DISARMING DESIGN FROM PALESTINE
THOUGHT PROVOKING DESIGN LABEL presenting USEFUL PRODUCTS FROM PALESTINE
Disarming Design from Palestine (DDFP) is a not-for-profit platform that performs as a design label, fostering thought-provoking design from Palestine. The project engages with the Palestinian design and crafts communities, to develop ideas collaboratively and create designs in conscious and integrated ways. Often rooted in a story or incident encountered in day-to-day life in occupied Palestine, the items speak of the reality they’re produced in. Subsequently, they aim to empower those involved; in resources, agency and liberation. How can design contribute to a more sustainable society, human-centered economy, and just ways of being in the world?
Disarming & design
To us, a ‘disarming’ manner implies an anti-hierarchical approach, away from dominant power structures. For substantial social change, we believe in building other ways of exchanging, rather than reproducing behaviors and patterns that contribute to oppression. More than a statement or ideology, ‘disarming’ gears an opening gesture. It pushes towards a different way of seeing value in the world, a way to trigger reflective moments and disarm us upon encountering anchored realities. In the context of Palestine, Disarming Design is an approach to design, that aims to uphold Palestinian narratives in the face of the systematic oppression caused by the Israeli occupation.
Create-shops
The starting point are workshops in Palestine, or, as we like to call them ‘create-shops’. They bring together local and international designers, and craftspeople. During create-shops we share counter narratives and seek to uncover meaningful connections and patterns that might help us better understand our histories, and imagine shared futures. Together, we develop contemporary designs based on existing manufacturing processes, with local resources and techniques. As such, DDFP aims to connect with craftspeople, providing work, fair pay, network, and thus preserving the heritage of making, through contemporary designs. One of our levers is countering the marginalization that artisans and designers suffer from, no matter how active they are, because of the illegal military occupation.
Intention
DDFP puts forward designs with a presence and narrative that open our gaze, and stimulate critical thinking. Through our global network, we carry these narratives worldwide: the designs perform as cultural objects and conversation starters in exhibitions, symposia, academia, media and engaged forms of learning. We foster the transformative potential of design for more sustainable futures at the intersection of crafts, community, education and politics.
Core team
DDFP currently consists of a small committed Belgium-based team of volunteers, collaborating with a broad network of friends and supporters mostly in but also outside Palestine.
— Annelys Devet (initiator of the project, design facilitator and organiser of exchanges)
— Juliette Mourad (storyteller, translator in all sense, customer support and catalyser)
— Elettra Bisogno (editor, filmmaker, all-round assistent and caring for the packaging)
The board of the non-profit association consists of Annelys de Vet, Hildegard Devuyst, Kurt Vanbelleghem and Yazan Iwidat.
DESIGNS
Past & present
DDFP started as a project in 2012 in collaboration with the International Academy of Art Palestine, the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam, and Annelys de Vet, with the support of ICCO. Since 2015, we are registered in Belgium as a not-for-profit association, and work directly with Palestinian producers, designers and organisations.
With a local team we ran a Palestinian non-profit company from 2015, located first in Ramallah, and then in Birzeit, where we established a lively community center for two years called Hosh Jalsa. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and we had to close the center, which was no longer financially viable.
In spite of that, the project continues to grow positively and rapidly since its inception, and opportunities for growing further are always arising. The community of designers and design education platforms are eager to continue working on developing the project, as it tangibly gives the communities involved shared spaces to learn, exchange and grow, produce, and benefit financially.
Network & collaboration
Our core team is based in Belgium, and all work stems from Palestine, starting with the create-shops which birth designs and knowledge. The developed items are then regularly produced by an array of craftspeople and designers in Palestine, and shipped to our warehouse in Belgium, where our team takes care of the distribution and sales. We value collaboration and co-creation of knowledge, and therefore often join forces with people, collectives, and initiatives with whom we share common creative and political grounds.
Economic structure
Today, the core structure of DDFP is self-sustainable, through the sales of the designs, as well as occasional donations and generous volunteer work. Producers are directly and fairly paid for the production, and designers receive royalties for the sales of their designs. During our setting up period, we were supported by Creative Industries Fund Netherlands, ICCO, Flanders state of the arts, and Rabbani Foundation. In the recent past, we launched three successful crowdfund campaigns supported by friends all over the world.
CREATE-SHOPS
EXHIBITIONS
