“Accumulations” brings together more than 220 designers and makers at Amman Design Week

Amman, Jordan - Amman Design Week in Jordan has returned for its fourth session after an absence of seven years, under the slogan “Accumulations,” with the participation of more than 220 designers, makers, and creative groups, in a session that restores the presence of design through works that start from matter, place, and memory, and are related to diverse cultural, geographic, environmental, and social contexts. The participating works address the movement of materials between their natural and human environments, and the impact of knowledge passed down across generations.

From earth and stone to copper, glass, and wood, the works explore the potential and transformations of the material, its relationship to crafts, everyday practices, and the experiences that societies have accumulated over time. Amman Design Week, which was launched at the initiative of Queen Rania Al Abdullah in 2016, will be held between October 2 and 17, 2026, in the areas of Ras Al-Ain, Jabal Al-Lweibdeh, Jabal Amman, the Iraq Al-Amir archaeological area, and the Aqaba Governorate in the south of the country, as part of 204 events that open their doors free of charge to the public.

In the main Ras Al-Ain hall, the visitor interacts with traditional Damascene stained glass works in new formations intertwined with geometric metal elements, along with contemporary stonework and woodwork that draw inspiration from architecture and heritage, and restore crafts such as woodcarving, mother-of-pearl inlay and mosaic. The place also features works that use natural fiber, copper, and iron, inspired by the Jordanian desert and its desert plants, in works that put memory and nature in dialogue with contemporary design.

In one corner of Ras Al Ain Hall, a woven work called “Eyes” extends from ceiling to floor, designed by Jordanian engineer Abeer Seikaly, and combines traditional wool and pieces of colored blown glass. Seikaly tells the Ofoq News website in Arabic that the work is inspired by “human eyes and water eyes,” explaining that the water eye is the part that appears to humans, but in its essence it is the result of the flow and meeting of different paths underground before it reaches the source.

Seikaly adds that the work is woven from hand-insulated wool from the Jordanian desert, and is interwoven with pieces of traditional blown glass that she obtained from a warehouse in the Syrian capital, Damascus. In another corner, the young designer Abdullah Sheikh Khalil stands in front of a wooden work entitled The Looming Cabinet, which is a project to archive old Arabic books and magazines, based on studying the art of calligraphy in old publications, collecting models, and classifying them.

Sheikh Khalil says that the project depends on studying the calligraphy of old publications, collecting them, organizing them, and constantly reviewing them, allowing them to be used in studies and research. The work includes miniature models of old books and magazines, displayed within what looks like a wooden library with a contemporary design.

The outcome of the project amounts to about 150 collections, copies of which were displayed, in addition to documenting information related to layout designers, business owners, and publication covers.