Lebanese author Khalil Gibran’s masterpiece “The Prophet” and Arabic protest art lie at the heart of the Beirut Art Fair (BAF), an international exhibition that was held for the eighth time Sept. 21-24.  For the first time, there is also a parallel event, the Beirut Design Fair (BDF).

Beirut has always been seen as one of the capitals of art and design in the Middle East as well as the meeting place of curators, artists, culture operators and art fans from all over the world. One of the pillars of the art scene is BAF founder Laure d’Hauteville. The number of local, regional and international galleries and artists who join the fair increases every year; this year there were 51 galleries from 23 countries.

The first edition of the BDF brought together 44 Lebanese designers, from young and unknown to globally renowned. The co-founder and director of BDF, Guillaume Tasle d’Heliand, told Al-Monitor that he wants this first edition to “reassure the unique representation of Beirut as an international platform for design.”

“Beirut is already very important, but not everyone is aware of it,” he said. “Events like the Beirut Design Week have a local and regional audience, and the role of fairs is to take it to the next level, which is creating an international platform.” He said that, unlike many fairs around the world, there was no theme given to the artists. “It would frame the artists, and we want them to be free to create,” BDF co-founder Hala Moubarak said to Al-Monitor.