The Arab Image Foundation (, ''al-Muʾassasah al-ʿArabiyyah lil-Ṣūrah'') is a non-profit organization established in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
in 1997. It aims to track down, collect, preserve and study photographs from the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
,
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
and the
Arab diaspora
Arab diaspora is a term that refers to descendants of the Arab emigrants who, voluntarily or forcibly, migrated from their native lands to non-Arab countries, primarily in the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, and West Africa.
Immigrants from ...
. Its expanding collection includes more than 600,000 photographic objects from
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
,
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
,
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
.
History
Arab Image Foundation was created in 1997 by photographers
Fouad Elkoury and
Samer Mohdad, and artist
Akram Zaatari as a reaction to the lack of photographic archives in the region and the rapid disappearance of the few that remained.
Lucien Samaha was one of the original members of the Arab Image Foundation. The collections reveal a large aspect of the social history of the
Arab World
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
, including the picture that
Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
have constructed of themselves since the creation of photography.
The Foundation has become internationally and regionally recognized as the leading photographic institution in the Middle East. In addition to housing and conserving hundreds of thousands of photographs, the Foundation has spearheaded conservations and preservation projects in the Middle East, co-sponsoring workshops to disseminate the knowledge and skills needed to identify, restore, and conserve the Arab world's large photographic archive.
In addition to on site facilities including a public space, a library, a research center and a laboratory, the AIF has organized multiple gallery and museum exhibits, and produced book publications, monographs, films, and collectible merchandise, such as postcards and posterbook publications and films. The foundation also runs a prestigious residency program for artists and scholars.
Governance
The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors and a General Assembly. The current Board of Directors (2021–2024) is composed of Vartan Avakian, Donald Choubassi, Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh, Fabiola Hanna, Kristine Khouri, and Hrair Sarkissian.
The General Assembly includes Zeina Arida,
Vartan Avakian,
Negar Azimi,
Lara Baladi
Lara Baladi (born 1969 in Beirut, Lebanon) is an acclaimed Egyptian- Lebanese photographer, archivist and multimedia artist. She was educated in Paris and London and currently lives in Cairo. Baladi exhibits and publishes worldwide. Her body of ...
, Karl Bassil, Donald Choubassi, Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh, Fabiola Hanna, Kristine Khouri,
Khaled Malas, Sarah Morris, Issam Nassar, Hrair Sarkissian, and Tamara Sawaya.
Projects
Exhibitions
*Les Martyrs de Qana, Project by Doha Shams, curated by Samer Mohdad (1997)
*Liban Intime 1900-1960, Curated by Samer Mohdad and Fouad el Khoury (1998)
*Portrait du Caire: Alban, Armand and Van Leo, Curated by Akram Zaatari (1999)
*Albums Marocains 1900-1960, Curated by
Yto Barrada (1999)
*The Vehicle. Picturing moments of transition in a modernizing society, Curated by Akram Zaatari (1999)
*Palestine before '48, Curated by Akram Zaatari (1999)
*Van Leo, Curated by Akram Zaatari (2000)
*Pratiques photographiques au Liban (1900–1960) Curated by Akram Zaatari (2001)
*Mapping Sitting. On Portraiture and Photography. A project by
Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari (2002)
*Arts et couleurs .Curated by
Lara Baladi
Lara Baladi (born 1969 in Beirut, Lebanon) is an acclaimed Egyptian- Lebanese photographer, archivist and multimedia artist. She was educated in Paris and London and currently lives in Cairo. Baladi exhibits and publishes worldwide. Her body of ...
(2004)
*Hashem el Madani: Practices, An ongoing project by Akram Zaatari (2004)
* Hashem el Madani: Promenades, An ongoing project by Akram Zaatari (2006)
*Hashem el Madani: Itinerary, An ongoing project by Akram Zaatari (2007)
*How beautiful is Panama! A photographic conversation from Burj al-Shamali camp, Initiated by Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh and Simon Lourié (2008)
*An Uncanny Impulse - The Mohsen Yammine collection at the Arab Image Foundation, curated by Marc Mouarkech and Clémence Cottard (2017)
*Against Photography - An annotated history of the Arab Image Foundation, curated by
Akram Zaatari (2017)
*Des possibles de la photographie. La collection 0069FA : une archive à l'œuvre, curated by Clémence Cottard-Hachem and Marc Mouarkech,
Rencontres d'Arles (2019)
Publications
*''Histoires Intimes Liban 1900-1960'' (Actes Sud, 1997)
*''Portraits du Caire'' (Actes Sud, 1999)
*''The Vehicle. Picturing moments of transition in a modernizing society.'' Edited by Akram Zaatari (Arab Image Foundation and Mind the Gap, 1999)
*''Mapping Sitting.'' Edited by Karl Bassil, Zeina Maasri and Akram Zaatari in collaboration with Walid Raad (Arab Image Foundation and Mind the Gap, 2002)
*''Review of Photographic Memory.'' Edited by
Jalal Toufic (Arab Image Foundation, 2004)
*''Hashem el Madani: Studio Practices.'' Edited by Karl Bassil, Lisa Le Feuvre and Akram Zaatari, (Arab Image Foundation, Mind the Gap and the Photographers' Gallery, 2004)
*''Hashem el Madani: Promenades'' (Arab Image Foundation and Mind the Gap, 2007)
*''A Lebanese Archive by Ania Dabrowska from the collection of Diab Alkarssifi'' (Book Works and Arab Image Foundation, 2015)
*'' Traversées photographiques. Le journal du docteur Cottard '', edited by
Gregory Buchakjian and Clémence Cottard Hachem (Arab Image Foundation, 2017)
*'' Building Index.
Rifat Chadirji '', edited by
Akram Zaatari and Mark Wasiuta (Arab Image Foundation and Kaph Books, 2018)
Films
* Jours tranquilles en Palestine (Fouad Elkoury and Sylvain Roumette, 1998)
* Her+Him Van Leo (Akram Zaatari, 2001)
Platforms
* History of the Last Things Before the Last: Art as Writing History (a symposium proposed by
Clément Chéroux and Akram Zaatari, organized by the
Centre Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...
and the Arab Image Foundation, 2012)
* Middle East Photograph Preservation Initiative (MEPPI)
References
External links
Noorderlicht / Archive / Arab Image Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab Image Foundation
Art museums and galleries in Lebanon
Photography in Lebanon
Photography museums and galleries
Photo archives in Lebanon
Education in Beirut
Museums in Beirut
Arts organisations based in Lebanon
Non-profit organisations based in Lebanon
1997 establishments in Lebanon
Art museums and galleries established in 1997