On Saturday June 19, Galerie Tanit reopened its space in Mar Mikhael after it was destroyed due to the August 4 explosion, with an exhibition entitled TOGETHERNESS around the idea of being together in emotion, thought and action.
Back in March 2021, the gallery launched an open call for artists. 17 projects were selected to be part of the show, by 5 jury members, Zéna Meskaoui, Richard Haykel, Karina El Helou, Naïla Kettaneh Kunigk and Marc Mouarkech. 17 different approaches, and 17 different artistic languages to describe, question, challenge, and embrace the thought of being together again.
The collective exhibition brings together works by artists residing in Lebanon (This was key criteria in the selection): Alaa Itani, Bettina Khoury Badr, Caroline Tabet & Clémence Cottard Hachem, Christian Sleiman, Christine Kettaneh, Cristiana de Marchi, Elias Nafaa, Eliesh, Jeanne et Moreau, Lætitia Hakim & Tarek Haddad, Manar Ali Hassan, Mayssa El Khoury, Noel Nasr & Cliff Makhoul, Rayane Raidi, Sara Sehnaoui, Tarek Mourad and Zeina Aboul Hosn.
The title of the exhibition, TOGETHERNESS, questions how can art translate solidarity and community? Be it through emotion, thought, or action? This project aims to bring back life to the neighborhood while offering a series of discoveries through never-before shown works by emerging and established artists.
In a one voice statement, the 28 individual artists, collectives and organizers declared: “What we have been experiencing in recent times has challenged us on every level. It extremely affected our closeness to one another by rendering the act of being together almost obsolete. TOGETHERNESS is all about cooperation, in every aspect, up to the details of preparing the exhibition: from the production to the scenography through the text and conversations generated, we all contributed.
Now, we are hoping to be hundreds in celebrating our ability to gather around the arts, enjoy these precious moments we took for granted and be together in this event that reflects our drive and will to keep creating”.
Gallery owner, Naïla Kettaneh Kunigk said: “Without the desire to live together, to create, to develop projects and ideas side by side, while allowing to each their own sensitivity and ways of formulating, progress is not possible. We rebuild together.”
