They seem to grow everywhere in Beirut, from Gemmayze to Mar Mikhael. "Chaos" by Charbel Lahoud opened six months ago; "August", then "August Bis" by Zeid el-Amine opened in autumn 2022; "Art Scene" by Rania Hammoud; "Escape" by Sana jaber; "Takeover" by Ieva Saudargaité Douaihi; ...
"It's very simple: at the beginning of the financial crisis, many Lebanese started buying paintings and sculptures with cheques in order to get their money out of the banks. A good part of them got caught up in the game. They got a taste for art. And although the market has returned to the fresh dollar since 2021, they are now buying pieces they have a crush on. This new craze for art has therefore encouraged the emergence of galleries" - Rania Hammoud for L'Orient-le-Jour.
Lebanese artistic initiatives are not bonded to Lebanon. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, new Lebanese galleries open, like the one of Nour Moufarrej and Alexandra Hobeiche: the Artkom gallery.
Photo: Rania Hammoud in her gallery, Art Scene, in Gemmayze, Beirut. Copyrights L'Orient-le-Jour.