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From Issue Almanac 2011
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- Preface Invisible Worlds
- News Artists in Controversy: Inhospitable Climes
- News Philanthropy: Giving It Up For Good
- News Career Moves: Still Wanted
- Cultural Currency Auctions
- Five Plus One Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Countries Bhutan
- Countries Brunei
- Countries India
- Countries Kazakhstan
- Countries Lebanon
- Countries Macau
- Countries Nauru
- Countries New Zealand
- Countries Philippines
- Countries Taiwan
- Countries Turkmenistan
- Countries Yemen
- Reflections The Seeds of Time or the Sands of the Desert?
- Exhibitions Museums
- Table of Contents
- Web Exclusives
- Archive
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AMAL ISSA, Never-eat-y of the Fallen Rifle, 2008, oil and charcoal on canvas, 3.6 × 2 m. Courtesy Ashkal Alwan, Beirut.
Lebanon
With a tradition of liberal education and less stringent censorship laws compared to neighboring countries, Beirut has long been a cultural capital and a regional crossroads. The city’s art scene is shaped by a continuing absence of government funding, as well as ongoing political instability from the still-unresolved Lebanese Civil War (1975–90). The mid-1990s saw the art community’s resurgence, led by independent organizations (without permanent spaces) and commercial galleries. This infrastructure is maturing as many nonprofit organizations acquire spaces and open them to the public.
There are no contemporary art museums in Lebanon. The only modern art institution is the private Nicolas Sursock Museum, which is undergoing expansion and is scheduled to reopen in 2012.
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