We Design Beirut’s Mariana Wehbe on Inclusivity, Taking a Human-Centric Approach and Her Heartfelt Bid to Rebuild Lebanon
“There is something particularly special about Beirut. The city is a melting pot of cultures, traditions, disciplines and beliefs that create a magical, almost palpable creative concept in design,” she tells Bazaar Arabia
Beirut is having a resurgence despite how debilitating the country’s financial crisis has been. It’s verdant, with lots of Levantine architecture – painstakingly restored stone-faced buildings with refurbished windows, painted shutters and balconies flanked by bougainvillaea flowers in shades of bright pinks. Once again, there are buzzing restaurants, bars and art galleries. The Lebanese are renowned for their resilience and perseverance.
From the historic buildings on the ancient streets of Gemmayze, to the legendary Sursock Museum that recently reopened after an extensive restoration, the 2020 blasts may have scarred the city, but its creative community is rising stronger than ever. And one of the creative forces behind this renewal is the Lebanese design PR maven Mariana Wehbe.
“We get on with life even though things around might be crumbling. We want to remind the world that there is so much more to our people than the tragedies you witness in the news,” says Mariana, who now resides between Abu Dhabi and Beirut. “We are people full of joy, laughter, creativity and a passion for beauty,” she adds.
In her latest initiative, Mariana is partnering with designer Samer Alameen and Bananamonkey, a Beirut-based visual communications agency, to launch We Design Beirut -a city-wide immersive design experience that will spotlight local designers, artisans and brands. Touted as Beirut’s new design week, it will bring to life unused locations across the city, such as Villa Mokbel, The Egg, and The Royal Cinema through a string of creative installations.
Mariana was born in Abu Dhabi, and spent her formative years in Florida with her paternal extended family, before moving to Beirut at the age of 17. Never having been offered the opportunity of a college education, she is self-taught and grateful for her unusual journey into her professional endeavours. She claims, “I learnt the importance of honing skills such as instinct and intuition, as I had the freedom to think creatively without adhering to rule boxes.”
As she was not slotted into certain career paths, she navigated diverse workplaces based on interpersonal skills, natural abilities and talents. Having spent 16 years at DHL, she swiftly climbed the corporate ladder to a leading role. The knowledge and experience she gained within the world of logistics and supply chain might sound mundane to some yet they set a foundation for her to learn the complex dynamics of creating systems and processes which she believes is imperative to every successful business.
Leaving DHL was not something she had planned, but came as a natural progression. “One day it dawned on me that I had lost all excitement and energy and felt there was satisfaction and validation waiting for me in some other field of work,” she goes on to say, “The turning point came when I overheard a veteran colleague discussing the same business and same people so many years later. I realised that I could not be that person, 25 years down the line. I needed a change.”
Mariana believes in the karma of being at the right place at the right time. At one auspicious lunch she began to impart advice to a friend about how to grow her business and ended up assisting her develop and promote her brand. It was then that she realised that the skill set that came so naturally to her was in fact PR. Soon after, she set up her eponymous boutique agency MWPR (Mariana Wehbe 1 Public Relations). She started with just five clients and today counts an expansive roster of multidisciplinary clients from around the world.
“I have always been curious, driven, and ambitious to varying degrees. Some people feel inspired and do nothing about it, but I need to drive it home. I am passionate about building connections with people, hearing their stories and then sharing them with the world”, she explains.
This skill has served her well in business and has led to numerous collaborations. “I am a great believer in abundance and inclusivity, and really see the value in working with others. When I first entered the PR space, I felt this restrictive energy that I just couldn’t accept. I believe we all have strengths and coming together in partnerships creates a synergy that is honestly the foundation of my business,” she affirms.
The idea for We Design Beirut was born out of a chance meeting with Saccal Design House (a popular Lebanese architectural and product design studio). Due to her multicultural upbringing, she was never constrained by labels of society, religion, community, or schools and instead interacted with people from all walks of life. She states, “I am open to interacting with all sorts of people and I feel this trait has shaped who I am today.”
Relocating to the UAE, Mariana experienced a paradigm shift that has liberated her even more. She claims, “I have always considered myself first and foremost Lebanese, and I have poured my creative energy there. Today, I see myself as a Lebanese national and an Arab woman. Creative abundance is infinite and I have learned to channel that where I am best able to make a positive contribution. The fact that I love to partner and collaborate also allows me to delve into so many multidisciplinary fields, from events, to creative concepts and of course design. The potential for growth in the region has filled me with so much hope and ambition for the Arab world, from Beirut, to Abu Dhabi and from Doha to Egypt and beyond.”
Mariana shares that even though she was born in Abu Dhabi, her initial move to Dubai was not by choice. She moved because she felt it was the best decision for her daughter after the explosion. The move drove her out of her comfort zone and to reconsider areas where she could make the greatest impact. She states, “Today, my daughter has gone back to Beirut, however I find myself living in Abu Dhabi by choice, it has been so welcoming, and it’s incredible how it has all come full circle.”
One of MWPR’s strengths is the lack of adherence to a cookie-cutter approach to business but rather a completely tailored take for each new project. “My aim is to dream up the best concept based on the client’s ethos and needs. Oftentimes ideas appear contrived, albeit executed immaculately. I prefer to connect with the environment, and be inspired by it. The close people I work with, they are my safety net. This feeling of security and safety, carries me as a person; allows me the freedom to create, come up with ideas, and they catch them, and filter them, and sometimes throw them back at me! A lot of my thinking outside the box moments do not reach fruition, but I believe that they are the building blocks to future concepts and ideas”, Mariana explains.
One of Wehbe’s notable project commissions was handling Empire Cinema’s 100-year anniversary in Cannes. She remarks, “It was one of my very first forays into events and looking back, the courage and ambition it took to pull it off makes my heart sing till this day.” Mariana was commissioned to produce the event in Cannes, during the Cannes Film Festival, by her friend Mario Haddad.
She explains the biggest challenge was competing with the best of the best at one of the most important times of the year, when she didn’t even speak French. Her solution was simple. She states, “You don’t compete and instead collaborate. All I could imagine was, if I could take all the people I’ve worked with, loved and trusted with me to Cannes, and that’s literally what we did. An authentic Lebanese celebration in the heart of Cannes, transporting all of our traditions, cuisine, music and culture, the team, the staff, the servers to celebrate this great Lebanese company’s centenary. We were expecting 700 invitees, instead we received 1,400 guests, many of whom danced the night away under the night sky and pouring rain of the Côte d’Azur.” When asked to share her motivations behind We Design Beirut and her other community-based ventures, Mariana explains, “There is something particularly special about Beirut. The city is a melting pot of cultures, traditions, disciplines and beliefs that create a magical, and almost palpable creative and authentic concept in design. This is what I want to showcase to the world. The vision for We Design Beirut is for it to become an international platform and destination, where I believe world talent can meet, engage and thrive.”
Another consideration for her is that she owes a duty and responsibility to her country, claiming, “each and every Lebanese citizen needs to contribute to the country’s rehabilitation, and through promulgation of the world of design is where I see my value.”
Mariana believes that preservation and sustainability go hand in hand, particularly in terms of architectural heritage and craftsmanship. She states, “Without our architectural heritage we can’t tell the story of our past, and the artisans and craftsmen and women are the key to preserving this history.” Bebw’shebbek was one of her most ambitious and meaningful projects. It was also one of the most heart-wrenching, and emotionally straining since she was present on ground working and rebuilding with the community. She concludes, “We Design Beirut and Bebw’shebbek hold a common denominator and that is unity. Togetherness and community are the heartbeat of both projects; a true grassroots movement, and I have learned first-hand how powerful that can be.”
We Design Beirut was postponed from its original dates of October 27-30, 2023. It will be taking place from May 23-26. For up-to-date information, visit wedesignbeirut.com.
Photography by Efraim Evidor, Styling by Charlotte Marsh-Williams, Words by Aisha Zaman
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s October 2023 issue.