• A $30,000 Porsche-Inspired Sofa: Chinese Brand Turns a Sports Car Into a Luxury Armchair With a Fridge and Sound System

  Design brand Arkadia-Life has unveiled the P01 Classic Sofa, an unusual single-seat armchair styled after a vintage sports car. Behind its striking exterior lies an array of high-tech features, including a built-in refrigerator, a wine compartment, a powerful sound system and wireless charging. Prices for this collectible design piece start at $30,000...

• Le Labo Unveils a Concrete Diffuser: Scent, Light and Industrial Chic

  Le Labo is turning the everyday ritual of scenting your home into a true design experience. The brand has unveiled the Concrete Home Diffuser, a limited-edition version of its iconic home diffuser, this time encased in a striking brutalist concrete shell...

• “Cinematic, Cosmopolitan and Wonderful”: Vogue France Features a Dream Wedding in Armenia

  What happens when Armenian wedding traditions meet the cultures of Vietnam, Cambodia and China? Sara-Mae Ngo and Gevorg Ambartsumyan transformed their wedding into a cinematic story where family traditions, French fashion, the music of Charles Aznavour and Armenian culture came together. French Vogue has now chronicled their extraordinary celebration in detail...

• Armenian Video in Global Cultural Trend Takes Social Media by Storm and Draws Attention From International Media

  The video BORN FROM CULTURE | ARMENIA, created as part of an international visual trend by director and cinematographer Avo Harutyunyan and the Black Flight team, surpassed one million views just one week after its release...

• “Navasard” Armenian-Iranian Festival Celebrates Anniversary: ​​Two-Day Cultural and Culinary Celebrations Expected in Sisian

  This year, the “Navasard” Armenian-Iranian Cultural and Culinary Festival celebrates its 5th anniversary...

• Trump’s $5M "Golden" Horse Statues Spark Heated Debate in D.C.

  The four monumental equestrian statues, located near the Lincoln Memorial Circle, were regilded in a layer of extra-thick 23.75-karat gold leaf. Trump personally announced the removal of the scaffolding on his social media platform, Truth Social, sharing the first photos of the updated landmarks...

• The Armenian Footprint in K-pop: The Story of a Young Man from Armenia Conquering the Korean Entertainment Industry

  Geopolitically and culturally, Armenia is most familiar to global audiences through Armenian-American icons like Kim Kardashian or Cher. But while the nation remains a mystery to most Americans, a powerful movement of K-pop fans and performers is thriving inside Armenia itself, writes Grace Kao, Professor of Sociology and member of the Ethnicity, Race, and Migration program at Yale University, in an op-ed for The Korea Herald...

• Poisoner, Lover, Defender: The Horrific Death of Queen Parandzem of Syunik

  Parandzem is an Armenian queen whose death ranks among the most tragic and brutal accounts in Armenian historiography...

The past is present to predict the future. This is how one could describe the essence of the 13th International Design Biennale in Saint-Etienne, dedicated to exploring the resources of tomorrow. Yerevan on Wednesday hosted the presentation of Armenia’s participation in this Biennale, where the country will be the guest of honor.

From May 22 to September 22, La Platine – Cité du Design will host the exhibition “Fold and Volume,” exploring how space becomes a resource for creative industries. Curated by Nairi Khachaturian (AHA collective), Jean-François Dinkjian and Eloi Chafai (Normal Studio), the Biennale will offer a new perspective on the interaction of geography, history, and design.

But why exactly did resources become the theme of the Biennale?

Today, when climate reality, the exhaustibility of natural resources, and growing doubts about traditional production methods force humanity to seek new paths, design goes beyond the usual. It becomes a laboratory of meanings, a method of foresight, and a way to transform the world.

“We are talking not only about natural resources, but also about the very concept of ‘resource’ in the context of design. What role does the environment play? How can space become an inspiring source? How does the past shape the future?” the organizers reflect.

In this search, Armenia becomes a special symbol. Deeply rooted in history, it simultaneously has a powerful creative potential striving for the future. Saint-Etienne, France, and Kapan, Armenia, recently became sister cities. It is symbolic that this year Armenia receives a central place in the Biennale, presenting more than 15 contemporary artists, designers, and art structures.

Within the framework of this Biennale, France provides Armenia with 500 square meters of exhibition space. The space will become a platform for demonstrating experiments with form, materials and environment, giving the opportunity to present Armenia not only as a country with a rich history, but also as a center of contemporary design-thinking.

The exhibition "Fold and Volume" is an immersion into the Armenian creative landscape. It explores space as a resource that shapes not only art, but also thinking. "Armenia is a folded mountainous relief, and it is the folds and curves of the landscape that become not only a physical reality, but also a metaphor for design thought," notes Nairi Khachaturyan.

One of the most important blocks of this exhibition is a reference to Armenian modernism. The exposition will feature the work of two iconic figures: Hripsime Simonyan, a designer who stood at the origins of industrial design in Armenia, and Kamo Nigaryan, an artist whose ideas influenced a new generation of creators. The archival materials of their work will create a visual and semantic counterpoint to the contemporary projects of young Armenian designers, proving that tradition and innovation are not opposites, but complementary elements.

“The idea of inviting Armenia to the Biennale arose as something natural,” admits Jean-François Dinkjian, one of the curators.

Saint-Etienne is not only an industrial center of France, but also a city with long-standing ties to the Armenian diaspora. Generations of Armenians have lived and worked there since the 1930s—but in France, almost no one knows what incredible creative potential modern Armenia has.

“The French diaspora often ignores the Soviet period of Armenian art, believing that nothing significant happened after the Middle Ages. We wanted to show that this is not true. That a powerful creative process is taking place in Armenia today, and that creation is the main resource that feeds the future,” says Dinkjian.

That is why this Biennale offers a view of Armenia without stereotypes, through the lens of artists, architects and designers who rethink space, materials and traditions.

The exhibition “Fold and Volume” promises to become a place of dialogue where different generations, artistic movements, and philosophies intersect. Here the past intertwines with the future, and traditions become a catalyst for new meanings. Saint-Etienne opens up space for discoveries—and Armenian designers are ready to fill it.

Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram