Tag: art

Beirut NGOs Launch Emergency Fund for Lebanon’s Struggling Art Scene

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In May two Beirut-based organizations, the Arab Fund For Arts and Culture (Afac) and Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy), launched a $1 million dollar fund to support cultural institutions struggling to survive in Lebanon. 

The country is currently experiencing the worst financial crisis in its history with its currency losing 70% of its value against the Dollar since October 2019. Anti-corruption protests, which began late last year, led to the toppling of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his government in December. The coronavirus crisis has worsened the country’s economic woes with almost half of the country’s population thought to be living below the poverty line. 

The economic crisis limits the income citizens have to spend on leisure activities, including cultural endeavors. Earlier this year, Beirut’s Metropolis Empire Sofil cinema was closed down due to a lack of funds. The art-house cinema was the home of screenings, festivals, and events in the capital for more than a decade.  

With economic stress continuing and the country’s banks limiting access to US dollars, many artists and organizations are unable to access much needed funds. In addition, artistic institutions, many of which rely on revenues from ticket sales, have been forced to close due to COVID-19. 

Much needed support 

Grants offered by Afac and Culture Resource will vary in value between $20,000 – $80,000 and can be spent on whatever the winning organizations deem necessary. Afac Executive Director Rima Mismar says, “We do not expect these organisations, at this point in time, to actually have a full strategy or vision on how they will adapt to the situation.” 

This flexibility will allow organizations to cover essential costs, such as staff salaries and rent, whilst planning how to engage with communities in the post-COVID-19 world. In addition to the support given to organizations, both Afac and Cultural Resource are operating region-wide funds to support individual artists. 

Cultural Resource aims to support 40 individual artists unable to earn a living at the moment through their Be With Art grant. In June, Afac launched its own regional scheme to sponsor up to 150 artists with $3,000 each. 

Hope remains for the art scene

Despite the struggles artists and cultural institutions are facing, Culture Resource Managing Director Helena Nassif remains hopeful for the future of the arts in Lebanon. She suggests the crisis in Lebanon has provided opportunity for reflection on “the value system we carry and the role of the arts in contributing to creating and imagining a better or different kind of society.”

Mismar seconds this, adding, “There are definitely challenges and negative impacts. At the same time, it does somehow open a moment to think of things differently. This is where aligning immediate needs with longer-term strategies needs to be balanced well.”

In spite of current difficulties, creative projects are continuing in Lebanon. Earlier this year, Beirut-based artist Abed Al-Kadiri launched “Cities Under Quarantine: The Mailbox Project.” The project saw 50 hand-stitched books sent to 50 Middle Eastern artists around the world, with participants asked to use the books to create art and document the crisis. 

Al-Kadiri hopes to publish a collection of the artists’ work in the future. 

A ‘Radical’ Platform Features Work from MENA’s Contemporary Creatives

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In 2017, Nour Hassan wanted to provide young creatives in the Arab world with a platform and exposure that she felt was not forthcoming from established magazines. Three years later, Radical Contemporary has grown from an online magazine project to a creative platform and business providing brand building and consultancy services. 

Explaining the platform’s success, founder Hassan says she found a “gap in a micro niche market and pounced at the opportunity to create and collaborate.” Based between Cairo and Jeddah, the platform’s online content, which includes articles and creative showcases, is available for free. The accessibility contributes to the platform’s ability to drive the conversation and provide the exposure for young creatives that was central to the project’s founding. 

The platform is also a space for important cultural conversations. In one project, Hassan and the Radical Contemporary team tackled the pressure young girls from conservative families face to marry early. Titled “Runaway Love,” the piece combines text and photography to tell the story of a young woman who found the courage to leave a loveless relationship because she ultimately loved herself more. 

This convergence between culture and society or politics is a constant throughout the work on the platform. Another project tackles the dissatisfaction that the youth feel with the values of older generations through illustration, whilst a written piece provides tips for young women to succeed in a corporate workplace.  

In May this year, the Radical Contemporary team launched a podcast aimed at creating dialogues with and about emerging creatives from the region. The podcast, co-hosted by Hassan and Yasmine Kenawi, is an avenue for growing the platform’s audience and community. Explaining the podcast, Hassan says, “I am making sure we have conversations, and this is important because there isn’t really any dialogue on creatives in the region and their work.”

Podcasting is an increasingly popular means for creatives to share their work in the MENA region. Earlier this year, the Designers Marocain (Moroccan Designers) podcast launched to showcase the work of creatives from Morocco. With 14 episodes to date, the podcast, which features interviews in French and Darija (Moroccan Arabic), has explored relevant topics with artists, architects, jewelry designers, photographers, and graphic designers. 

A platform for good 

In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, creatives from the platform have come together to raise money for less fortunate members of Egyptian society. The campaign, launched April 15, aims to raise LE 25,000 to distribute food and hygiene packets to approximately 30 families in need.

In supporting the project, Hassan explains that Radical Contemporary is “trying to target the creative community and say let’s be creative in a different way— let’s create hope.” 

A Young Person’s View: Photography Confronts Morocco’s Stereotyped Image

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Morocco has captivated travelers and artists for centuries. There are countless books and paintings dedicated to the country’s chaotic souks, diverse landscapes, charming people, and incredible cuisine. However, for some Moroccans these portrayals are tired and do not reflect their everyday reality.  

Among them are a growing number of young Moroccan creatives who want to show a different side of the country, away from souks and tajines. For photographer Ismail Zaidy, it is about moving away from orientalist imagery and presenting a vision of modern Morocco. Zaidy says, “I try to show our culture and our identity in a way that isn’t so ‘traditional.'” 

To do this, Zaidy creates images that place the traditional, often represented by items of clothing such as the djellaba, in bare, modern settings. Zaidy explains, “the photos are taken in Morocco, but it doesn’t have to necessarily look like Morocco, or have art and patterns that people probably associate with Morocco either.” The clean lines and open spaces Zaidy uses are complemented by a palette of light pinks and blues. 

Mous Lamrabat is also mixing the modern and the traditional in photographs that combine elements of North African fashion and culture with logos from large Western corporations. In one image a man holds a watermelon slice, a summer staple in Morocco, shaped as the Nike swoosh. In another, produced during the coronavirus crisis, a man wears a McDonald’s fry packet as a mask. 

 

 

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You want some handgel with that?? #boredomestrikes model: @sefteling

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A commentary on the pervasiveness of consumerism, Lamrabat’s photographs fuse the artist’s two cultures, Moroccan and European. It is not all serious though, with the artist explaining that there is a deliberate humor to his work: “I love to laugh, it’s my favourite emotion, there is already so much negativity.” 

For Fatima Zohra Serri, who grew up in regional Morocco, her photographs are a means to tackle taboos and the inequality many women in Morocco still face. She says, “addressing women’s rights in my pictures is something that comes from my heart.” The 22-year-old draws her inspiration from her surroundings and the experiences of the women around her. 

In one photograph Serri posted on Instagram, a woman stands with only her bare legs and high heels visible, a mirror on the floor showing her torso’s reflection. The woman is wearing a hijab and loose black robe with her face slightly covered. Titled “The two sides of the same coin,” the image is open to a range of interpretations. 

 

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The two sides of the same coin. . . . . . #vsco #vscox #vscocam #instagram

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Perhaps it speaks to the duality of the female experience in Morocco. Many young women are forced to hide their modern lifestyles from conservative family members. Or maybe it is a comment on the objectification women in Morocco face regardless of whether or not they choose to dress conservatively. Serri does not elaborate beyond the title but the overwhelming positive comments suggest the image is well received by fans. 

As growing popularity sees these young artists share their works with larger audiences, the world is getting the opportunity to experience the country through their Moroccan eyes. 

Art in War Torn Libya

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Libyan digital artist Razan Al Naas (@razangryffindor) weaves the country’s culture and history into digital collages that provoke thought and awe. A large part of that history in recent times has been the instability and conflict that has ravaged the country since the overthrow of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. 

The increase in fighting since April 2019 upended Tripoli resident Al Naas’ life with her family moving away from their home to escape the constant bombings. The arrival of coronavirus has further interrupted life in the city, closing universities and schools to contain its spread. 

The turmoil of life in Libya is a constant feature of the art produced by many contemporary Libyan artists. Earlier this year, Al Naas repurposed Michaelangelo’s hand of God to show two hands reaching out under a large bottle of hand sanitizer. In the background is Tripoli’s Bab Al Madina. 

The image evokes feelings of hope and hopelessness with the hands ever so close to touching, as in the original, and the hand sanitizer a stark reminder of both the challenges of COVID-19 and the impossibility for many to hold their loved ones at this time.

For Al Naas coronavirus and the associated restrictions to daily life in Libya cannot be disentangled from the war, with the artist telling Arab News in April “In Tripoli, you can’t spell quarantine without war.”

Other works by Al Naas, the majority of which are published on her Instagram, feature dilapidated buildings and faceless soldiers as she continues to document her experiences as a young person living through war. 

Keeping Libya’s art scene alive 

Artists, writers, photographers and poets play a vital role in curating cultural and collective memories of the human experience. The importance of this contribution in Libya was highlighted in a 2017 art show hosted by the WaraQ Art Foundation in the capital. 

At the time, the country’s art scene was beginning to recover after years of conflict, with the exhibition drawing large crowds throughout its five night run. The scars of war were visible throughout the work featured with themes such as the trauma of Islamic State’s barbarism and the impact of the war on children prominent among the art on show. 

Al Naas was among the artists to exhibit in 2017. Her contribution included the piece  “Kidnapped and yet to return.” Drawing on her family’s personal trauma the piece references the kidnapping of her grandfather. The elderly man was held for over a month until the family was able to pay his ransom. 

Al Naas wants the piece to serve as a warning to others, saying “I wanted to share this feeling with everyone. The fact that you could wake up one day to find one of your closest people is kidnapped.” 

Earlier this year, the Tajarrod Art and Architecture Foundation held a three day open air exhibition in Benghazi. Visitors walked among red pillars viewing art produced by young people produced on the exhibitions thematic of building meaning out of destruction.

Whilst COVID-19 has curtailed plans for more exhibitions in the short term and the ongoing conflict makes long term planning difficult, the enthusiasm surrounding art across Libya is an encouraging sign for the industry’s future. 

Culture in Crisis: Easing the Burden of COVID-19

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In Abu Dhabi the Louvre has led the way in pioneering digital offerings, creating a diverse range of ways for audiences to engage with the museum’s collections. These offerings include digital tours and talks by artists and curators. 

The museum also created a podcast that uses a sci-fi narrative to explore its futuristic architecture. In May, the museum partnered with streaming service Anghami to launch a series of playlists based on its collections. The playlists contain 20-30 songs each and have been crafted to reflect the era and region of the art presented in the associated exhibition. 

A cultural and artistic hub, Abu Dhabi has a plethora of galleries and art institutions and many have joined Abu Dhabi Louvre in offering online activities, including workshops and film screenings. As previously reported by Arabia Policy, the Sharjah Art Foundation is screening works by female Arab filmmakers throughout June for a virtual audience. 

In Morocco, the Moroccan National Foundation of Museums has mobilized to offer online virtual visits with accompanying explanatory texts to some of the country’s most famous museums. The virtual visits commenced with the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s “In Front of Picasso” collection. 

Beyond museums 

The museums in Morocco are joined by the national library, which is offering free online access to all its e-books, and the Moroccan Philharmonic Orchestra (OPM), which is streaming concerts on social media, in offering online access to culture and the arts. 

In Egypt, the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has launched a series of online guided tours of archaeological sites, in addition to museums. The initiative has the dual purpose of promoting tourism to foreigners and educating Egyptians on their country’s rich history. 

The tours, which are available through the ministry’s social media, include the Menna Tomb in Theban Necropolis and the tomb of Queen Meresankh III. The latter features some of the best preserved examples of burial art. Tours of more contemporary sites, including the Red Monastery, the 14th-century Mosque-Madrassa, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue, are also online. 

Socially distant cultural events 

In Saudi Arabia, the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture made sure residents were able to experience the joy of Eid despite the lockdowns through a series of lockdown parades. 

Over 100,000 people enjoyed the parades, which featured traditional Saudi songs and dances such as Ardha, Sahrqi music, folk songs related to fishing and pearl diving, and Eid songs, from their balconies or windows.

As coronavirus lockdowns continue across the region, the ability to explore art and culture online or from a distance is a welcome relief for many.

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