Lebanon - Art - A City With No Dedicated Musuem
Nishee
The lack of an art museum in Beirut particularly one to showcase modern or
contemporary art has long been a source of consternation for the Lebanese
cultural community.
“I don’t think there’s any question about what should be done. If you
don’t have an art museum, you should build one,” said Helen Khal, and
artist and art critic.
Khal’s sentiments were echoed by Saleh Barakat, an art dealer for the Agial
Gallery in Ras Beirut. “A museum is more than a necessity, it’s not a
luxury,” he said.
Other than a handful of wealthy individuals who have impressive private
collections, the government is the only entity with a sizable art collection.
But not only has it failed to display these works, the art pieces it owns are
noticeably sub-par, according to the experts.
“The government has more than 1,000 pieces, but these pieces that they
collected are from artists who sold their poorest works because government
officials don’t know how to select,” said Cezar Nammour, president of the
Modern Art Society and a lecturer in art appreciation at AUB.
Nammour and others insist that this problem could be rectified through the
establishment of a respectable museum whose displays would serve as a frame of
reference for distinguishing “good” art from “bad” art.
“An artist whose work is displayed in a national museum is someone who
already has status,” said Barakat, adding that the ideal museum would
illustrate the culture and history surrounding the art, which in turn would
strengthen the art market.
“The art scene in Lebanon is chaotic. A lot of bad art is being sold now and
people think this is good art because we don’t have a standard to measure
against,” said Nammour.
Realistically, though, since an art museum requires continuous funding,
government involvement is vital, added Nammour.
In addition to permanent and temporary collections, a museum must also include
a storage area, a research laboratory, a small library, a cafeteria, a gift
shop, and a garden to display sculptures. The price for such an endeavor is
likely to be as much as $30 million.
The establishment of a museum requires a decision by politicians, Nammour said,
“and the government is politically oriented, not culturally oriented.”
Nammour is a staunch critic of the Ministry of Culture’s recent decision to
allocate funds for the renovation of a building in Tripoli that will act as an
exhibition hall to display collections.
“Money has been set aside for the museum in Tripoli, but the minister is not
ready to announce an opening date,” said Dima Raad an official at the
ministry, who added that the Tripoli project would include consultation with
officials from the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
“Logic would say that it (an art museum) should be in Beirut or in the
vicinity of the city. Now they are putting it in Tripoli, where the cultural
life is stagnant and there is very little happening,” said Nammour.
Barakat concurred: “in order for a museum to achieve its goal, it has to be
in Beirut.”
The modern art period reaches from the 19th century to the mid-20th century and
includes movements such as impressionism, expressionism, and surrealism.
Contemporary art defines the current period, which followed modern art.
The most recent effort to establish an art museum in Beirut was led by the
Modern Art Society, which tried to acquire the former French Archeological
Center in the downtown district and then annex an adjacent building to house
collections. The society even conducted a feasibility study and presented it to
Solidere, the company in charge of developing the downtown area, to demonstrate
its determination to develop the site.
Solidere, however, sold the property to Anthony Tanouri, who has his own
impressive collection of modern art from painters such as Picasso and Matisse.
Tanouri said he had no plans to display his collection to the public in the
near future.
Solidere urban planner Oussama Kabbani said the decision to sell the property
was purely financial; Tanouri had the resources to buy the land while the
Modern Art Society needed government assistance.
“This was a commercial property and we needed to find a buyer,” said
Kabbani, who added that an area to display collections of contemporary art
would be provided within the souq section of the downtown district. The hope is
that the exhibition area will act as a catalyst for an expanded museum in the
future, Kabbani said.
Two other possibilities still exist for a museum in Beirut, although both are
still in the planning stage.
The American University of Beirut recently formed a steering committee, made up
of AUB graduates and with the support of AUB president John Waterbury, to
establish an art center on campus.
Also, in November, UNESCO will renovate a building inside its Beirut compound
which will serve as an exhibition hall for an art collection.
But Nammour cautioned against what he considered to be the 19th-century idea of
a museum. “Their [the government’s] concept of an art museum is to have a
room where you hang paintings on the walls and have sculptures.
“They don’t think of an art museum as a living institution where people
come and meet and there are many activities,” said Nammour.
Barakat agreed. “A museum is not just a place where people go on Sundays,”
he said. “A museum has many objectives and it’s not just a building.”