- Free and open to the public from October 2 to 17, Amman Design Week 2026 will bring together more than 220 designers and collectives, activating five districts: Ras El Ain, Jabal Al Lweibdeh, Jabal Amman, Iraq Al Amir, and Aqaba. Amman, Sept. 16 (Petra) -- Under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Amman Design Week (ADW) 2026 will open to the public on October 2, marking the event’s first edition since 2019. Held under the theme, ‘Accumulations,’ the event will feature more than 220 designers, makers, and collectives across 204 events in the capital and beyond. Founded by Queen Rania in 2016, ADW aims to make design accessible to the wider public, while also providing industry professionals with a platform to showcase and develop their work. This edition's programs target both design professionals and the wider public, featuring family & youth workshops, guided exhibitions, tours, and talks.
Working with makers, designers, and contractors, ADW 2026 will leave a lasting mark on the city through four permanent public works – three in Ras El Ain and one in Jabal Al Lweibdeh. Each installation will remain in place after the event, continuing to serve the communities that use these spaces every day.
Beyond its anchor districts, ADW 2026 extends to more than 60 Participating Spaces across Amman, largely centered around Jabal Amma. These include galleries, studios, cafés, cultural institutions, and creative businesses, which host exhibitions, workshops, talks, or open houses over the course of the two-week event.
The biennial event returns under new leadership, with Sarah Hejazin and Bisher Tabbaa, co-founders of architecture and design studio FADAA, serving as co-directors. According to Hejazin and Tabbaa, ADW’s return was inspired by the local designer community, maker collectives, and educators who remained active during the event’s hiatus, continuing to research, exchange, and experiment in workshops, classroom spaces, studios, and communities across Jordan.
"Amman Design Week never really left. For seven years, without any public platform, the community just kept going. Designers testing ideas, makers passing down what they know, students showing up to learn," Hejazin said.
"This edition is about presenting that work publicly, and making the case for how much design shapes everyday life in Jordan," added Tabbaa.
ADW 2026 is presented in continued partnership with the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), which has supported the event since its founding. This partnership takes the form of ongoing strategic support, stemming from a firm conviction among senior GAM leadership that design, culture, and creativity are not merely aesthetic elements, but rather tools that can be utilized for the city’s development and the building of its future.
Lubna Al-Huneiti, Executive Director of the Smart City Initiative at GAM, said, "The municipality has a role in supporting designers and creatives of all ages, especially the youth, and in promoting and developing urban design and expanding community engagement. This is as an integral part of its ongoing approach and within its strategic plan for 2022–2026." "This ongoing partnership also reflects GAM’s commitment to creating a higher-quality, more inclusive, and sustainable urban environment, which strengthens Amman’s urban standing and preserves the city’s identity and distinctiveness.," Al-Huneiti added.
ADW 2026 will showcase work produced through the Ithra Design Week (IDW) x ADW Residency, which brings together designers from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Student Exhibition, supported by the Sukhtian Foundation, will also return for its third edition, presenting projects by 42 students selected from over 200 applicants across 88 institutions.
Curated by Faysal Tabbarah and Khaled Al-Bashir, this year’s theme ‘Accumulations’ explores how design builds upon itself over time through materials, inherited knowledge, and repeated processes. It also reframes wealth beyond material abundance, focusing instead on human resourcefulness and the layered ecologies that create the conditions for innovation.
Al-Bashir said, "One of the ideas underlying the concept of ‘Accumulations’ is that no subject remains confined to itself. The deeper we delve, the more it extends to other materials, histories, people, systems, and places. And sometimes, a very small detail can lead us to an entire world. "This idea also shaped the programs: with each individual program conceived as an entry point; a thread we can pick up and continue to follow far beyond the program itself." he added. On curating the exhibitions Tabbarah said, "Joining as the Exhibitions Curator for Amman Design Week 2026 is an opportunity to work with a remarkable range of place-based designers, craftspeople, and makers across Jordan and the region." He added, "Amman Design Week 2026 is an attempt to put out a rooted and layered portrait of what design is and means for the region, one that is drawn from the hands, materials, and memories of the place that has been quietly designed by its people." Amman Design Week is Jordan’s design platform, bringing together designers, makers, students, and communities through exhibitions, public programs, and learning initiatives. It connects Jordan’s design community with audiences across the region and around the world.
Full details of ADW events, including schedules, locations, and descriptions, are available at www.ammandesignweek.com. Make sure you register for your desired programs on this link: https://ammandesignweek.com/ar/adw-program/2026. //Petra//
