JEDDAH: The inaugural MADE. design forum was held at the West Hajj Terminal of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport’s Biennale Cultural Program building early this month.
Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the four-day event concluded on May 4, with the second Islamic Arts Biennale — its backdrop — continuing until May 25. 
Sybel Vazquez, director of public programs at the Biennale, said of the forum: “We wanted the name to be a declaration — and the capital letters give it weight. The full stop was to imply completion, intention and confidence. We wanted to honor the act of making as something deliberate and considered while also inviting inquiry.”
She also emphasized the significance of launching MADE. in Jeddah.
“Jeddah is a city layered with histories—of trade, migration, craftsmanship and exchange,” she told Arab News. “To launch MADE., alongside the Islamic Arts Biennale, is to situate design within a continuum of cultural production that is both deeply rooted and forward-looking.” She added: “This proximity creates an exciting dialogue: between contemporary makers and the material legacy of Islamic art, between local sensibilities and global conversations.” 
Twenty designers from across the world participated in the forum:
Josean Vilar and Silvana Catazine of Barcelona-based NAIFACTORY; Lebanon- and UAE-based Roula Salamoun Studio; Stephanie Sayar and Charbel Garibeh, whose eponymous practice is based between Beirut and Paris; Bahrain’s Nermin Habib; US-based Jordanian Ishraq Zraikat; Egyptian designer Salma Barakat, representing Ba Atelier; Doha-based Boo Design Studio—founded by husband-and-wife Amanda and Jo Booabbood; New York-based Argentinian Sabrina Merayo Nunez; India-based ceramicist Aman Khanna, founder of Clayman; Pinar Ozoruc of Istanbul-based Pinoli Glass; Lebanese-Polish designer and architect Tara Sakhi; UK-based Phoebe Stubbs, representing her brand, Gather; Paris-based Ariel Andre, founder of Golem; NY-based furniture brand Alexis & Ginger; Kind of Design Sculpted & Woven from Türkiye; VivErdie from the Netherlands; Pauline Leprince from France; Jordan-based Razan Seikaly’s Fastoun; and Riyadh- and Istanbul-based Palestinian furniture design duo Reem Olyan and Jumana Qasem. Saudi’s own Noha Mukhtar added a local architectural perspective to the work on display.
The forum championed a morphing design landscape — a convergence of creativity, craftsmanship and critical thought. MADE. was both a destination for acquiring thoughtfully-crafted objects and a platform celebrating the design industry, offering a lively space where art, engineering and craft intersected. 
It also offered both exposure to and exchange with peers, audiences, and the broader currents shaping global design. “We hope to have accomplished that with this inaugural edition,” Vazquez said, adding that MADE. was intended to “give equal weight to the mind and the hand.”
The four panel sessions — MADE to Last, MADE you Look, MADE you Think, UnMADE Histories, and What Are You MADE Of? — offered layered, critical conversations around tradition, ethics, memory and identity. Meanwhile, immersive workshops encouraged participants to get their hands dirty and their imaginations active. Each activation, in its own way, opened new paths for thinking and doing.
“The success of these sessions reminded us that design isn’t just something to observe or critique — it’s something to try, to feel, to shape,” Vazquez said.
“MADE. was born from a desire to celebrate the act of making — not just as a technical skill, but as a cultural gesture,” she continued. “It brings to the surface the rigor, experimentation, and local intelligence embedded in design practices across our region and beyond. At the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, we are committed to expanding the contours of contemporary cultural discourse. MADE. adds a vital dimension to that endeavor by focusing on design as both a process and a way of thinking — bridging material innovation, ethical inquiry and heritage.”
