Fwd: PARACHUTE

[anna balint]

PARACHUTE # 108
"Beirut": a pivotal city between contemporary
art and the Arab world 





                  http://www.parachute.ca
                  e-mail: info at parachute.ca 


     PARACHUTE #108 
    "Beirut": a pivotal city between contemporary art and the
     Arab world

    Montreal, October 8, 2002 - PARACHUTE is launching its latest
    issue, devoted to "Beirut" in Montreal at the Canadian Centre
    for Architecture on the 10th of October at 7:00 p.m. This
    event underscores PARACHUTE's ambition to further develop its
    interest in Beirut and the Arab world, and to pursue the
    dynamics of exchange initiated in this issue. Chantal
    Pontbriand, the magazine's editor in chief, will present the
    issue to the public on this occasion. The presentation itself
    will be followed by a conference given by architects from the
    Lebanese, New-York-based group L.E.FT. The Canadian Centre
    for Architecture is organising and presenting this event in
    the framework of its Thursday night discussions held during
    the debate series, "Opinions". 

    This issue is part of PARACHUTE's ongoing series devoted,
    once a year, to those cities in the world where a confluence
    of intellectual and artistic activities are fostering new
    developments in artistic practices, transforming established
    dynamics, indicating new paths for understanding the current
    context and detecting future shifts. This issue's goal is to
    identify the different characteristics, trends and players -
    both intellectuals and artists - in order to better grasp
    what is at stake in the given context. The first issue of the
    series, devoted to Mexico City (autumn 2001), has been a
    resounding success. 

    In light of the current conjuncture, it strikes us as crucial
    to turn toward the Arab world and investigate the new
    conditions and artistic practices that are manifest there.
    Beirut is emblematic in this regard, given its multicultural,
    multi-denominational makeup, caught between war and peace,
    grappling with problems of territoriality and multiple
    identity. The city of Beirut has emerged as a cultural hub,
    fostering an artistic context able to engender a critique of
    a modernist vision of history, with its cleavages between
    past and present, history and the future, the local and the
    global. In this political and social context, the city has
    become a focal point in art for the expression of such a
    critique, informed by writing, the image, urban space,
    questions of agency, daily life, concepts of change,
    friendship and exchange. 

    The issue itself deals with the specific artistic practices
    developed by artists living in Beirut - as well as others
    from the Lebanese diaspora - including Walid Sadek, Akram
    Zaatari, Mohamad Soueid, Mahmoud Hojeij, Michel Lasserre and
    Paola Yacoub, Walid Ra'ad, Bilal Khbeiz, Rabih Mroué, Tony
    Chakar, Jayce Salloum and Mona Hatoum. Several of these
    artists have themselves contributed texts, as writing - like
    video - is one of the preferred media for many artists
    working in Beirut. Solid ties link these artists whose
    practices and ideas have created a mutually reinforcing
    dynamic. Though architectural issues can be discerned in many
    Beirut-based practices, it is more specifically dealt with
    here in A. Hashim Sarkis' text, and the project developed by
    L.E.FT and Amale Andraos. The issue includes a project by
    Gilbert Boyer, a Montreal-based artist, closely interested in
    Beirut's urban setting. Organisations and intellectuals who
    have played a key role in structuring Beirut's cultural
    context - including the Arab Image Foundation, the Ashkal
    Alwan Association, the Ayoul Festival, as well as Elias
    Khoury, Hazim Saghie and Hoda Barakat - are also featured. 

    Amale Andraos and the founders of group L.E.FT, Naji Moujaes,
    Makram, El-Kadi and Ziad Jamaleddine are international
    Lebanese architects. Working along with Rem Koolhaas and
    Steven Holl among others, they collaborated here to create a
    project for the Beirut issue. Choosing the form of fictional
    postcards, these architects propose to bring forth and
    reflect on cultural and political issues specific to the
    city. 

    The conference is held in English. 

    PARACHUTE is also launching its issue "Beirut" on the
    occasion of the 9th Summit of French-speaking countries,
    focusing on the theme of "Le dialogue des cultures," on 19
    October at the Agial Gallery. A public discussion bringing
    together authors and artists from issue #108 is also to be
    held at Espace SD on 17. Launches and panels will be held in
    Paris and in New York in the course of the year. 

    PARACHUTE is grateful for the financial support of the Canada
    Council for the Arts, the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du
    Québec, the Arts Council of the Montreal Urban Community, the
    Fonds de stabilisation et de consolidation des arts et de la
    culture du Québec, the City of Montreal, and the Ministère de
    la Culture et des Communications du Québec. 

    The launch in Beirut as well as the conference in Montreal
    have been made possible thanks to the support of the
    Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, the
    Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Ministère des
    Relations internationales du Québec and the Canadian Centre
    for Architecture. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs
    and International Trade has also provided support for the
    publication of this issue. 

    Source > Monica Györkös t > 514 842 9805 f > 514 842 9319
    www.parachute.ca > info at parachute.ca 

    For a French version of this information please go to: 
    http://www.parachute.ca