Industrial and Furniture Design Week – Boosts Saudi Arabian Creative Industry

During the workshops. During the workshops.

The Saudi National Creative Initiative (SNCI) and Saudi Creative Weeks 2015 launched the Industrial and Furniture Design Week event in accordance with Tashkeil and the German Consulate.

The Creative Week event took place from March 13 – 20. The event consisted of workshops, talks, consultancy sessions and a job fair featuring International Designers from Germany, Wolf Jeschonnek and Katrin Sonnleitner.

Wolf Jeschonnek (left), General Manager of Fab Lab Berlin Katrin Sonnleitner (right), international designer

Wolf Jeschonnek (left), General Manager of Fab Lab Berlin Katrin Sonnleitner (right), international designer

 General manager of Fab Lab Berlin, Jeschonnek, coordinated the Design and Digital Fabrication workshop and lecture while Sonnleitner coordinated the Rethinking Furniture Design. Jeschonnek’s workshop addressed local designers, artists, engineers and craftsmen to assist them in redesigning traditional furniture into a digitally fabricated prototype in three days. In his lecture, Jeschonnek walked through his experiences in the building and running of Fab Lab and how it became what it is today and its success stories from its community.
Co-founder of SNCI Sofana Dahlan explains, “due to the cultural implications, not many understand that creativity can be a career.” The initiative started by SNCI to boost the creative industry in Saudi Arabia. SNCI aims to cover 48 sectors in four years with having a Creative Week taking place every month. The next Creative Week will be the Media and Advertising Design Week including workshops in Design Thinking, Creative Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.

Interior designer and participant of the design week, Sabreen Al Sini highlighted how Creative Week has given her the opportunity to network with others in the same industry as well as to find herself and build her career through the workshops.
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Sabreen Al Sini, interior designer

 
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Miriam Seyffarth , Cultural Attaché of the German Consulate

 

 The people are so hungry, we even had two participants flying from Khobar as well as Bahrain. — Miriam Seyffarth

Sonnleitner’s workshop addressed product, interior, furniture and textile designers. However, Sonnleitner noted that also among the workshop attendees were other designers who had in interest in redesigning furniture. Sonnleitner’s lecture gave a private insight to her work and the work of individuals who have inspired her.

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