2023-08-29 09:55:15
The Montmartre district in Paris was teeming with cafes that were considered a meeting place for the most important plastic artists residing in Paris, and in the Montmartre district in particular: Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali and others. They took cafes as headquarters for their discussions, debates, and artistic debates, and as places to display their paintings, criticize them, and express their opinions on each other’s work.
Nowadays, and in Lebanon in particular, professional plastic artists are now exhibiting their works exclusively in art galleries that are enveloped in an aristocratic atmosphere, and are directed to a specific segment of society. And if we see some initiatives in the field of displaying paintings outside the scope of galleries, they are often far from professionalism, meaning that they are more interested in art amateurs than professionals. Recently, however, the “Al-Junaina” café, which opened recently in Ashrafieh, took the initiative to display paintings by elite professional artists, as a step to create a different kind of place that seeks to be a cultural meeting place for artists of all kinds (artists, cinematographers, playwrights, or writers…). In cooperation with the plastic artist Ghada Al-Zoghbi, the artists were contacted to display their paintings, so the artists Ahmed Ghaddar, Fadi Al-Shamaa, Affa Musaylib, Mansour Al-Habr, Rasha Kulaib, Roy Dagher and Shawqi Youssef took the initiative to respond to Al-Zoghbi’s invitation. They held an exhibition in El Geneina for three days. Al-Zoghbi also presented two paintings as a gift to keep them on permanent display at this forum. This step is considered unusual, because the artists who exhibited their work are professionals, and they show their work in the most important galleries in Lebanon and abroad. Ghada says regarding her choice of artists: “I contacted artists who share the same principle that art should make its way to the general public, and who have enough humility and culture to understand the importance of this initiative.” The artist Mansour Al-Habr, who is one of the participants in the exhibition, stresses the importance of not limiting plastic art to the gallery, and when asked regarding his display in “Al-Geneina”, he replied: “The reason is that modern art in its beginnings abandoned its presence in the places of the cultural elite and the circles of power.. The modern artistic revolution in Europe started from cultural cafés as well…which means that art and society have become in one place…and there is no longer a distance between people and art… hence my conviction in this show.
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The organizers of the “El Geneina” project hope that the idea of displaying the paintings of veteran plastic artists will be a step to create a space for art and culture that will make its way smoothly to the public. Arabi Al-Andari, one of the curators of “Al-Geneina”, says: “We met on a primary goal, which is to create a cultural forum that cares regarding and embraces all kinds of arts. We provided space for professional artists, and we will seek to provide opportunities for emerging artists, and Al-Geneina may be their starting point.”
It is clear from Al-Andari’s speech that the initiative launched by “Al-Geneina” is not commercial, but rather cultural, and is consistent with the vision of the male and female artists who took the initiative to display their work. Artist Ghada Al-Zoghbi explains to Al-Modon: “I see this exhibition as a space for artists to meet with people. With this step, we contribute to liberating art from the framework of the gallery and the museum, to open a new path for it, through which it goes to the public. Art these days is no longer closed in on itself. Thanks to social networking sites, artists’ works have become available to all people through the mobile phone screen, just as we take the initiative to display our paintings on these sites to become familiar to viewers, we can also display them in a realistic and cultural place such as a garden.
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Accordingly, and as a result of the sharing of the same cultural perspective by the curators of “El Geneina” with the artist Ghada Al Zoghbi, the eight artists were contacted to display their works, and each of them took the initiative to display one or more works. Thus, the first art exhibition was opened in “El Geneina”, and it was at a level of professionalism. One of the participating artists, Affa Musaylib, who held her second solo exhibition not long ago, expresses her belief in this step: “I believe that painting is not limited within the framework of the gallery. It proves that art is available to everyone.
This initiative, which some may consider simple or ordinary, is the best proof that there are still artists in Lebanon who seek to reach and communicate with multiple segments of society, through art, and that these steps and initiatives contribute to improving the artistic taste and aesthetic sense in society.
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