After 7 years of developing the thought provoking design label Disarming Design from Palestine we want to establish an alternative design school. We respond to the need for a vibrant design program which maintains an active relationship with the local design and crafts communities, and can be flexible in its format. Many craftsmen and designers are active in Palestine, but due to the occupation and the often marginalized positions, they lack enough work, innovation and exposure.
The coming year we will further develop our alternative design school, also in collaboration with the Birzeit University, the Science studio of the Qattan foundation, the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam and the Sint Lucas School of Arts in Antwerp — amongst others.
Additionally we will establish more peer-to-peer education and we will set up workshops to develop new ‘Disarming Design from Palestine’ products. While at the same time we will work on long term strategies, so we can establish a sustainable well rooted, sensitive, emancipating, inclusive and empowering design program.
Read more: disarmingdesign.com/support-alternative-design-school
Collective Thinking
From October to December 2018 we had two designers residing at Hosh Jalsa for Disarming Design from Palestine. They were the Dutch Mirelle van Tulder (graduate student at HKU Utrecht) and the Italian Tommaso Anceschi (master student Isia, Urbino). During their residency they organized a program of 4 workshops about creating collective knowledge through different design approaches.
“More and more designers are involved in processes of co-designing, participation, open-source models and workshops — and learning together while doing. Design is not presented as means to produce forms and shapes, but as a way to structure a process and find meaning in the way shapes can form new relationships.” Annelys de Vet
Read more: disarmingdesign.com/collective-thinking-design-program
Sci-Fi Writing Course
Science Fiction is an opportunity – free from the restraints of time – to understand ourselves; our hopes and our fears, and imagine a world radically different than the one we are presented with today. It is a place where we can create exciting new futures and explore how we might get there tomorrow. We invite artists, writers, students, and other imaginative minds to join Disarming Design from Palestine for eight weekly workshops focused on Science Fiction writing; exploring the genres potentials in a Palestinian context.
Throughout the series of workshops participants will engage in drawing tasks, readings, discussions, and movie screenings that will help them develop their own ideas for a story.
Read more: disarmingdesign.com/palestinian-worldbuilding-sci-fi-writing-course
