At the origin of the "Moments for Lebanon" project are two friends, Sana al-Halwani and Tamara Barakat. (Credit: Photo provided by "Moments for Lebanon.")
The idea for the “Moments for Lebanon” project came from two friends, Sana al-Halwani and Tamara Barakat. Halwani is an architect who works between Paris and Dubai, while Barakat specializes in strategic design and management. When the war broke out in Lebanon in 2024, they were both in Paris and wanted to take action.
“We started with a bake sale, and the project grew from there. For the first edition, 24 artists contributed and we raised 73,000 euros, all of which was given to NGOs operating in Lebanon,” says Barakat.
“This year, we’re taking over the Galerie au roi, who have generously offered us their space, as Lucid Interval did two years ago. More than 300 works will be showcased, including a substantial number of small-format pieces. The works will be arranged as a collective installation, evolving as sales progress,” Halwani adds.
A hundred artists were invited and asked to work around the themes of memory and belonging.
“We’re bringing together creations from different artists in an almost organic way, making textures and techniques echo each other,” Halwani said. Beyond the stories carried by the works, the very nature of memory is being explored. “The idea is to see how memory evolves outside the country of one’s roots, and how it inspires artists in their creations,” Barakat added.
A work by Sama Beydoun. Courtesy of "Moments for Lebanon."
In addition to substantial support for four NGOs — Arcenciel, Beit el Baraka, the Lebanese Red Cross and Offre Joie — the initiative is also designed to support artists.
“Often, they themselves suffer from the current context. We paid a commission to those who expressed a need, even though the majority of works are donations,” explains Halwani, who emphasizes the diversity of the assembled artists, both established and emerging.
The project mobilized a team of around 20 people, including Christina Shoucair of Hayaty Diaries, a nomadic gallery dedicated to Arab artists, particularly women.
“Nour, Leila and Yasmine Sabbah, who founded Art for Beirut, also collaborated on our project,” adds Barakat, who says she was particularly moved by the work of Elias Loudiyi, who reproduces family photos in large-format paintings.
Beirut balconies, Vietnamese fishermen and the 'baradehs'
Born in Paris in 1987 to a French mother and Lebanese father, painter Laurent Abu Haidar explains that his connection to Lebanon becomes even stronger in times of war, which is why he is involved with “Moments for Lebanon.” After studying law, he decided to devote himself to painting.
A work by Laurent Abou Haidar. With the kind permission of the artist and "Moments for Lebanon"
“I create large-format canvases depicting the human body. I like to simplify the forms and play with lines. I work in acrylic or oil; I also do collages, murals, and recently, I did a facade for the Château de Forbin in Marseille,” he explains.
At the Galerie au Roi, he’s presenting two paintings, New Moon and Blue Sun. “I love this connection between celestial bodies and the body, the idea that matter circulates. I see the body as a superimposition of layers, made up of both near and distant history,” he adds, emphasizing the importance of memory in his work, especially in his series dedicated to Vietnamese fishermen.
“During frequent trips to Vietnam, I was able to explore their world, gestures and rhythms that have been repeated for millennia. I recreated their portraits from little pieces of magazines — fashion, animals and plants; I wanted to convey the synthesis of everything that lives within us,” adds Abu Haidar.
Ceramic artist Diana Bou Salman explores urban memory through sculptures. “In ‘Fragments of Memorabilia’ I’m exhibiting two pieces from the Ville series, partially shown at Janine Rubeiz gallery. These are miniatures of Beirut apartment buildings, with great attention to the balconies and the curtains, the baradehs. This series explores the feeling of being at home, but also leaving and returning. The third work is called Hanging in There; it’s a focus on these balconies, like a scene suspended in time. It deals with the ambiguity between terrible moments and the need to continue experiencing ordinary ones,” she explains.
A ceramic sculpture by Diana Bou Salman. Courtesy of the artist and "Moments for Lebanon".
Raised in France by Lebanese parents, Bou Salman is aware of the weight of her sculptures. “Most of my work tries to reconnect with this land. I try to recreate landscapes I only experienced for a brief moment. Ceramics guarantee me an eternal earth,” she adds. “They destroy to erase us, we must resist” Multidisciplinary artist Yasmina Hilal likes to weave personal and collective stories into her works.
For “Moments for Lebanon,” she chose to exhibit Cataclysme, a piece she made in 2024. “It’s a self-portrait that reflects our inner thoughts and the noise in our minds during times of instability, namely war. I made it with a Polaroid and oxidized brass, which I burned and soldered to evoke fragility and the notion of destruction, both material and memorial,” she describes, before presenting her second work around prayer beads, Ramlet al-Baida.
A work by Yasmina Hilal from the "Ramlet el-Bayda" series. Photo courtesy of the photographer and "Moments for Lebanon".
“This object contains a universal connection of love. In my work, I seek to reconstruct what is felt rather than what is simply remembered. The erasure of our collective memory forces us to preserve the cultural and emotional traces of our history,” she insists.
According to Halwani, Hilal's work is displayed in dialogue with photographs by Rania Matar.
“In the picture, she’s wearing her mother’s blue wedding dress, which carries a powerful message. The photograph features different textures and resonates with Yasmina Hilal’s work.”
Lebanese-Ethiopian artist and author Ruwan Theodros lives between Beirut and New York. What she seeks to capture is the specificity of the old-fashioned Beirut apartments.
“I spent part of my childhood at my grandmother’s in Beirut. Her home has remained unchanged since the 1960s. I wanted to document it in the Remember Me series, focusing on the details found in her home as well as those of her friends and neighbors, highlighting this generation of women who kept families balanced during the war. With the bombings, many people lost their homes; they don’t even have photos left. They destroy to erase us, we must resist,” she says.
A photo taken by Ruwan Theodros in Beirut interiors. Photo courtesy of the photographer and “Moments for Lebanon.”
In the collective installation Fragments of Memorabilia, the constant renewal of mediums in the contemporary art scene is revealed. Thus, Yazan Halwani, known for his street murals and public sculptures, is exhibiting a calligraphic bas-relief. "The Beirut Concrete Paradise series seeks to convey the city’s dual nature, both chaotic and romantic. I’m presenting two small canvases dedicated to Beirut, reflecting this dichotomy, this paradoxical relationship that is almost like a love affair," he explains.
Flowers, music and poetry
Floral designer Laure Ahdab created a plant composition for the exhibition. “I was inspired by abandoned lots in Beirut and suspended it in the air, like a memory you can never quite put down, always floating between two places,” she describes.
A work by Loulou Bissat. Courtesy of "Moments for Lebanon."
On Saturday evening, two musical performances are planned with Charbel Haber and Joseph Ghosn, set to visuals by Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, followed by a concert by singer ELIA.
On Sunday, June 7, at 4 p.m., there will be poetry readings in Arabic with French translation, accompanied by the oud. The exhibited works will also be available for purchase online for three months at momentsforlebanon.com. Instagram account: @momentsforlebanon.
It would be impossible to list all the participating artists. Among the best-known are Fouad Elkoury, Yazan Halwani, Rania Matar, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Tom Young, Moje Assefjah, Mira el-Khalil, Tamara Kalo, Laurent Abu Haidar, Zena Assi, Gerald Foltete, Hania Farrell and Zahra Holm.
