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Beirut gallery: a space of dialogue besides war and destruction

Beirut gallery: a space of dialogue besides war and destruction

Moving Home(s) is the title of an exhibition in a Beirut gallery which debuted on July 6, 2006 -- six days before the Israeli air force began the bombing of Lebanon. It focuses on the colonialisation of the world through tourism and contemporary nomadism. The location is Galerie Sfeir-Semler - a gallery space in an abandoned iron factory in Beirut’s Quarantine district which opened in April 2005. The initiative coincided with Lebanon’s "Cedar Revolution," and the awakening of Lebanese civil society following the departure of Syrian troops -- the gallery opened on the same weekend (Apr. 9-10, 2006) that the last of the Syrian forces officially departed Lebanon. The gallery’s ambition was to link and connect the Western contemporary art sector with its Middle Eastern counterpart. The aim of the director Andrée Sfeir was to work on creating a new infrastructure in Lebanon and an art market of international standing for the Arab region. It is the very first gallery for contemporary art with an international ambition in the Middle East outside of Israel. As Beirut was an important business and cultural center in the Middle East the gallery director wanted to bring prominent international artists to Lebanon to stimulate dialogue.
Interviewed by Artnet News Sfeir predicts that Galerie Sfeir-Semler will open again. "I am not closing the gallery. We are waiting," she says. "I did not open the gallery to make a profit," she adds. "I opened it to give the people a cultural space to exchange ideas -- to get other ideas besides war and destruction."

Via Artnet News

Originally from
ReBlogged by silvia on Aug 1, 2006 at 04:05 PM Posted by silvia on Aug 1, 2006 at 04:05 PM

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