Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility is a group exhibition сurated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath. It is devoted to the political situation and the development of modernism in Beirut from 1958 to 1975. Displaying the artworks of 37 Lebanese artists active at that time, the show is an introspection into the city’s multiple socio-political struggles and contradictions, both past and present.
The 1960s are often called Beirut’s “golden age”. During that period, foreign capital and numerous intellectuals and cultural practitioners from across the Arab world flowed into the city. New commercial galleries, independent art spaces, and museums flourished. However, revolutions, coups, and wars across the regions were boiling beneath the surface of Beirut’s prosperity over the course of three decades, which eventually led to the Lebanese Civil War in 1975.
Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility focuses on how art in Beirut has reflected the violence and the role of art in dark times. On view are 230 various art pieces, 300 archival documents from around 40 collections worldwide, and As Night Comes When Day is Gone, a multi-media installation by Lebanese filmmakers and artists Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. The installation specially commissioned for the exhibition contemplates the transformation of artworks by acts of violence.
The show is divided into five sections:
1. Le Port de Beyrouth: The Place. It delves into ideas of belonging to one place using artists from various communities across the region. The works presented in this section reflect Lebanon and its many contradictions, including those who benefitted from Beirut’s prosperity and those in destitution.
2. Lovers: The Body. The section is dedicated to Beirut’s libertarian art scene and how it challenged the conservative values and viewpoints not only in Lebanon, but also in the wider MENA region. The section gives visitors an opportunity to look at the art pieces created by famous Lebanese female artists who embraced topics considered sensitive or taboo back then.
3. Takween (Composition): The Form. Here, links between artists’ political views and their art style are explored. To distinguish themselves from Eurocentric expression, artists started to incorporate more traditionally Arabic forms into their work: calligraphy and pre-Islamic art.
4. Monster and Child: The Politics. It reviews the escalation of political and social tensions from the late 1960s until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1975. The artworks on display demonstrate how Lebanese artists responded to such tragic events as the Palestinian Nakba, the Vietnam War, and the Algerian War.
5. The Blood of the Phoenix: The War section addresses the Civil War in Lebanon and how the country’s art communities persevered through the conflict. It also explores the impact of the legacy of the war on today’s cultural scene of Beirut.
The artists featured in the exhibition are Shafic Abboud, Etel Adnan, Farid Aouad, Dia al-Azzawi, Alfred Basbous, Joseph Basbous, Michel Basbous, Assadour Bezdikian, Huguette Caland, Rafic Charaf, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Georges Doche, Simone Fattal, Laure Ghorayeb, Paul Guiragossian, Farid Haddad, John Hadidian, and others. The show is being held at Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf) and will end on 5 August 2023.
To get more information about the show Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility, please visit its official web page.
You might also be interested in visiting A country without a door or windows by Bady Dalloul and Nabil Anani’s online exhibition.
