Marilyn Haddad is a 2D animation artist who recently graduated from Vancouver film school and is also a former ALBA student. She sent me this animation she recently did about a Lebanese girl who loves to dance to survive the stress that everybody faces here.
I thought of sharing it on the blog because I found the animation to be pretty impressive, and I hope we get to see more of her work.
Beirut Jam Sessions is the coming together of three passionate music lovers whose goal is to bring good music to Lebanon.
Those guys do so by featuring Lebanese bands and artists on their YouTube channel, in addition to bringing talented foreign artists, such as Emilie Gassin and Nadeah, to perform here in Lebanon.
Make sure to check Beirut Jam Sessions’ work on YouTube to get a glimpse of their taste in music, and if you’re interested in attending “Pony Pony Run Run” concert, tickets are currently selling for $25 at all Virgin Ticketing branches.
A Chilean artist called “INTI” who’s a member of “White Wall” drew this awesomely massive graffiti on a building in Hamra street!
WHITE WALL, organized at Beirut Art Center in association with Fondation Saradar and a team of three curators, is an exhibition in which one of the main objectives is to give new impetus to the Lebanese graffiti scene. Fourteen international artists, from Europe, North America, South America, together with artists from Egypt and Tunisia, with diverse visions an
d street art practices, have been invited to share their passion and expertise. Beirut Art Center will host an exhibition, while the show will also spread over the streets of Beirut, creating a dynamic interaction between the exhibition’s venue and the city.Nineteen Lebanon-based artists- the figureheads of the Lebanese street art and graffiti scene- will participate in the various WHITE WALL activities and outdoor interventions throughout Beirut.Since the Civil War, public space in Lebanon had been occupied by inscriptions and stencils related to war and sectarian politics. Western-style graffiti appeared infrequently as of the mid-1990s. It was not until 2005 that a new scene emerged, taking on the task to create a uniquely Lebanese style of this art
form. This scene is now burgeoning and the streets of Beirut have witnessed the birth of new artists mixing caustic stencils, western influences and Arabic graffiti. These interventions contrasted with public expectations, since they promoted unity over division and maintained a humorous and often critical look at Lebanese society.One of the key issues raised by this event is to understand how it is possible to bring an inherently outdoor and accessible art to an indoor space like Beirut Art Center, without betraying the idiosyncrasy of this art. While the first graffiti exhibition was already held in 1976 in New York City, this remains a challenge until today. The title, WHITE WALL, confronts the white walls of the galleries with
the streets of the city, a challenging prospect for a street artist.
I’m really loving what this group of artists and designers are doing to Beirut. Equipped with colors and skills, these guys are painting staircases around the city with cool designs.
Bliss Street
Mar Mkhayel
Sakiet El Janzir
I hope their work won’t be limited to painting up staircases only, and maybe push it further to make walls brighter even.
Anyway, you can check their Facebook page here.
Photo via Blogging Beirut
Back in 2008 when the political tension in Lebanon was reaching its peaks, visual artist Nada Sehnaoui installed 600 toilet seats in downtown Beirut in memory of the 15-year long Lebanese war, a time when people used to hide from bombs and shrapnels in the bathrooms.
I guess the same seats can be installed once again somewhere around Beirut, and this time not deliver a message, but rather to describe the current situation in the country!
In Lebanon we have a saying that goes like “Just like a toilet that has no water” (متل الحمام المقطوعة مايتو) to describe a mess. Seriously, what’s worse than people using a toilet with no water? That’s how Lebanon feels nowadays 😉
