Anna Adamson- Amman Design Week (ADW) is back after a seven-year hiatus with exhibitions, workshops and talks aimed at making design more accessible to the public.

A unique blend of artwork, design projects and applied research are exhibited around 59 participating spaces with hundreds of free events open to the public in Ras Al Ain, Jabal Al-Weibdeh, Jabal Amman, Iraq Al-Amir and Aqaba.

In many ways, ADW does not abide by traditional museum rules. In the world of ADW, interaction is not only encouraged— it’s by design.

At the center of ADW is Ras El Ain Hangar, a repurposed electricity hangar from the 1930s, located near the Friday Souk.

In one area within Ras El Ain Hangar, kids played with furniture and bilingual toys from Joyce Spasioti’s brand fittingly called Built for Kids. Meanwhile, adults strolled through projects like Ishraq Zraikat’s massive Jordanian Awassi wool installation meant to imitate mansaf.

Nearby, Ras El Ain Park was transformed into a basketball court covered with illustrations of vegetation found in Jordan and Palestine. The court, designed by Abeer Anabtawi, is one of four permanent installations from this year’s ADW.

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah founded ADW in 2016 with the aim of making design more inclusive and broadening participation in the field. The event became a biennial gathering of craftspeople, designers, architects and practitioners working across disciplines including ceramics, textiles and stone.

This year’s program features the work of 220 designers under the theme “Accumulations”, which looks at how design takes shape and evolves, and how the objects people live with are shaped by daily practices, material environments and cultural memories.

ADW runs until October 17, with all exhibitions and programs free and open to the public.

Returning to ADW
Rasha Dakkak, a Palestinian graphic designer and educator, designed a prayer mat for ADW in 2017. Since then, both the event and her own practice have evolved.
Dakkak now leads the bachelor’s program in graphic design at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and is the founder of Bayn Publishing, a graphic design journal.
Nearly 10 years after first participating in ADW, Dakkak returned. This time, as a planner and host of various workshops.

“I was more curious about wanting to do something that has to do with engagement, encountering participants and bringing conversations to the table,” Dakkak said.
Her return reflects how ADW has expanded its focus beyond designers and architects to engage a broader cross-section of the community.

The student exhibition, located in Darat Abu Adnan in Jabal Al-Weibdeh, is the only cross-university and cross-disciplinary showcase in Jordan, according to ADW. It contains student work from high schools, universities, and institutes across the country.

Student designs included a video game adaptation of Amman’s public transportation system by Nasser AbuDalbouh, a font that emulates the city’s hand-painted shopfronts and street signs by Joman Gharibeh, and even a modular shelter for Amman’s stray cats by Jana Abu Shaar.

“I’m very happy that they found ways to expand beyond just the design and architectural community,” Dakkak said. “There’s this interaction with schools, high schools, and I think it’s really impressive.”

Anna Adamson- Amman Design Week (ADW) is back after a seven-year hiatus with exhibitions, workshops and talks aimed at making design more accessible to the public.

A unique blend of artwork, design projects and applied research are exhibited around 59 participating spaces with hundreds of free events open to the public in Ras Al Ain, Jabal Al-Weibdeh, Jabal Amman, Iraq Al-Amir and Aqaba.

In many ways, ADW does not abide by traditional museum rules. In the world of ADW, interaction is not only encouraged— it’s by design.

At the center of ADW is Ras El Ain Hangar, a repurposed electricity hangar from the 1930s, located near the Friday Souk.

In one area within Ras El Ain Hangar, kids played with furniture and bilingual toys from Joyce Spasioti’s brand fittingly called Built for Kids. Meanwhile, adults strolled through projects like Ishraq Zraikat’s massive Jordanian Awassi wool installation meant to imitate mansaf.

Nearby, Ras El Ain Park was transformed into a basketball court covered with illustrations of vegetation found in Jordan and Palestine. The court, designed by Abeer Anabtawi, is one of four permanent installations from this year’s ADW.

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah founded ADW in 2016 with the aim of making design more inclusive and broadening participation in the field. The event became a biennial gathering of craftspeople, designers, architects and practitioners working across disciplines including ceramics, textiles and stone.

This year’s program features the work of 220 designers under the theme “Accumulations”, which looks at how design takes shape and evolves, and how the objects people live with are shaped by daily practices, material environments and cultural memories.

ADW runs until October 17, with all exhibitions and programs free and open to the public.

Returning to ADW
Rasha Dakkak, a Palestinian graphic designer and educator, designed a prayer mat for ADW in 2017. Since then, both the event and her own practice have evolved.
Dakkak now leads the bachelor’s program in graphic design at Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and is the founder of Bayn Publishing, a graphic design journal.
Nearly 10 years after first participating in ADW, Dakkak returned. This time, as a planner and host of various workshops.

“I was more curious about wanting to do something that has to do with engagement, encountering participants and bringing conversations to the table,” Dakkak said.
Her return reflects how ADW has expanded its focus beyond designers and architects to engage a broader cross-section of the community.

The student exhibition, located in Darat Abu Adnan in Jabal Al-Weibdeh, is the only cross-university and cross-disciplinary showcase in Jordan, according to ADW. It contains student work from high schools, universities, and institutes across the country.

Student designs included a video game adaptation of Amman’s public transportation system by Nasser AbuDalbouh, a font that emulates the city’s hand-painted shopfronts and street signs by Joman Gharibeh, and even a modular shelter for Amman’s stray cats by Jana Abu Shaar.

“I’m very happy that they found ways to expand beyond just the design and architectural community,” Dakkak said. “There’s this interaction with schools, high schools, and I think it’s really impressive.”