BeMA USA is partnering with the Middle East Institute, APEAL and the Arab World Institute (IMA) to present Lebanon, Then and Now 2006-2020, a virtual photography exhibition by Lebanese artists.
Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006-2020
Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006-2020 is a unique collaboration between cultural institutions spanning from Washington DC to Paris to Beirut with a shared goal: to bring into focus some of the dizzying social, political and economic developments that have marked Lebanon over the last decade and a half. Produced by the Middle East Institute (MEI), with its partners, the Paris-based Arab World Institute, BeMA USA (the Beirut Museum of Art, USA), APEAL (The Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon) and the Beirut Center for Photography, Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006-2020 presents, under one virtual roof, selections from two seminal shows: Lebanon: Between Reality and Fiction, organized by the Arab World Institute and Revolt, organized by APEAL and the Beirut Center for Photography. Together they tell a very cohesive and contemporary story about the country, while highlighting the critical role that Lebanon’s artists and creatives play as the interpreters and archivists of the country’s unfolding narrative.
Originally planned for the summer of 2020 in the newly launched MEI Art Gallery, dedicated to showcasing contemporary and modern art from the Middle East and the diaspora in Washington DC, Lebanon Then and Now has been reimagined as a virtual exhibit in light of the corona virus pandemic. The show, featuring 17 Lebanese photographers and 50 images, presents two very different perspectives on Lebanon. One offers a view into a country exploring the aftermath of its long civil war (1975-1990); while the other takes audiences inside the raw emotion of the street protests that erupted on October 17, 2019 – and continue to this day – in response to the corruption and political mismanagement that triggered Lebanon’s recent financial collapse.