Safar #9
170 x 240 mm, 200 pages
Beirut, Lebanon and Montreal, Canada (bilingual, English and Arabic)
Annual
Published since 2014
Editor-in-chief and creative director: Maya Moumne
Graphic design and art direction: Maya Moumne and H. Sinno
‘Flirt with, flee from, and fall for graphic design and visual culture’ is Safar’s teasing strapline, which celebrates visual culture from the Middle East while questioning the western-orientated history of graphic design.
For its ninth issue, Safar returns with another compact and timely edition, this time centred around the theme of ‘Protests’. True to form, the issue is both visually and editorially rich, featuring a second striking cover design and bilingual logo created by Cairo-based design studio 40MUSTAQEL. Archival protest images from a 1973 edition of the Fedayin Journal, published by the Association Québec-Palestine, appear on both the front and back covers.
With the intention ‘of sparking solace, solidarity, and action’, the issue addresses the complex visual language of protest. Inside, you’ll find features on Argentina and the creation of an anti-hegemonic counter currency; the temporary autonomous homes of Chinese massage workers; a Palestinian photo story, documenting whispering walls; descriptions of six political posters—the images themselves powerfully absent; plus interviews with editors Ahmad Swaid (GQ Middle East and Dazed MENA) and Kalle Lasn (Adbusters), as well as Grapus co-founder Gérard Paris-Clavel.
Also included this issue, the riso-printed third edition of Design Drafts, created in collaboration with Nieuwe Instituut, invites contributions from emerging writers exploring the innate intersection of protest and design.
From the magCulture Journal:
‘All these articles—and the many others in the issue—are well researched and written, as well as being well illustrated. This is always one of the joys of Safar; while the editors make their arguments strongly in words, they also relish the visuals.’
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