Lebanon’s Gallery Scene Grinds to a Halt Amid Israeli Airstrikes


Proper now, Walid Raad is meant to have two reveals on view at Sfeir-Semler Gallery in Beirut, the capital metropolis of Lebanon, the nation the place he was born. Taken as one, the reveals would’ve constituted the celebrated conceptual artist’s first exhibition in Lebanon in seven years.

Now, these reveals, together with most galleries’ exhibitions in Beirut, are closed as Israel continues to launch air strikes in Lebanon. Because the October 7 Hamas assault final yr, Israeli assaults have killed greater than 2,000 individuals in Lebanon, in keeping with the nation’s authorities; greater than 490 of these individuals have been killed on September 23, 2024, alone. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit central Beirut, killing 18 individuals, in keeping with the Guardian.

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An elderly white woman constructing an arcing wooden sculpture.

“The one factor we are able to do is figure from overseas, and thank God we now have the chance to be right here and to have the ability to work internationally to maintain the sunshine going,” stated Andrée Sfeir-Semler, the founding father of the gallery that was purported to mount Raad’s reveals. She additionally runs an area in Hamburg, Germany, and was talking by cellphone from London, the place her gallery is exhibiting at Frieze.

“In Beirut,” Sfeir-Semler stated, “every little thing is inconceivable.”

Many galleries, together with Sfeir-Semler, have closed indefinitely, dealing one more blow to a fragile artwork ecosystem that had solely not too long ago begun to rebuild following the 2020 port explosion in Beirut.

Marfa’ Tasks, one other Frieze participant with plans to exhibit at Artwork Basel Paris subsequent week, stated on Instagram that it was pressured to shut attributable to “security issues.”

“We’re extraordinarily frightened and shaken with what’s going on,” stated Joumana Asseily, the founding father of Marfa’. “We closed the gallery for security causes, and we have no idea after we will reopen. We’re working remotely for now and are heading to Frieze London after which Artwork Basel Paris the place we will likely be collaborating in each festivals. We strive as a lot as we are able to to persevere in our work and help our artists regardless of these terrifying instances.”

The excellent news, in keeping with Sfeir-Semler, is that few of her colleagues have weathered bodily injury. She stated that Israel’s strikes had usually been focused, sparing her galleries and others from destruction.

However there was emotional injury far and vast. She spoke of artists she knew who struggled to make sense of a tanking Lebanese economic system and the continued risk of a long-lasting warfare. “Now we have no electrical energy, everybody has to have motor to get electrical energy,” she stated. “Now we have no streets, no rubbish collectors, no authorities.” Many, she famous, had been displaced.

Even for these like Sfeir-Semler, who’re protected overseas, the information from dwelling will be tough to bear. “Yesterday, a lovely day in Hamburg, I used to be caught within the chair as a result of I used to be paralyzed,” she stated earlier this week. “You’re not free in your head.”

She remained dedicated to her Frieze sales space, the place the gallery is exhibiting works by Raad, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Samia Halaby, Wael Shawky, Mounira Al Solh, and Yto Barrada, amongst others. She stated, “That is what we are able to do. Artists are our lights at the hours of darkness.”

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