An Invitation to "Mixed Feelings: Racism and 'Othering' in Lebanon from a Lebanese Perspective"

[Nisreen Kaj]

Dear friends and partners,

 

We would like to invite you to the opening of Mixed Feelings, a photography exhibition

using a combination of images and words to highlight the issue of racism in contemporary Lebanon

through Lebanese participants.

 

A collaboration by photographer Marta Bogdanska and copywriter/activist Nisreen Kaj,

and in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Middle East Office,

Mixed Feelings invites us to question ideas of ‘race’, racialization and ‘othering’,

and how these factors play into the perceptions of who belongs in the country and who does not.

 

 

// The opening:

·         6 PM

·         Wednesday, June 27

·         Dar Al Mussawir, Wardeyyeh, Hamra

·         (Map is attached, and walking instructions below)

 

// The panel discussion:

·         7 PM sharp

·         Same day, Wednesday, June 27

·         With Nadim Houry from Human Rights Watch

·         Lala Arabian from Insan Association

·         Rana Boukarim from Anti-Racism Movement

 

// Bring your opinions, thoughts, words, arguments and insights, and let’s talk.

 

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// MIXED FEELINGS: IN MORE WORDS

 

Mixed Feelings is inspired by ideas of (mistaken) identity and the multiplicity of factors that come into play when looking at racism and ‘othering’. It showcases 30 portraits of Lebanese from African and Asian heritage, as well as 17 quotes taken from interviews conducted with some of the participants.

 

At the core of the discourse on racism in Lebanon is the template narrative of ‘us’ versus ‘the outsiders’, of the existence of two homogeneous and separate units with no room to explore any other position or experience with racism in the country.

 

Within this framework, Lebanese of mixed heritage have found themselves cast aside as a subaltern group. Yet, they are also, in varying degrees and through unique as well as shared experiences, the victims of race thinking, racialization and racism in Lebanon. What this exclusion from Lebanon’s discourse on racism highlights is a need to clear the space for multiple voices, which is what this project attempts to do.

 

// The project is in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Middle East Office.

 

 

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// If you come walking:

·         Start from the beginning of Hamra

·         If Masrouf Lubnan (Banque du Liban, Central Bank of Lebanon) is on your right

·         Walk straight a few more meters (past SGBL)

·         And take the first right down (against traffic)

·         Keep walking till you pass:

o    The AUB Alumni Building

o    MUBS (Modern University of Business and Science)

o    A gas station (known as Wardieh Gas Station)

·         By the side of this gas station is a small dead-end street

·         In this street is an orange building

·         Come in and go to the 2^nd floor

--

Nisreen Kaj

Mobile \\ +44 (0) 7767300102
Skype \\ n.i.s.r.e.e.n.
Email \\ nisre...@gmail.com
Website \\ nisreenkaj.com