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Creatives, makers and artists from across the kingdom are being invited to be part of a curated design showcase focused on sustainability.
The showcase, hosted by Al Riwaq Art Space, will focus on a variety of approaches to sustainable design and provide a platform for local designers to develop and highlight their work.
“The ideal candidate would be someone who is looking to expand their network, hold discussions about their design practice and factor in the importance of sustainability in design,” Al Riwaq director Bayan Al Barrak told GulfWeekly.
“Our main focus is to promote conversations around sustainability both in maintenance of a design practice and the production of work. The design showcase is open to people of all design backgrounds, skillsets and stages of production.”
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance.
The basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimise waste, and create healthy, productive environments.
The showcase will be led by local jewellery designer Nasim Javid and sessions leading up to the final event will include talks, workshops, and meetings for designers.
According to Bayan, the sessions will be an incubation space for local designers that will help build a community and support system.
The programme is free to participants, with one of the goals being the formation of a directory of local makers and industries, while encouraging them to commercialise their work.
“The layout of the showcase will become more defined as the group of designers who are selected come together to share their ideas, their works will be in conversation with one another and with our space,” Bayan added.
“The showcase will be an opportunity for the designers to commercialise their work and test products in the local market.”
Al Riwaq is hoping to get approximately 10 designers in the programme and applications are open until August 31 through the art space’s Instagram account.
The showcase is the latest in a series of programmes to develop local artists. The in-house residency programme, Application 001, has restarted again, with a focus on Bahraini artists during this iteration.
“The resident artists will be provided with individual studio space, communal areas for discussion and opportunities to explore alternative forms of production,” Bayan explained.
“The current resident artists are undertaking the fifth edition of the NEXUS course alongside a program of mentorship and production for the duration of three months.”
Ali Hussain, Hisham Sharif, Ishaq Madan, Mariam Al Doseri, and Shaikha Al Salman have been selected for this round of the residency.
The NEXUS course targets creatives to provide a platform for developing their practice and will address the issue of ‘Reading, Unpacking, and Rewriting Global Art Histories.’
It will include a broad survey of global currents in the arts throughout the 20th century and into the present day.
“Application 001 follows the concept of residencies worldwide but is unique within the context of Bahrain in that the mentorship program allows for greater discussion and interaction amongst the artists, sharing and critiquing ideas,” Bayan added.
For more details, follow @alriwaq on Instagram.
