Sahar Assaf on Theatre in Lebanon Today

The Segal Centre's recently held an event on contemporary theatre in Lebanon.  The centre has previously showcased readings of plays by Arab dramatists Rama Haydar and Bashar Murkus.  On the 17th of October, to celebrate a new exchange partnership with the Theatre Initiative at the American University of Beirut (AUB), the Segal Centre invited Sahar Assaf,  Assistant Professor …

On El Seed’s Calligraffiti and “Beirut’s Banksy”

 "Beirut's Banksy" is a terrible label. The murals and portraits of Lebanese artist Yazan Halwani are not even particularly Bansky like, unless Banksy unironically celebrates celebrities? Halwani's images are generally remediations of pan-Arab/nationalist symbols, the immediately recognisable and nostalgia-enducing images of "Arab poets, musicians and actors, encircled by intricate Arabic calligraphy." People from the golden age of music …

Wonder Beirut: The Story of a Pyromaniac Photographer

An exhibition of the Wonder Beirut project by creative partners Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige is on exhibit at CUAG until April 14th. The artists describe the project, which they worked on from 1997 to 2006, as "our production of postcards of war," inspired by the contrast between the touristy postcards and the reality of the city …

Days of Dust

The scene of the destruction of Dayr al-Bahr that Halim Barakat leaves us with at the end of his novel Six Days returns in The Return of The Bird to the Sea, translated as Days of Dust. The novel takes place during the six day war of 1967, over the course of which we follow …

Tomorrow We Will See

The film Bukra Minshouf ("Tomorrow We Will See") by Lebanese-Japanese director Soraya Umewaka tells the story of Lebanon and art through ten artists, offering "a window into Lebanon's flourishing creative culture." Here's more about the film: A rock band's thought-provoking lyrics, a poet's description of time shrinking, an architect's experimental manipulation of space, and a …