversity into an advantage. In recent years this has allowed a flourishing underground art and design scene in Beirut, known as the “Paris of the Middle East”.

House of Today is under the Patronage of Mrs Lama Tammam Salam.