London Design Biennale 2023
London Design Biennale
The London Design Biennale is considered a global exhibition and a program encouraging thought leadership. In addition, it gathers innovations and creations designs from around the world. The event shows the potential of design to interact and respond to the ever-changing social and environmental needs. Likewise, the event directly contributes to the global economy. It also takes a role in making changes to achieve solutions that are matchmaking everyone under the theme "Remapping Collaborations."
The London Design Biennale exhibition was established in 2016, and it takes place every two years, intending to promote international design collaborations through exhibitions and installations that illustrate the ambition of creating global solutions to the problems that concern all societies in the world. The 2023 exhibition will be held at Somerset House, the historic mansion in the heart of the capital, from 1 to 25 June 2023.
Vision of the Work
An interactive experience in which our ideas and visions about the future intertwine to form the fabric of humanity.
The initiative "Sadu Knitting" started by the delicate creative hands of self-made women in the Arab desert, where they turn simple natural materials into woven textiles which personify their unique local identities and aspirational visions to survive, grow and develop through the wild sandstorm.
About The Work
The "Woven" artwork is a representation of Saudi Arabia's welcoming nature. The work entails choosing the right path – the path that is worth investing in building a better future. The interactive artwork simulates the artisanship of Al Sadu – a traditional weaving technique performed by women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using a simple and portable loom before which they gather to socialise, work together, and alternate roles to support each other. This craft gained cultural and social importance that has extended beyond the world of textile weaving to inspire the activities of many different fields. It's considered an important women-led art movement and has become a recognized face of local culture and architecture.
During the London Design Biennale exhibition, the piece will be woven in the light of visitors' visions for the future, where each thread of these textiles represents a different avenue of development and possibility so that their choices contribute to building a decorative pattern that is seen to develop throughout the exhibition.
Curator and Designer: Ruba Al-Khalidi
An innovative and strategic design specialist with experience in industrial design, interior architecture, and branding. An academic lecturer and head of the innovation unit in the College of Designs at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University.
In her field, Ruba seeks to activate the role of design and innovation strategies as part of developing local brands and their products. Her innovation design studio specializes in designing meaningful concepts that adopt a sustainable future for local brands and contributes to enabling the circular creative economy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Ruba holds a master's degree in design and innovation from Brunel University London and a bachelor's degree in interior architecture from Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University.
Curator and Designer: Loujain Rafee
She is a designer of organic and fresh materials with experience in product design, interior architecture, and design research. Loujain runs her own organic materials design lab, focusing on balancing science and art to raise the quality of life. Besides that, she is a faculty member at the College of Designs at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University.
She holds a master's degree in design through modern materials from the Elisava College of Architecture and Design in Barcelona. She also has another master's degree in design research from the Lisbon Institute of Education and Science and a bachelor's degree in interior design from Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University.