In the midst of an unprecedented period of decline in Lebanon, the cornerstone for a new museum was recently laid in Beirut.

In the immediate vicinity of the National Museum, in which the archaeological treasures of the country are exhibited, the Beirut Museum of Art (BeMA) is to be built within four years.

For the first time ever, it is set to show the collection of modern and contemporary art owned by the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, but which has been kept in non-public vaults for decades.

The collection includes works by mostly Lebanese artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Well-known names include Paul Guiragossian, Aref el Rayess and Saloua Rawda Choucair.

But the larger part consists of paintings, sculptures and drawings by artists

Lena Bop

Editor in the Feuilleton.

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The research work has started.

your way is long

Especially since a few years ago an inventory of the depot revealed the immense damage that poor storage conditions, unprofessional handling and especially the civil war had caused to many of the approximately 2,300 works.

Around a hundred paintings had holes.

Many were covered in dust and mildew, several sculptures were broken.

At that time, six hundred works were selected for restoration.

The German Foreign Ministry provided the financial means for this.

Kerstin Khalife, a restorer from Stuttgart, brought the expertise with her. Together with her team, she was able to restore around 250 works before the situation in Lebanon worsened in October 2019.

Since then, protests, pandemic,

Millions of dollars from private donors

"The past few years have been a rollercoaster ride," says Michele Haddad, one of the directors of the Beirut Museum of Art. The deteriorating situation called for the project to be reconsidered.

It originally goes back to the initiative of two women who have been living in exile in America for years and wanted to counter the never-ending bad news from Lebanon with something positive.

They raised millions of dollars in private funds.

According to Haddad, consultations have now been held with their donors.

Most would have confirmed their commitment and insisted that the plans not be dropped.

The building alone, designed by architect Amale Andraos, is said to cost around thirty million dollars.

On three sides it has facades of open, asymmetrically arranged balconies, which provide shade for the floor-to-ceiling windows all around and at the same time create an impression of transparency.

The building sees itself as an invitation to participate in the planned artist residencies, research grants and cooperation with public schools.

And, of course, to engage with a collection that, as Michele Haddad points out, reflects the cultural heritage of the whole country, not just part of it.

A message that falls on particularly fertile ground in the place where the museum is being built.

During the Civil War, the front line passed through this crossing.

Dream of a museum mile

After the end of the war, a number of other museums have sprung up in the neighborhood, not just the Mim Museum, which features an impressive private collection of large minerals.

A few hundred meters further, Beit Beirut, a cultural center that is dedicated to dealing with the civil war, opened years ago.

This environment made many people dream of a future museum mile.

At the same time, the proximity to the National Museum points to the huge gap created by the BeMA, which is well equipped with private funds.

Because the National Museum has also had a beautiful, minimalist extension for about two years, the six hundred square meters of which are actually intended for temporary exhibitions, conferences and workshops.

But so far it has not been inaugurated, let alone recorded.

Whether it makes sense to build a new museum instead of preserving and using the existing one is a question that is even more urgent today than it was years ago, when Walid Raad and the architect Bernard Khoury showed what in a joint installation what they thought of the project - for them the museum disappeared into a black hole in the earth.

However, the initiators of the Beirut Museum of Art assure you that they want to work with the Lebanese artists.

It's their museum, says Michele Haddad, they should participate and contribute, especially since important contemporary artists are not yet represented in the collection.

Discussions are planned, and the results will be interesting to see.

In any case, Michele Haddad is happy that things are getting started.

“The foundation stone has been laid.

That puts us all under positive pressure.”