Journal Safar is Beirut’s bilingual (Arabic-English) and biannual independent visual and design culture magazine that provides a window into cultural production in the Middle East. Born from a need for publications on contemporary design, critical investigation, thinking, and experimentation in the region, Journal Safar invites designers, writers, thinkers and other creatives to respond to a set theme. It is the brainchild of the founders of the graphic design and art direction agency Studio Safar.
In the fourth issue, Nostalgia, graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook discusses his work on five of David Bowie’s album covers, including Blackstar; architect Bernard Khoury discusses the dangers of nostalgia in Beirut’s urban development; drag queen RuPaul details his origins and inspirations—from his mother to Judge Judy to Donna Summer to Cher to Bowie and back again—in an interview translated into Arabic for the very first time; Maya Moumne documents the day she spent wandering through Milan with artist Maurizio Cattelan in 50 color-film photographs; Yazan Kopty articulates the pleasures, intricacies, and realities of finding early 20th century Palestine in the National Geographic Society’s photo archives; and more.
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21 × 27.5 cm, Softcover, 2019,