A mecca of Lebanese cultural life, the Sursock Museum, which was severely damaged by the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020, reopened its doors on Friday, May 26, a symbol of a city determined to be reborn.

It took nearly three years of work for this jewel of Venetian and Ottoman architecture to regain its immaculate white chiseled façade, its flamboyant yellow and orange stained glass windows and its collection of modern and contemporary art. "We wanted this opening to be a gift for the whole city because as a museum, we miss visitors," says director Karina El Helou, among the workers who are finalizing the installations.

For her, this reopening is "a symbol of hope, of a return of cultural life in Lebanon".

The explosion of 4 August 2020, due to the storage without precautionary measures of a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, killed more than 215 people and ravaged the neighborhoods near the port. Located 800 meters from the port, the mansion built in the early twentieth century has not been spared: "70% of the Sursock Museum has been destroyed," says Karina El Helou.

About fifty damaged works

The blast shattered the stained glass windows, leaving the façade almost intact, but inside, ceilings collapsed and wooden panels were destroyed.

About fifty works, out of the 180 that the museum housed, were damaged. "This is the first time that we have seen (in the museum) such damage to works of art," says the 39-year-old director, justifying the two and a half years of work.

Among them, a centerpiece of the collection: a portrait of Nicholas Sursock, former owner of the house turned museum, painted by the Franco-Dutch Kees van Dongen. Along with two other works, the notched canvas was graciously restored by the Centre Pompidou in Paris and has regained its place in the permanent collection.

Retrospective

Opened in 1961, the Sursock Museum has witnessed the upheavals of the country, from the golden age of the 1960s to the civil war (1975-1990) and until the gigantic explosion of 2020.

It is this history and its influence on the local art scene that is highlighted in the retrospective organized for the reopening of the museum. "Artists are citizens who have experienced all the difficult moments including the war (...) and still produced high-quality work," says Karina El Helou.

The museum gives pride of place to Lebanese artists by presenting works by painters Georges Daoud Corm and Jean Khalifé, or sculptor Saloua Raouda Choucair.

The museum teams took turns to erase the traces of the disaster, and only one painting on display has not been fully restored to bear witness to the tragedy. For the director, this work by the Lebanese artist Paul Guiragossian and some pieces of which were torn off by the blast, represents a "symbol of memory".

See also: Explosions at Beirut port: one year on, the Sursock Museum is still healing its wounds

The restoration of the Sursock Museum cost nearly $2.5 million, according to the private institution.

In a country plunged into an unprecedented economic and political crisis, it was largely funded by Italy, through the initiative of UNESCO Li Beirut ("for Beirut"), the French Ministry of Culture and Aliph, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas.

"The Sursock Museum is a jewel of Lebanese architecture and cultural life, a powerful symbol of pride and resilience for the Beiruti community," Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said in a statement.

With AFP

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