22 March - 21 May 2007

LIVING UNDER THE CRESCENT MOON:
DOMESTIC CULTURE IN THE ARAB WORLD

The exhibition Living Under the Crescent Moon highlights the diversity of domestic lifestyles found in Morocco, Syria and the Arabian peninsula - from the nomad tents of the Tuareg and the Bedouins, to the Moroccan and Yemenite clay dwellings, magnificent houses with inner courtyards in Marrakech, Damascus and Aleppo, to 20th century buildings. This exhibition of the homes and household interiors sheds light on a sphere of the Arab world previously unknown to the public − as the inside of a house is always keenly guarded from the foreigner's gaze.

The exhibition will present the rich heritage of Arab domestic cultures − revealing an astounding level of modernity be it in reduced basic shapes, multi-functional solutions, air-conditioning systems or devices to control water consumption. Aside from artefacts, a series of evocative pictures by leading photographers detail fascinating examples of residential architecture alongside solutions for daily tasks and everyday objects.

An exhibition of the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, in cooperation with IVAM, Valencia and the Kunsthal Rotterdam
Presented by the National Museum of Singapore