Photography For The Love Of Beirut

Art, , , , , , Leave a comment

The world has been stunned by the explosion that hit Beirut last week. Those of us with close ties to the city have been watching in tears as the city we love responds and attempts to recover to the situation in which they have found themselves. And, as if the blast was not enough, the country is in political turmoil as the economy continues to suffer after months of instability. While dozens of initiatives the world over like Impact Lebanon, Beit El Baraka and the Lebanese Red Cross have been accepting donations in order to help those in need, the international art community is also playing its part to help Lebanon. Ruwa and Gulf Photo Plus have just launched For the Love of Beirut, a photographic print sale in partnership with Beirut Center of Photography, In My House, and Jadaliyya to celebrate a love and intimate appreciation for the city, and to  support the communities affected by the blast. 

This initiative brings together a selection of over 60 international visual artists including Lebanese photographers who are directly reacting to the situation – including the likes of Myriam Boulos and Tamara Abdul Hadi, who have been photographing movements in Beirut on the ground. Other artists in the sale come from Jordan, Palestine, UAE, Kuwait, Tunisia, Yemen, Mauritania, Somaliland, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi, Tanzania, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Bahrain, India, USA, Philippines, Sudan, Turkey, France, Spain, Canada, and Russia, for a print sale, of which 100 percent of the proceeds (less printing/packaging costs) will be donated to the Lebanese Red Cross. 

Image by Omar Sfeir, 2019. As Sfeir photographed Lebanon’s October Revolution and captured its surreal moments, he was reminded of the work of Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte. His work pays homage to Magritte’s painting, “The Lovers”, but with a distinctly Lebanese feel.

The online print sale begins Monday, 10th of August 6 at 8PM Beirut time and 11AM New York time, lasting for two weeks, ending on August 26th at midnight Beirut time.   

Image by Myriam Boulos, 2020. Ahmad takes a break to pray in Mar Mikhael. He is part of a Palestinian association that is helping the victims of the explosion

Collected works range from contributions by independent Lebanese artists and the Beirut Center of Photography, to works by artists from the region (Levant, Gulf, North Africa) as well as contributions by members of NOOR, Magnum and the international community beyond. 

Live With It by Sima Ajlyakin, 2018

Printed on archival fine art paper, they will be open editions sized at 10×15” (25x38cms) at US$ 135 + shipping, and will be dispatched globally from Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai. Please visit the sale here

Unknown's avatar

Posted by

Lizzy Vartanian Collier aka Gallery Girl is a writer and curator based in London. Her work has been featured in publications including Dazed, Hyperallergic and Vogue Arabia. She was curator of Perpetual Movement during AWAN Festival 2018 and in 2019 had a residency at the Lab at Darat Al Funun in Amman, Jordan. She has also worked with Armenia Art Fair for its inaugural edition and previously worked as an editor at I.B.Tauris Publishers. In 2019 she co-founded Arsheef, Yemen’s first contemporary art gallery. She has given workshops at Manara Culture in Amman, Jordan and Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK. As of 2020 she is currently in law school, with the ambition of greater understanding the intersection between art and the law.

Leave a comment