The City of Jerusalem hosts until June 15 the Jerusalem Design Week an initiative of Hansen House – Center for Design, Media and Technology, and sponsored by The Jerusalem Development Authority in cooperation with the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, and the Jerusalem Municipality. The theme for this year’s design festival is Islands, a reflection upon a global shift into an inward looking world of nations, communities, individuals and a redefinition of the notion of political, cultural and social barriers.

These issues and shifts will be explored through various thematic exhibitions, programmes and collaborations in multiple locations throughout Jerusalem’s eclectic Talbiya neighbourhood, including the Hansen House, a former telephone exchange and the Nature Museum.

Jerusalem, a city built on seven hills and home to a multitude of culturally diverse communities, is in fact both physically and virtually a collection of islands, manifested through a multi-pollard existence which has defined Jerusalem since ancient times. The shift into an inward looking world of nations, communities and individuals and the redefinition of barriers have been overarching themes of our time. With growing immigration, nationalism and diminishing sense of security and safety, globalisation is replaced with the search for belonging and the familiar, a phenomenon that is currently taking place in both the physical and the online world.

Recognising these current socio-political trends, Jerusalem Design Week aims to start a conversation on how design addresses these notions and encourages cultural exchange and understanding by inaugurating a series of programmes to be continued for future festivals which will be interpreted through each year’s theme. Led by Artistic Director, Anat Safran and Chief Curator, Tal Erez, and managed by Ayelet Dror for Ran Wolf Urban Planning and Project Management, Jerusalem Design Week’s curatorial team invited over 50 designers, both Israeli and international to create new works, installations and projects that would address the main Islands theme.

“Our goal is to create a multi-channel platform for designers from all disciplines to express their creativity by exploring a yearly theme. The complexity of the place we live and work in, combined with an effervescent creative energy is a fertile ground for an extraordinary and unique design experience. This year, Jerusalem Design Week Islands is celebrating and embracing the power of design and its unique ability to transcend international borders, evoking dialogue from more than 100 of the world’s most diverse and creative minds.” –Anat Safran, Artistic Director of Jerusalem Design Week.