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 ...

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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 ...

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, and

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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

(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