Bringing theatre and politics together, the event invited regional and international theatre practitioners and academics to reflect on the contemporary relevance of one of Europe's most prominent playwrights, best known for his scathing criticism of social norms.

Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dr. Philippe Frossard opened the seminar by emphasizing LAU's robust tradition of liberal arts education and commitment to holistic education as the impetus for organizing such an event. "As guardians of this tradition, we want our graduates to be Renaissance men and women--and to do this, creativity needs to be nurtured, which is why hosting such an event is of such importance."

Indeed, the Department of Communication Arts in particular boasts a long tradition of supporting theatrical performances that tackle current issues and critique the status quo -- something that shares a strong kinship to Ibsen's own work. "LAU distinguishes itself by facilitating a space for students of theatre--allowing possibilities of exchange and networking," said the department's chair Dr. Mona Knio with palpable pride.

According to guest speaker Dr. Frode Helland, a scholar from the University of Oslo, Ibsen's work can be used to address social concerns: "Creating dialogue about Ibsen means creating a transnational debate about the art of living in a multicultural world," he said.

"Examining productions of Ibsen in different cultural contexts can offer a unique window to understanding social tensions present in society--whether it is in Iran or Vietnam," he continued.

In attendance was also prominent Palestinian writer and poet Najwan Darwish, who echoed Helland's sentiment: "Art is common ground that we can all stand on."

A lively round-table discussion concluded the daylong seminar and focused on the difficulties of functioning in an institutional environment that remains largely hostile to theatre and the challenge of procuring reliable sources of funding--a struggle that Ibsen himself perpetually faced. Many participants lamented the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince audiences to spend money on a night at the theatre.

However, theatre enthusiasts like communication arts student Abed Wahab Kassir from the Lebanese University recognize the value of political theatre. "The event was a valuable experience and it added to my knowledge about Ibsen," he said before adding, "I did not know much about him until today and it has certainly piqued my interest."
 

The Lebanese American University and the University of Oslo supported this project, which received the Ibsen Scholarship Award in 2011. The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beirut and the Royal Norwegian Foreign Ministry (UD/DTS) also provided further financial support.

Mathhab, adapted and directed by LAU Stage Director and Theater Instructor Lina Khoury, is based on the 1977 Tom Stoppard play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour about two men who share a cell in a Russian psychiatric hospital. One is a Soviet dissident who will only be released if he admits that his statements against the rulers are a product of his mental illness, the other is a genuine mental patient conducting an imaginary orchestra. The music ensemble forms an essential part of the show and was originally composed by Andre Prévin, head of the London Symphony Orchestra at the time.

"Since tyranny and oppression are everywhere under different names, Mathhab can actually be taking place in any Arab country," says Khoury.

In Khoury's adaptation, the main actors are two female students. The dissident is Syrian, the patient, Palestinian.

"Considering our regional context, to have actors of these origins - with their respective accents - play such roles, was important and put the play into perspective," says the director.

Indeed, Syrian student actor Syrine Dardari's poignant call for the respect of basic freedoms continues to resonate hours after the play is over.

Armed with courage and determination, the prisoner doesn't yield, even to her daughter's supplications to give in and come back home.When berated about her mental disorders by the state hospital and national security mandated physician, Layla the dissident cries out, "I don't have disorders, I have opinions." To which the doctor replies, "Precisely. Your opinions are your disorders!"

For Dardari, second year student in communication arts, the experience is life changing. "When I heard about the play I immediately auditioned and told Lina Khoury that I wanted the role, that I needed it."

She says she is proud to be part of what she calls a revolutionary play. "It is a tribute to my people, to my country."

While the original title, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, derives from the popular mnemonic used by music students to remember the notes on the lines of the treble clef, Mathhab has two meanings in Arabic : "refrain" in music terminology, but also sect. It reminds us that oppression is not only the weapon of tyrant regimes.

The director's choice of two female prisoners clearly denounces gender inequalities in orchestrated, patriarchal and sectarian societies that restrict any freedom of expression from artistic to sexual."Social tyranny can be worse than political oppression," says Khoury.

Although the themes tackled are heavy and eerily bitter, the lightheartedness and sense of parody in the play, along with the actors' playfulness, keep the audience on the edge of laughter.

The role of the orchestra on stage- led by professional composer Oussama el Khatib and mainly consisting of students - is also crucial in setting a lighter or heavier tone at different times of the show.

Layla the mental patient, superbly performed by Mira Saidawi, sets her tone from the very beginning, "There is a little music in every one of us, and he who says the contrary is a tyrant."

She might just be the sanest of all.

Saab, assistant professor of Arabic studies and coordinator of the humanities department's Comparative Literature Program, shares the grant with the Silk Road Rising Theater in Chicago and Robert Myers, a professor of English and creative writing at the American University of Beirut (AUB). They will adapt the play Touqous Al-Isharat wal-Tahawulat (Metamorphosis: Rituals and Signs of Transformations) by the acclaimed Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannus. The grant, made by the MacArthur Foundation, will see the play performed in English for the first time for audiences in Beirut and Chicago.

"We are very happy to receive such a prestigious prize that is generally known to be very competitive," said Saab. "This is one of the most important plays in Arabic literature."

Wannus, who died of cancer in 1997, is generally acknowledged as one of the Arab world's most important contemporary playwrights. The play that Saab and Myers will adapt has been censored in the past because it addresses issues like sexuality, and political and religious hypocrisy.

The play, a French version of which is scheduled to be presented at the Comédie Française early next year, "is an appropriate fit in an era of globalization and in the midst of the Arab Spring," said Dr. Philippe Frossard, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. With characters who strive for transformative change and who criticize authoritarian rule, the play easily evokes the political and social tumult currently rippling across the Arab world. "The grant will give Lebanon and Arab culture the best possible exposure in the U.S. and the wider world," said Frossard. Saab added she hoped the performances "contribute to furthering dialogue between the Arab and American publics."

Actors will be cast from both AUB and LAU. Performances will be staged at LAU in 2013, while panel discussions on the play's themes will be held at AUB and at the Silk Road Rising Theater. The grant essentially allows for "a mini-Wannus festival," said Saab.

Wannus' play will be the third time that Myers and Saab have worked together. The professors previously translated and adapted Hamam Baghdadi (Baghdadi Bath) by the Iraqi playwright Jawad Al Assadi, and Al Diktator (The Dictator) by Lebanese playwright Issam Mahfouz.

In addition, Saab and Myers have authored an article about the play. "Sufism and Shakespeare: The Poetics of Personal and Political Transformation in Saadallah Wannous' Touqous Al-Isharat wal-Tahawulat will be published in February 2013 in Theater Research International.

"We live now in a world where academic institutions cannot progress in isolation," said Dr. Vahid Behmardi, chair of the Department of Humanities and who supported the grant proposal. "It was the collaboration between Dr. Saab and AUB Professor Robert Myers that resulted in this remarkable grant."

You could say that Beirut has its very own harlequin guardian angel, its unique Batman of the arts: a group of predominantly LAU alumni under the name Dihzahyners who paint the capital’s copious stairways and help turn Beirut into a friendlier, more colorful city.

Dihzahyners’ latest artistic endeavor took place on October 27 when over 50 people armed with brushes and goodwill converged at the Daraj el-Beera stairs in Mar Mikhayel and got down to painting.

The event, dubbed Paint Up! V.5, marked the ensemble’s fifth stair-painting venture, and drew many eager newcomers to the venue.

Painting stairs was customizable this time around; the Dishayhners squad put a miscellany of stencil patterns together, and people could choose which of them to paint on the stairs. The result was a colorful, eclectic mix of motifs and designs that brought vigor and congeniality to the area.

“I learned about the event from Facebook,” says Léa Yammine, a recent graduate from the University of Leeds, U.K.. “I used to walk by some of the painted stairs in the neighborhood and think, ‘What a brilliant idea!’ When I knew I could be part of this initiative, I just couldn’t wait to do it.”

If you’re wondering how it all began ,“It all started with the click of a ‘Like’,” says LAU alumna and designer Lana Chucri, co-founder of Dihzahyners. “A simple inspirational image we saw on Facebook of artists painting stairs in Germany with vibrant colors.; the possibility of executing this in Beirut started there.”

Indeed, the idea drew its first breath on April 8, 2012, when over a dozen LAU designers congregated at the stairs of Sakiet el-Janzir and got down to painting.

“We realized that we could add energy and vigor to our city by simply painting certain locations that needed it – and where else to start but with the stairs? They are plentiful in Beirut!” says LAU alumnus and Dihzahyners co-founder Jubran Elias.

As beautifully astonishing and heartwarming as the end product may be, painting Beirut’s stairs is not an easy task. “We have to get the approval of the municipality, as well as that of the neighboring residents,” says Elias. “We inform them of what we're doing, and make sure everyone is on board and supporting our initiative.”

As the saying goes, ‘life imitates art,’ and Dihzahyners’ ultimate goal transcends the confines of estheticism for that reason. “Our initiatives aren't about painting stairs for the sake of it,” says Chucri. “We want to change the city’s landscape and embellish the communities that people live in. Our visual surroundings affect our moods and behavior. We want people to walk down those colorful stairs feeling happy and refreshed.”

Doubtless, Jubran and Chucri’s hopes have long ago ceased to be sheer aspirations, and passers-by are far from being oblivious to the sanguine effect that Dihzahyners’ painted stairs have imparted on the city – and themselves.

“I like the fact that the saturated colors stand out and don't blend into the rest of the scenery,” says Samer Nakfour, a computer engineering graduate from the American University of Beirut, as he walks by the Mar Mikhayel stairs. “Maybe it's a metaphor that represents those who think differently in this country, the outliers and game changers.”
 

“Manovich’s work demonstrates the endless possibilities in visualization techniques and layout variations of assembled data on a computer screen,” says Yasmine Taan, associate professor in the School of Architecture and Design who coordinated the event.

“In other words, he examined how we combine microscopic and telescopic vision, close reading and distant reading of artifacts that create new visual patterns,” she continues.

“As visualization has become ubiquitous in mainstream culture, the ability to detect patterns in visualization of large cultural data sets allows new possibilities for the studies of both contemporary and historical cultures,” Manovich says.

Moscow-born Manovich is a professor in the Visual Arts Department of the University of California—San Diego and is the author of numerous books on the topic of digital media, the most prolific being The Language of New Media (The MIT Press, 2001) which is considered compulsory reading for anyone critically engaged in an understanding of digital media and has been translated into eight languages worldwide.

“The most exciting venture is being able to uncover how cultural objects come to be,” Manovich continues. His most recent project consists of uncovering sophisticated breakdown of patterns and creating visualization out of images themselves.

The expert explained how he navigates massive visual collections of user-generated content, which may contain millions of images and thus allows us to see patterns in cultural data that were not previously possible.

After giving a brief history of visualization since the mid 1990s, he showed some fascinating examples of visual media such as art, photography, film, animation etc. The audience was particularly impressed by the sight of the pixelized abstract composition which when enlarged revealed million of Manga (Japanese comics) illustrations on the projected screens.

“It was mesmerizing to witness how data could be transformed into works of art and how art revealed stories of our evolving culture,” says Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management Dr. Elise Salem who attended the event.

First year communication arts student Rima Taha concurs, “It is great to be exposed to an international figure and learn about these interesting conceptual ideas—especially graphing cultural patterns,” she says.

“As an artist myself, it is very inspiring,” continues Taha.

“Here at LAU we are very proud of our communication arts students — both past and present — and it is important for them to get exposure beyond the gates of the university and have a platform to test their product,” says Dr. Mona Knio, chair of the Communication Arts Department.

“Seeing how audiences react to your work is the most important thing for an artist,” she adds.

LAU communication arts students made quite an impression at Masrah al-Madina's Mishkal festival - that showcases young talent in the domain of music, theatre, and cinema - where they directed and exhibited three playwrights: Chairs by Ranim Halabi; Crime in the Hospital by Mazen Saadeddine; Women in War by Rami al-Rabih.

Additionally, LAU made an impressive showing in the music component of the four-day event with a crowd-pleasing performance of the BLOK Laptop Orchestra, a music group composed of talented LAU students who boldly push the boundaries of electronic music.

"Mishkal gave me great motivation to pursue my artistic endeavors," says LAU third-year communication arts student and BLOK member Firas Bou Zeineddine. Indeed, Bou Zeineddine and his seven other band mates were unexpectedly approached by a local production company who offered to produce a future show. This surprise offer comes on the heels of BLOK’s international exposure—the group performed recently in front of a rapt audience in Alexandria, Egypt, during the Backstreet Festival. Some LAU communication arts students participated in several workshops organized during the event that focused on art in non-traditional spaces.
Earlier in the summer LAU also made a strong showing at the 10th Lebanese Film Festival.

The event evoked nostalgia for LAU alumna Tamara Stephanyan who made her film debut in 2005 at the festival. Stephanyan majored in communication arts with an emphasis on radio/TV and reflects fondly on her time at LAU: “I began my film career at LAU.”

This year she showcased her film  —a contemporary reflection on the dynamics of Lebanese and Armenian society. The film received wide acclaim and Stephanyan received the highly coveted “Best Fiction Film Award.” A native Armenian, Stephanyan reflects on the importance of her experiences in Lebanon to her work: “Lebanon is living in a complex temporality, where there is no real beginning, middle, or end. We as filmmakers are influenced by this particular rhythm and tempo.”

LAU alumna Amanda Homsi Ottoson also received special mention for her documentary Jasad and the Queen of Contradictions—chronicling the life of activist, writer and LAU instructor Joumana Haddad.

The festival opened with part-time LAU faculty member Wafa’a Halawi’s film We Might as Well that traces women’s lives within one of the few preserved historical buildings in Beirut.

“Partly whimsical and partly true—this film is a collaboration of dance, stop motion and time-lapsed cinematography and architecture,” explains Halawi. We Might as Well originally premiered at the Cinedans Film Festival in Amsterdam—one of the most prominent dance festivals in the world.

“I was very happy and proud of the LAU alumni on their success at the festival!” exclaims Halawi.

“This shows the impressive pool of talent we have here at LAU,” she adds.
 

Founded in 2010, Between the Seas promotes the representation and understanding of Mediterranean identity and culture in North America. The one-week festival, which includes performances in the fields of dance, music and theater, aims at engaging North American artists, scholars, and audiences in a discussion of the region’s culture and identity.

In I.D. Abyad comes to grips with the emotional and physical struggles that transgender people in Lebanon experience in order to search for and embrace their own identity.

“Transgender people endure a great deal of suffering, starting with the sheer fact that society, deliberately or otherwise, rejects them,” says Abyad. “Undergoing sex reassignment surgery also engenders a different kind of hardship, although emotional distress could very easily outweigh physical pain.”

Written by LAU alumna Amahl Khouri and directed by Abyad, I.D. is both an informative and aesthetic enterprise that sheds light on the harsh and stringent realities of transgender people in Lebanon. The script, which the duo started conceptualizing in February 2012, is the result of a poignant reinterpretation of various interviews conducted by Khouri with several transgender people in Lebanon, culminating in a theatrical performance that brings Khouri on stage as the sole performer.

“There are many important transgender stories and developments happening in Lebanon that never get discussed in the mainstream. There is a kind of erasure, or shame, or denial. Trans people are very marginalized and invisible here,” says Khouri, adding that I.D. helps transgender people to be in the spotlight for the first time.

“I think that visibility is a very potent and political thing, and this is precisely what I.D. brings. Bringing visibility means bringing humanization,” she explains.

One’s identity, however, is not restricted to sexual orientation, stresses Abyad.

“Gender is a dynamic construct, and transgender people are just people who want to be themselves. I.D. is not just about sexuality. It’s about what people have to go through to stay true to who they are,” says Abyad.

While transgenderism generally remains a taboo in Lebanon, Abyad is very excited to stage I.D. in Beirut for local audiences in the near future.

“This may not be an easy topic to tackle, but the function of theatre is to crash boundaries and question preconceived ideas, and to get to know the Other,” she says.

I.D. is a work in progress, and the duo plan to include more interviews and theoretical work (particularly that of American feminist author Judith Butler) as they develop it further. I.D. will also be performed at the Dancing on the Edge festival in Amsterdam.

Dr. Lina Abyad is assistant professor of communication arts (theater) and fundamentals of oral communication at LAU.
 

Founded in 2008, ACAP uniquely rewards artists for their sheer proposals for brand new artworks, rather than completed works of art. Winners then go on to work collectively with a single international curator to produce these artworks, which will be unveiled in March of the following year at Art Dubai, the leading international art fair in the MENASA region.

Avakian was granted a sum of $100,000 to bring his proposal to fruition: an installation that builds on his previous work on urbanity and patriarchy.

“ACAP has given me the chance to produce one of my bigger installations,” says Avakian. “This is a great opportunity for me to complete one of the projects that I never thought I would be able to achieve.”

The winners’ artworks, which cannot be disclosed until their unveiling at the Art Dubai fair in March, will subsequently become permanent additions to the Abraaj Capital Art Collection.

A communication arts graduate with an emphasis in both film and theater, Avakian’s zeal for building installations dates back to his years as a student at LAU, where he worked on designing sets for various student productions. He later went on to study architecture and urban culture at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona, Spain.

Avakian’s interests go beyond installation design, however. His multidisciplinary approach also draws on video and photography, with urbanity and consumer culture being the common theme and denominator across all three media. In particular, the political formation of cities and identities has become a focal point in Avakian’s creations.

In fact, Avakian’s work examines the urban environment as a social construct, investigating its flaws and weaknesses, and concentrating on aspects of performativity – the construction of identity or position through active expression – in the construction of public space and the creation of public figures.

In Avakian’s work, ambiguity and humor act as means of deconstruction of dominant perceptions, demonstrating the “cultural malaise of a generation in perpetual transition.”

“It is in this constantly changing fabric of cities that I find the source material for my practice, especially in the formation of various senior figures – father, leader, hero – and how they manifest themselves in the construction of monuments and public imagery,” explains Avakian.
 

The Beirut Laptop Orchestra (BLOK’), started as a mere pilot project for the class, soon became a full-fledged eight-member ensemble; the first of its kind in the Middle East to fall under the “laptop orchestra” bracket.

Computer music is a recent term typically coined to the applications of computing technology in music composition – or, in simpler terms, the use of computers and microcomputers in the production of music.

The people behind BLOK’ are eight – students Nayla El-Hares, Nay Tabbara, Firas Bou Zeineddine, Jad Atoui, Joseph Rizakallah, Ali Moghnieh and Nur Fakhoury, joined by the workshop’s instructor-cum-musical director of the band, Jawad Chaaban.

But it takes more than a simple click of the button to turn a few computers into an orchestra, especially since BLOK’ is mostly grounded in improvisation.

“We improvise and edit our music while playing. We experiment with sounds – we edit them, modify them, record them, add effects to them, and then add them up to create music,” says Fakhoury.

Indeed, BLOK’ is a fusion of digital and acoustic sounds (including live violin, piano, and drums) that are put together to create “a combination of sounds with a view to beauty of form and the expression of emotion,” which the Oxford dictionary defines as music.

“Since our music is always played live, we need to be able to synchronize with the other band members on the spot, and anticipate the effect that each of us produces on the rest of the music,” explains Fakhoury.

Bou Zeineddine fully agrees.

“Every single sound played on the laptops should be released at the right time so it can flow naturally with the rest of the piece. Both the performers’ and the audience’s emotions constitute an invisible network of sound communication that determines what the next move should be,” he says.

Due to the naturally experimental aspect of the music, it’s almost impossible for the music produced by BLOK’ to be the same, or even vaguely similar, twice in a row.

“It all depends on the energy between us and the audience,” says Fakhoury.

In spite of the modest number of performances that BLOK’ has carried out – once at the Gulbenkian Theatre, and once as part of the LAU 14th International University Theatre Festival – the eight-member laptop orchestra will soon be performing at various festivals, including the MISHKAL Festival, organized by AGONISTIK for Performing Arts (AFPA) at Al-Madina Theatre, and at the first edition of Alexandria’s Backstreet Festival, in Egypt, under the motto “Toward art in non-traditional spaces.”
 

The designer's cerebral leanings are clear--she prefers to read existential literature over fashion magazines in her spare time; in fact, the first line of Bird on a Wire was inspired by French philosopher Michel Foucault's idea of "heterotopia" and Lois Greenfield's photography of ballerinas.

Both of these highlight the idea of an imaginary space, such as the make-believe world of small children or the imagined scenes deftly conveyed through ballet choreography.

To be sure, Morcos designs have a kinship to the architectural sensibility that she developed while a student at LAU. "I construct clothes," she explains.

"I think in 3-D."

Unlike most artists who work in typical two-dimensional sketches in a notebook, Morcos works in 3-D, with Play-Doh and crunched up paper. She sews preliminary versions of her designs in cheap cotton, sending this rough prototype and patterns to a local atelier who turns the designs of her imagination into wearable clothing. "The man at the atelier suffers a lot because of me, I owe him some happy pills," she says, laughing.

For the  LAU alumna (B.S.'03), fashion has always been a part of life. Growing up, her mother, a Fine Arts graduate of LAU (then called BUC) infused her life with creativity and inventiveness. "My mother's eccentric style was my early source of inspiration," she says.

Her mother and father also inspired her decision to pursue higher education. "My parents wanted me to have a strong background before going into an 'uncertain' field such as fashion, so I chose to obtain a degree in interior design from LAU," she explains.

She also cites the "dynamic classmates and encouraging professors" she encountered at LAU as important sources of inspiration that motivate her work.

Now an instructor herself at Esmod Beyrouth, she preaches what she practices. In the classroom, Morcos' asks the next generation of Lebanese fashion designers to throw away their magazines and try something completely new, says former student Maryz Abdel Massy.

"She basically taught us to play and experiment ways of coming up with new volumes and prints, like thinking outside the box and forgetting everything we see in magazines and on TV," Abdel Massy continues.

Moving forward, Morcos is going to launch a new line in September and she is also busy perfecting a necklace line built from dozen of copper or wooden pieces that fit together like the bones of a reconstructed dinosaur.

A full version of this article was originally published in The Daily Star on July 18, 2012 (click to view) and is here posted with additional reporting by LAU staff.
 

“My friends pushed me to do it in jest,” she says. “We didn’t think that it would actually get screened.”

In fact, the Out of Competition category features films that the Festival judges worthy of being screened at Cannes, albeit not in the official program – George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, for instance, was among those movies once.

It was a zany but endearing surprise, recalls Jammal, one that opened up a lot of doors for her. One of these doors was her participation in – and eventually winning – the Reelshow Student Film Competition in June.

Reelshow International is a “website (that) is devoted exclusively to showing the graduation films and portfolios of students from all over the globe,” explains co-founder Richard Dodd on the website’s homepage.

Indeed, Jammal’s film was part of her film making course, and a requirement for all Communication Arts students with an emphasis in Radio/TV/Film.

Shooting took place over two days in various venues in Beirut, and the cast was entirely made up of Jammal’s family and friends.

Behind a Veil tells the story of Nour, in her twenties, who leads a double life, wearing the veil in her parents’ presence and shedding it when she leaves her house. While her conservative family hopes to arrange a marriage between her and an opportune suitor of their choice, Nour envisages a different future for herself, and plans to elope with her lover.

“This is an issue that a lot of Lebanese people are scared to deal with, but we have to come to grips with it if we want to make a difference,” says Jammal.

Curiously enough, the protagonist of the film was not initially portrayed as a veiled young woman. Jammal decided to have her wear the veil only a week before shooting, in order to add more dimensionality to both the plot and the characters.

Yet, maintains Jammal, the main issue in the film (and in Lebanese society) is the uncalled for autocracy of parents, which often winds up driving their children away.

“Whenever our students have their films screened, this gives them the incentive to work harder, be more creative,” says Dr. Mona Knio, chairperson of the Department of Communication Arts and associate professor of theater.

“After all, the main purpose of shooting a movie is to have it screened. The main purpose of directing a play is to have an audience who can see it,” she explains.

After winning the Reelshow Student Film Competition, Behind a Veil is now lined up for screening at the Beirut International Film Festival in October, and the Dubai International Film Festival in December.
 

The story started when 15 plain toys were distributed in June to students from five Lebanese universities.

“We wanted to get the help of arts students to come out with design ideas that reflect what MINI is all about,” says Natalie Khalife, marketing and communications manager at Bassoul Heneine Lebanon – importer of BMW and MINI – the group behind the competition.

Once submitted, the designs were directly sent to BMW-MINI head office in Germany where the Design Department was in charge of the final selection. “The criteria for judging was based on concept, creativity, originality, skills and techniques,” says Khalife.

According to Maria Bahous, visiting instructor in the School of Architecture and Design who supervised Assaf during this adventure, “Design agencies realize the effort students put in their work and thus look at the candidate as a risk taker and an ambition designer who strives to shine against others.”

Conversely, competitions are generally a great learning experience for students, she adds, as they give their best creative output driven by the desire to win but also and mainly for the fun of it.

Proud of her achievement, Assaf says, “As soon as I saw the toy, I knew that I wanted to create a futuristic design. Then I got my inspiration from the MINI Cooper dashboard.”

001, as Assaf named her toy, is based on the MINI cooper interior design and producers’ approach that she abstracted into graphical form and shape.

While the idea emerged quite quickly, the production process turned out to be a lot harder than expected. “Every class, from my foundation year to my typography class and even 3-D animation class, helped,” Assaf said.

According to Bahous, Assaf’s toy visually translates what a designer should do best: Pick the most powerful concept and present it in a new innovative approach.

“I feel proud, it is a nice feeling to see the progress, and self achievement of a student you have been following up for years,” Bahous said.

For Assaf nothing could have been possible without the support of devoted instructors. “I would like to thank my teachers who had to put up with me throughout this project and who gave me the push I needed to reach my goals, with pride.”

Besides winning a MINI for a week-end and an iPad 3, Assaf will have her toy displayed in showrooms and prime locations in the country.

Organized by the Department of Communication Arts on July 10-14, the five-day annual festival featured a total of 12 student-theater productions, acted and directed entirely by university students.

A Crime in a Hospital, directed by LAU communication arts student Mazen Saad El Din was a crowd favorite. Based on the play by Lebanese poet and playwright Issam Mahfouz, it follows Issam Mahfouz himself as he visits five mental patients, in an attempt to investigate a crime that happened in the mental institution where they reside.

“Working with people from different countries was truly memorable. This is the first time I receive feedback from people from such diverse backgrounds. It gives you a whole new perspective,” says Saad El Din.

The festival comprised various musical performances, several short film screenings, and a non-student performance by the International Association for Creation and Training in Egypt.

“This festival’s success is entirely thanks to the students’ seriousness, commitment, and determinedness to organize it and be part of it,” said Dr. Mona Knio, associate professor of theater and chairperson of the communication arts department, at the event’s opening ceremony.

In addition to directing, acting in and staging the plays, LAU students were also responsible for technical tasks crucial to the staging of the productions, including set construction and management and light- and sound-checking.

"‪Meeting the theatrical troupes from abroad and helping them in any way set the festival’s tone — one of humility, sincerity and commitment to cultural value," says LAU communication arts student Alia Samman. Samman acted in both The Cage and Victoria Station, a play she also directed.

Hala Masri, LAU theater coordinator, agrees saying the event offered an excellent opportunity for students from various countries, cultures, and backgrounds to exchange ideas about art and theater.

A festival highlight, says Masri, was the daily “chat room,” an informal forum allowing participants to discuss, analyze, and evaluate the previous day’s performances.

“You’d be surprised how much you can learn from the insights of people from other educational institutions and countries,” stresses Masri. “Viewing your work through fresh eyes helps you to gain perspective, and make improvements and modifications for the next time.”

Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dr. Philippe Frossard’s implored all those involved to “follow your heart — if you are passionate about what you do, you will succeed.” Judging by their palpable energy, they didn’t take much persuading.

Participants came from various Arab universities, including Alexandria University (Egypt), University of Sousse (Tunisia), Hassan II University – Mohammedia (Morocco), Beirut Arab University, Haigazian University, and LAU (Lebanon).
 

Jabbra described Chamoun’s artistic outlook as both poignant and profound, and said his stature has served to elevate the prominent Lebanese art scene.

He also praised the artist’s broad vision, universal appeal and ability to transcend fractured communities through art. “Art is what keeps society civilized,” Jabbra concluded. “Thank you for your contribution to society, to LAU and to Lebanon.”

The characteristically modest Chamoun was visibly touched by the warm reception of family, colleagues and friends among whom were Lebanese artists and art gallery owners.

“I am honored to have received such recognition during my lifetime,” he said. “In Lebanon they usually host such events after an artist has passed away.”

Chamoun, who is president of the Lebanese Artists Association, expressed personal and collective gratitude for the role LAU plays in cultivating and promoting the work of Lebanese artists.

“I consider myself very lucky to have had the university’s support and encouragement,” he said.

Chamoun went on to underscore his respect for the role of educators in general, “Teachers play a vital role in sustaining an artist’s dream,” citing his childhood art teacher as a core influence in his own development.

LAU students fortunate enough to have been mentored by Chamoun in turn described him as a major source of creative and intellectual inspiration. Others said they hoped still to have the chance.

“His work speaks to you — you really see his passion for life in his work,” said artist and LAU student Liane Mathes Rabbath. “His presence at LAU has really increased the quality of art education.”

Dr. Elie Badr, interim dean of the School of Architecture and Design said Chamoun brought "a great deal of talent and life to the School of Architecture and Design."

“One of my goals is one day to be able to afford one of his paintings,” Badr joked, eliciting laughter from the audience. One of Chamoun’s paintings was recently auctioned for $180,000 at the LAU gala dinner, with proceeds benefiting the university’s Endowment Scholarship Fund.

In addition to countless international and local solo exhibitions, Chamoun has led several high-profile architectural projects.
 

Under the title Primitia — “first fruits” in Latin — the event was organized by the Department of Fine Arts and Foundation Studies, and drew students, fellow faculty members and art lovers from across the country.

“This event prominently showcases faculty talent and diversity in terms of theory, technique, skill and generation,” said Dr. Elie Badr, interim dean of SArD.

From video, photography and ceramics to abstract painting and sculpture, the exhibit presented the work of 25 faculty members, some of whom were exhibiting for the first time.

“We have artists here who are well established locally and internationally and others who are debuting,” said Rached Bohsali, chairman of the fine arts department.

“Our yearly exhibitions have always promoted student work — the product of their hard work and intellectual exchange with their mentors. It is only fair now to recognize our faculty,” Bohsali added.

Noura Nassar, first-year student in interior design, contemplates a painting by her professor Ghassan Ghazale: Knot/3okda, a 124 cm x 124 cm canvas with circles of various sizes and colors on a green and red square background, dominated by a black knot-like drawing with Arabic calligraphy inscriptions in glittery silver and gold.

“It reminds me of projects we have been discussing in class,” she said. “Now I understand where my teacher comes from, how he thinks.”

According to Bettina Badr, faculty member and exhibiting artist, Primitia establishes a new relationship between students and faculty. “We are usually the ones assessing their work; this time it’s the other way around. We are the ones awaiting their reactions and feedback,” she said, adding that this breaks barriers not only with students but also between faculty members themselves.

Internationally renowned artist and fine arts program coordinator Chaouki Chamoun agreed. “As colleagues and friends we constitute the school’s art scene, too often we collaborate without actually knowing each other’s work,” he added.

Chamoun is president of the Lebanese Artists Association, and his work is displayed in many public and private art collections across the globe.

“This exhibition reflects the influence of various schools, approaches and currents in Lebanon and worldwide,” he concluded. “It gives an idea of the richness of the school’s art scene.”

During the opening ceremony, LAU Provost Dr. Abdallah Sfeir expressed profound admiration for the artists. “After a first look, I have to say that I am impressed to see the work of artists/professors who serve as a model for our students whom are in turn allowed to have a critical eye on their work,” he said.

SArD has committed to making the exhibition an annual event.

“It is our mission to show our community and the world that Lebanese artists are a special breed that can produce art incorporating different philosophies, themes and cultures. In my opinion, no other work can be so extravagantly rich,” Badr said.

Primitia featured the work of artists Randa Abdel Baki, Celia Abou Arbid, Bettina Badr, Zeina Badran, Nabeel Basbous, Rached Bohsali, Chaouki Chamoun, Naim Doumit, Bassam Geitani, Ghassan Ghazale, Carlos Ghossoub, Mona Jabbour, Abdallah Kahil, Donna Kdouh, Bassam Lahoud, Fadi Mattar, Samar Mogharbel, Ziad Naccache, Gretta Naufal, Christina Rahme, Albert Saikaly, Arwa Seifeddine, Hanibal Srouji, Yasmine Taan, and Afaf Zurayk.
 

In accordance with this year’s theme, “Enfances,” participants were asked to submit poems on childhood memories. Students of all majors were welcome, as were submissions in Arabic, French and English.

“I am a geneticist by training, and what genetics has taught me is that each of us has his/her own set of skills and talents that we build on,” said Dr. Philippe Frossard, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at the awards ceremony.

“We want to help to make poetry widespread, and send a message that the School of Arts and Sciences is supportive of poetry and the arts,” he added.

A total of 10 poems in Arabic, 21 in English and five in French were submitted and subsequently evaluated by a selection committee. The committee comprised LAU faculty members and Lebanese poets and writers, including the renowned novelist and critic Alexandre Najjar.

Wael Roumieh, who won the Arabic language Spring Poetry Prize, described childhood as the foundation of one’s emotional and intellectual constitution, and writing about it
as both gratifying and challenging.

Roumieh’s opening lines — “They say that childhood passes you by quickly / But it is the essence of the journey” — capture the mood of his piece, which pays tribute to childhood as life’s overture.

“To me, writing is a mirror through which I express everything I experience,” Roumieh says. “It’s not just a creative and beautiful art — it’s a way to stretch my mind on a piece of paper.”

For Bechara Maroun, winner of the French language prize with "Promesses de Vacances" (holiday promises), writing is vital. “I need it to face my everyday life,” he says.

Maroun’s poem, a sensory recollection of various images from the poet’s childhood, is marked with nostalgia and naiveté.

“It is the first poem I write after publishing my first poetry book, so it symbolizes a new era of writing for me,” says Maroun.

Dr. Tamirace Fakhoury, assistant professor of political sciences and international affairs and organizer of the event, echoes the idea that poetry is more than self-expression. “When we started this, we wanted poetry to be a transformative tool, creating links across departments and between students,” she says.

Fakhoury, who published her first poetry book at the age of nine, believes that poetry can depoliticize volatile topics and act as a vector of social cohesion.

“This event proves that poetry is capable of bringing together people who otherwise might not agree on a single thing,” she explains.

Country Program Manager for the British Council Fatme Masri, who spoke at the event, agreed. Citing 12 Angry Lebanese, a theatrical experiment-cum-documentary that follows an all-male group of Lebanese adult inmates as they undergo drama therapy, Masri argued that “literature and the arts can indeed act as tools for conflict resolution and social cohesion.”

Comedian and performing art specialist Zeina Daccache, who led the project, engaged 40 prisoners in the drama workshop, which finally culminated in their staging a performance in the Roumieh prison where they are detained.

“Daccache humanized these prisoners. She changed people’s perspective of them, and changed the way they see themselves,” said Masri at the awards ceremony.

Masri drew parallels between Daccache’s “therapeutic” approach to art and the “Theatre of the Oppressed,” a theatrical experiment developed by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal in the 1960s.

Boal’s work, Masri noted, attempted to catalyze social and political change by actively involving audiences in the dynamics of performance, prompting them to explore and transform the reality they live in.

Such human approaches to poetry and the arts are universal, whether in Lebanon or Brazil, said Dr. Vahid Behmardi, assistant professor of Arabic and Persian literature at the Department of Humanities and coordinator of the Arabic poem category deliberations.

Though poetic forms, metaphors, and socio-political contexts will vary from one literary setting to the next, Behmardi concluded, “since feelings are universal, so is poetry.”
 

With workshops and lectures as well as dance performances, the weeklong festival brought together dance lovers of all ages.

“We had four- to 60-year-old participants,” says Dr. Nadra Assaf, lecturer of English and dance, who organized the event.

Launched in 2011, the IDDF in Lebanon is committed to serving the needs of dancers, choreographers and professionals in dance-related fields in Lebanon and the region.

“Essentially, our goal is to see the Lebanese dance field grow, and expand its roots nationally and internationally,” says Assaf. “In order for us to fulfill that dream, Lebanese dancers need more international connections and educational opportunities, as well as stronger connections and ties to each other locally,” she adds.

Over the course of the week some sixty-four workshops were conducted, all free of charge. The styles of dance included hip-hop, jazz, break dancing, belly dance, rhumba and salsa.

“Lebanon and the region need support for the arts, specifically in the field of arts education. We are an educational institution, so it only seems right that we be the leaders in filling this need,” says Assaf.

The IDDF in Lebanon is supported by LAU’s School of Arts and Sciences and is organized in partnership with the municipality of Byblos.

Directed by assistant professor of communication arts Dr. Lina Abyad, Fantasia Opus3 turned the Gulbenkian Theater into a time machine, transporting the audience to their schooldays and fatuous first loves, revisiting adolescent pipe dreams through the lens of adult desire.

The production initially took shape almost entirely through improvisation. The first draft of the script was composed by Abyad as a kind of collage of the actors’ impromptu recollections of their earliest memories.

“We didn’t really know what the play would be about at first,” she recalls, “but we talked a lot about childhood, schooldays, and longing for love. We taped everything, and finally identified the recurrent themes and began working on them.”

The result weaves together embarrassing fracases, haunting insecurities, ingenuous crushes, and sensory firsts — at once ephemeral and indelible — into a tapestry of nostalgia and pain.

Curiously enough, the Communication Arts Department’s very first productions in the early 1960’s were children’s plays, notes Dr. Mona A. Knio, associate professor of theater and the department’s chairperson. “Abyad’s improv-based production was ultimately — and uncannily — reminiscent of the department’s early theatrical work,” Knio says.

The surreal set — the stage is draped in white and pastels and lit by lanterns — was designed, says Abyad, to invite the audience to be part of the play, to send them into reverie.

“You have to give them — from the very beginning — an idea of what to expect from the play, which is why the colors of the set are very soft and light,” she says. “This is a very light play.”

Light as it is, Fantasia Opus3 is not devoid of melancholy, the trace of sadness that can tinge youth both as it it’s lived and as it’s remembered.

In one scene, the actors — scattered on the stage, dressed in technicolor garments, and holding cages — are standing on doormats, miming the vehement, sometimes even tyrannical tone of parents trying to edify their children.

Comments that seem benign in the individual instance — “remember to say thank you,” “don’t pick your nose,” or even “don’t mention that you’re doing theater in front of grandma” — become oppressive in the aggregate, and can leave an elusive scar on youngsters, one they may obsessively revisit as they grow older.

In another scene, a young woman draped in white wanders the stage recalling the 2006 war in Lebanon — fondly, as paradox would have it, because awful as it was, it brought her and her family closer together, and taught her to appreciate life’s small blessings.

“It is practically impossible to talk about memories in a Lebanese context and not evoke one war or another,” explains Abyad. “I provoked the actors, and the result of those provocations was the play’s raw material. All I did was edit, rearrange and design it into a script.”

Theater-goers and members of the university drama community praised Abyad’s compositional method. “The authenticity creates audience intimacy — people can relate to it almost immediately,” says LAU theater coordinator Hala Masri.

Peter Matar, an architecture student at Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA), concurred. “I felt the actors themselves were my memories," he said.

A group of four LAU graphic design students has been selected to revamp the website of Child of Lebanon, a non-governmental organization that promotes good practices in child rights, after winning a contest to create a new online identity for the NGO.

Members of the Graphic Design Department and representatives from Child of Lebanon announced the winners of the month-long contest on March 5 at the Beirut campus.

For winning students Sari Awada, Hiba Fares, Mahmoud Daoud and Nour Chamoun, it was the first time dealing with a "real client."

"We usually have to answer to our professors, but this time we were dealing with an outside party -- we actually had a real client to satisfy," says Awada. "It was a genuine professional experience."

The contest began when Child of Lebanon presented Randa Abdel Baki, chair of the department, with the idea of having LAU's graphic design students compete in producing a new and refreshing website that would better represent the organization and its achievements.

"The website was outdated and did not communicate our success and accomplishments," says Dr. Bernard Gerbaka, the NGO's founder and president.

The contest represented the opportunity for young graphic designers to get hands-on training, and consequently became a graded project for students taking the Web Design course. Divided into six different groups, students were asked to produce colorful and elegantly designed websites.

"We came up with a new logo, a new online identity, a whole new website," says Awada, who will soon move to the practical phase of the project, which is to build the actual website in collaboration with the organization's team.

MarieJoe Raidy, Child of Lebanon's head of communications, is the one behind this initiative. "I think that no one can better raise awareness than students, especially when advertising this kind of NGO, since they are the bridge between childhood and adulthood," she says. 

Her trust in the students has paid off. "The students worked wholeheartedly on this project and managed to convey the message in a very clear and pure way," says Raidy.

Although all of the website proposals were attractive, the winning team, according to Raidy, proposed a simple and "straight forward" new identity.

For Abdel Baki, however, the project meant more than just bringing graphic and web design together to produce a visually enticing website. "I hope this is the starting point for the students to become more active citizens," she says.

Child of Lebanon works to empower individuals and organizations in helping prevent child abuse in Lebanon.  Its advocacy is based on the principles of the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child..

The NGO, and its identity revamping project, are supported by Raidy Printing Group, Time Out Magazine, Creative Lounges, Time Kids Magazine, Tagged Magazine, World Environment Magazine, Societe Generale de Banque au Liban, Yumi Sushi Restaurant, Papers of Dialogue Magazine, and LAU. 

The event was co-sponsored by LAU and Prepare New York, a community-based coalition of interfaith organizations working to counter religious intolerance. The three women — one Christian, one Muslim, and one Jewish — engaged in a candid, freeform discussion about their decision to wear the veil, and what it means to each of them.

Entitled “Three Women, Three Faiths, Three Choices to Cover,” the panel was an extension of the exhibit itself, which, according to IWSAW’s former director Mona Chemali Khalaf, was designed to help “lead to a better understanding of the universality of the veil,” and result in “more genuine freedom of expression and choice.” Khalaf produced the original Veil(s) exhibit in 2005.

“The veil is an outward sign of an inward reality, of my dedication to God and my brotherhood,” said panelist Sister Chala Marie Hill, a Catholic nun of the Franciscan Handmaids of the Most Pure Heart of Mary in Harlem, New York.

Sister Chala chose her congregation partly because they wore the habit. Sister Chala explained to the audience that wearing the habit, and being recognizable visually as a Catholic nun, has given her the opportunity to publicly minister to people she might not otherwise have reached.

Wearing it has also placed her in a position, she says, where she must address questions and challenges in the public sphere, where the significance of the veil is often ill-understood. She told the audience that this experience has strengthened her faith and improved her ability to help others.

Dr. Sarah Sayeed, a program associate with the Interfaith Center of New York and a veiled Muslim, focused her remarks on addressing what she says is a misconception: that women who wear the veil have no say in the matter.

“The veil doesn’t always have one meaning, even for a single individual. Some aspects we like, and some we don’t,” conceded Dr. Sayeed, who stressed that this doesn’t mean that a woman who covers herself isn’t free. In fact, she pointed out, many women find the veil to be liberating.

This sentiment was echoed by the third panelist, Mrs. Bronya Shaffer, a scholar with the organization Chabad and a Hasidic Jew who covers her hair.

“There is a misconception that women cover their hair to make themselves unattractive, but this is simply not the case,” Mrs. Shaffer said. “In fact I would suggested that most people are decidedly more attractive dressed than undressed,” she added, sending a ripple of laughter through the highly engaged audience.

“The Veil(s) exhibit and panel helped provide a window into some of the most misunderstood and mischaracterized faith-based practices in our time,” said Prepare New York’s Annie Rawlings, who moderated the discussion. “Assumptions abound among people who do not wear any head coverings about those who do — particularly women who do.”

Rawlings said the panel and exhibit help to “bring the practice of ‘covering’, and the voices of the women who choose it, out of the shadows and out of silence,” which she described as vital to her organization’s mission.

The New York office of LAU, which happens to be located in the Interchurch Center where the event took place, has played an instrumental role in showing the Veil(s) exhibit throughout the United States, including in Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in New York City.

The exhibit will make its next appearance in March in Los Angeles, where it will be accompanied by another panel discussion.

“I am many people,” she provocatively replies, her whimsical transparency puzzling her questioner.

Every artist is many-sided, much like a Rubik’s cube, says Lina Khoury, stage director and theater instructor in the Department of Communication Arts, and the director of Al Shaghila.

“An artist can be many things and many personages at the same time: creative, rebellious, devilish, good. Versatility is what makes him or her unique,” she notes.

Fittingly, Nakhle is portrayed on stage by a number of thespians — including a male actor, in order to shed light on the sculptor’s masculine side.

Al Shaghila is based on Edward Albee’s play Occupant, which stages an interview with the late American sculptor Louise Nevelson. In Lina Khoury’s version, however, Louise Nevelson is transforms into the fictional — and deceased — Badiaa Nakhle, a Palestinian sculptor who grew up in Tripoli, later settling in Beirut.

Like Occupant, Al Shaghila is structured as a posthumous interview with the sculptor, chronicling her endeavors, failures and accomplishments. Badiaa is dead but her wit and sensibility are pungently alive, even effervescent, as she looks back on her life with nostalgia and sporadic regret.

Badiaa’s versatility is not only the key to her personality; it also suffuses the roles she takes on in her life. She is a daughter, a mother, a lover, a traveler, and an artist, playing each of these roles with varying degrees of mastery.

“Occupant is a play that addresses an artist’s suffering, something we’re not very familiar with,” says Khoury. We like to focus on the artist’s work and fame, but we don’t always know much about what’s happening inside.”

The young Badiaa’s inner conflicts are indeed at the core of Al Shaghila, catalyzing her transformation into an accomplished and renowned sculptor. Flamboyant but authentic, Badiaa reflects on love, art, sex and depression with such candor that it’s almost impossible for the audience not to identify with her.

“Have you ever lived in the 60’s? Have you ever been a Christian Palestinian woman in Lebanon?” Badiaa rhetorically challenges her interviewer. “Then don’t talk to me about simplicity.”

“All artists go through similar phases in their lives, whether it’s depression, promiscuity or the struggle for fame,” says Khoury.

“At the same time, I really wanted to create an oppressed character that the audience could connect with — this is why I chose to make Badiaa a Christian Palestinian woman,” she adds. “We are all outcasts in one way or another.”

Gender discrimination in Lebanon may be less blatant than elsewhere in the region, but it takes insidious forms. It has made its way into our popular music, and from there seeps into the minds of fools who, in the words of George Bernard Shaw, digest “art into pedantry.” Something as seemingly trivial as pop music can indeed strengthen gender discrimination and affect the economy, society, and women’s already weak self-image in a patriarchal culture.

Nordic countries Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, top the charts in gender equality, and countries such as U.A.E., Kuwait, Tunisia, and Bahrain now lead the Arab world. “Low gender gaps are directly correlated with high economic competitiveness,” says Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. Schwab goes on to add the corollary conclusion: “Women and girls must be treated equally if a country is to grow and prosper.”

Judging only from appearances, one might conclude that Lebanese women already enjoy the freedom to pursue their chosen careers. But how many, for example, participate in politics — the shaping force of a country? Many job markets are effectively off-limits to women. When asked, many men say that it’s the woman’s fault. She is the one who prefers to stay home, looking after her nails and hair instead of running a political race. But if laws are drafted forbidding any government coalition from including less than 40% females, then women may feel encouraged to toss out their nail-files and join the race.

Lebanese pop and folk songs treat women, in many contexts, as a controlled commodity in a country that prides itself variously as an entrepreneurial hub, a global party destination, and a breaker of world records. These competitive instincts and sources of national pride could use some rechanneling. Instead of striving to get Lebanon into the Guinness World Records for the world’s largest tabbouli or hummos plates (culturally significant as such things may be), we should be competing with the world’s most advanced nations for gender egalitarianism. Our regional reputation for liberated and enlightened women is something of a Mediterranean mirage. We are liberated consumers, free to shop, go out, be seen, dress and behave boldly and extravagantly. We are not, however, achieving parity in education, power and influence.

Any diagnosis of this condition must begin by looking at our self-image, and it is here that popular culture — music in particular — can be most pernicious. Pop music hooks into us: it sets the rhythms and verbal refrains of our thoughts when we hum and sing along; we take it into our bodies when we dance. “The Republic of My Heart,” sung by Mohammad Iskandar, resolves its apparent concerns about workplace harassment by suggesting that women should be pampered and kept at home instead of encouraged to hold jobs. The lyrics sounds addressed to a lover, while the video-clip shows Iskandar addressing his daughter. Women and girls are thereby conflated, with both being told that “sheghlik albī w ‘aṭftī w-hanānī, mā raḥ urdā bi-ayyā shī tānī” (“your work consists of tending to my heart, love, and care, and I will not accept anything else”). Men hear that they are justified in what they’re already doing: women then should feel happy that the men in their lives — fathers, brothers, husbands, sons, even uncles and cousins — are exercising this unsolicited control over them. The domain of this supposedly benevolent male sovereignty can then extend to what women wear, whom they befriend, and other minute details of their lives which many songs by Iskandar and others address.

In Desire, Self, Mind, and the Psychotherapies, R. Colman Curtis discusses how the gap between the ideal self and reality causes great dissatisfaction in the individual, and how the media is responsible for creating this illusion of the accessibility of this ideal self. In other words, television, radio, magazines, and other media present an ideal self, and create the self-loathing we feel for failing to meet that standard. What about when the opposite is true: When the media trivializes what we’d been raised to believe was an important goal in our lives? My parents raised me to regard education as the only acceptable weapon for self-defense in a highly competitive world, as the sine qua non of success. Still, I see people at almost every family wedding dancing to songs that many educated people consider degrading — to say the least — to these very ideals.

Shouldn’t this stop? What are the ramifications of these kinds of lyrics on our culture? “Al-musiqa al-musi’a” — “detrimental” music, as Dr. Eliya Francis at the Lebanese University School of Education puts it — pervades uncritical minds and, I would argue, arouses emotions through melody and rhythm that facilitate the internalization of its lyrical message, which happens to be a dangerous one.

Can there be a critical aesthetics of Lebanese pop music? Do the standards of taste involve only rhythm and melody, or do they extend to lyrics as well? What do low standards in the realm of lyrics convey about a culture? Those are questions applicable to a range of musical genres, including rap, reggae, and rock, and the prolegomena of this op-ed are merely prefatory to a larger work in progress. Examination of the impact of pop lyrics on Lebanese culture and ideals is necessary in an era of consumerism, when plastic — in every sense — has become the basic tissue of our culture. 

Abir Ward is a part time English instructor at LAU Beirut. To contact her please email:  abir.ward@lau.edu.lb.

“Saloua Raouda Choucair: the Retrospective,” which features some 380 of the artist’s works, was curated by her daughter Hala Choucair Gharzeddine, in collaboration with the Agial Art Gallery. The show opened in late September and continues until November 13.

From early paintings to more recent sculptures, the exhibition presents work from every phase of Choucair’s career. It includes sketches, photographs, rugs and other daily-use art pieces like jewelry and furniture.

The show is divided chronologically, with each section revealing a new wrinkle in the artist’s evolving story, a new dimension of her vision. Throughout, Choucair’s modernity and avant-gardism make decades-old pieces look timely, even timeless.

Work from every phase of her career shows an enduring fascination with science, philosophy, Islamic art and poetry.

“My mother was very creative, and highly optimistic about the modernity of Arab culture,” says Gharzeddine. “She believed in progress and was very curious about science. She wanted her work to be a synthesis of all these elements,” she says.

According to Gharzeddine, Choucair defines her art as pure abstraction but an abstraction inspired by Islamic art. “She was moved less by the visual aesthetics of Islamic art than by its desire to express the infinite and the indescribable, by its circles and the lines and by its use of mathematics,” she says.

Choucair has used a large range of materials for her sculptures over the years, from wood to plexiglas, brass, ceramics and nylon threads. These she fashions rigorously into polished circles, spirals, waves and other geometrical shapes, sometimes fitted over each other in “duals” or “poems,” visual traces of her meditation on and fusion of science and Arabic poetry.

Born in Beirut in 1916, Choucair graduated from American Junior College for Women (as LAU was then known) in 1936 with a degree in biology. She began her painting career in the studios of prominent Lebanese artist Mustafa Farroukh while still a student.

In an autobiographic article written in the early 90s, Choucair describes her college years with enthusiasm, recalling the publication of her caricatures — of classmates, teachers, and other campus figures — in the annual Trireme publication and on the college’s posters, which she designed.

“She loved her years at AJCW,” says her daughter. “She found an audience there who appreciated her style, who would laugh at her depictions.”

She went on to graduate school at the American University of Beirut, graduating with degrees in philosophy and Arabic sciences.

Her career led her to Paris, where she graduated from the Ecole des Beaux Arts and worked with some of the most prominent artists of the time.

Choucair’s last major exhibition was in 1974, when the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism displayed some 100 pieces in its glass exhibition hall in the Hamra area. The event marked the first time that gallery — the ministry’s most prestigious — had showcased the work of a Lebanese artist.

“In her early career she was badly treated and at best ignored. She was bitter,” Gharzeddine recalls, adding that “later she was rewarded in many ways and she felt much better. She now lives blissfully.”

Choucair has received several distinctions from the Ministry of National Education, and was awarded the highest national honor, the Cedar Decoration (Knight and Officer Grades).

In 1975 LAU (at that time BCW) honored Choucair by acquiring and displaying one of her sculptures in the university gardens.

“Saloua Raouda Choucair: The Retrospective” continues through November 13 at the Beirut Exhibition Center. For more information visit:
www.beirutexhibitioncenter.com. 

LAU alumni Nisreen Mohtar, Danny Khoury and Dalia Baassiri each designed and painted two of six new benches on Beirut’s Hamra Street on October 4 and 5. They were selected as part of a painting competition in the Maraya 2011 Hamra Street Festival, which took place from August 30 to September 1.

Ms. Najwa Baroudi, the organizer of the festival, was delighted with the contributions of the three LAU alumni, saying the point of Maraya is to celebrate the spirit of Hamra, which she describes as “the center of intellectual activity in the city.”

“Dalia, Danny and Nisreen are fine artists. Their work is diverse and broad in its meaning, and their energy and enthusiasm are exemplary,” she says. “We are very happy with our choice —and LAU should be proud,” Baroudi says.

Baroudi hopes more benches can be installed in Hamra, as well as in the rest of the Ras Beirut area.

“We’re encouraging a high standard of varied cultural and artistic activities to draw in the diverse local and foreign communities that converge on Hamra,” she explains.

Khoury, a 2002 graphic design graduate, expressed pleasure in using his design skills to enliven the much-needed resting space on his favorite street.

“Benches were always a missing part of Hamra,” says Khoury, who published his first book, At the Edge of the City  in 2010, “This project is part of an attempt to revive the street,” he adds.  

Khoury was inspired by — and set out to capture — the distinctive spirit of the iconic Ras Beirut street.

“One of my benches is rather abstract in its design,” Khoury comments, “but I felt its elements reproduce the lively soul of Hamra.”

2003 graphic design graduate Baassiri is currently working as a freelance graphic designer. She took her cue from local pedestrians in her approach to the project.

“I watch different people’s faces and get inspired,” she explains, adding that. “I am also interested in illustrating human cells and features.”

Baassiri — who is set to continue her graduate education at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London — was also motivated by her emotional attachment to a neighborhood she’s lived in for ten years.

Mohtar, who graduated in 2003 with B.S. in Interior Design and a minor in Fine Arts, initially had misgivings about painting on a busy street like Hamra.

“At first I was terrified,” she admits. “It’s definitely different from painting in a studio alone. I doubted whether I would be able to reflect my ideas smoothly while passersby watched me.”

Ultimately Mohtar’s extensive experience with exhibitions — at LAU, AUB, and the International School of Choueifat — served to calm her nerves, and her work was very positively received.

“I had comments from famous artists,” she says, “as well as a number of requests for future painting work. I think this kind of work is good marketing for us.”

To kick off the weeklong festival, a troupe of university-aged dancers, clad in white flowing tops, moved rhythmically across the stage in the Selina Korban Auditorium in a modern dance.

“I’m thankful to be part of an institution that allows creativity to happen,” said Dr. Nadra Assaf, instructor of English and dance in the School of Arts and Sciences at LAU Byblos, after the first performance.

“This festival is the first of its kind in the history of dance in Lebanon,” she added.

LAU Provost Dr. Abdallah Sfeir welcomed the audience, commending the role of dance in a university setting.

“Creativity has to be expressed in more than just a purely academic way,” he said. “Dance keeps the flame of liberal arts living at LAU and fits perfectly with the university’s ‘whole person’ initiative.”

Assaf outlined three main objectives of the festival: to allow the Lebanese dance community members to get to know one another, to offer free classes and workshops from foreign and Lebanese instructors, and to give aspiring artists a platform through which to get feedback.

Hundreds of amateur and professional dancers from LAU and around the country took advantage of classes spanning a range of dance genres, including rumba, break-dance, dabke, salsa, modern dance, hip-hop and ballet.

Workshops included “The 20th Century: A Century for Women in Dance,” “Nutrition for Dancers,” “Physical Therapy for Dancers,” and “Choreography to Express Identity.”

Assaf began organizing the festival 18 months ago with World Dance Day, a UNESCO initiative, in mind. The day is celebrated internationally on April 29.

For Assaf, the festival has been a true labor of love, born out of what she sees as a real need to elevate the place of dance in Lebanese society.

“This isn’t for me or my ego — it’s for my community,” says Assaf, who teaches the only dance course currently available at LAU and also owns her own private, government-licensed dance company.

“We have to get to know each other and put our hands together if we really want dance to go forward,” she adds. “Dance is an important part of any society for many reasons. Most importantly, it gives the youth something to do other than smoke, drink and party.”

Joumana Souaid, 19, an economics major at LAU Byblos, has been dancing for 13 years and thinks the festival was an amazing opportunity for self-expression. “I don’t think dance is encouraged in Lebanon, so this festival is a way for dancers to develop skills and meet each other,” she says.

To celebrate a week of fun and hard work, the festival ended with a dance performance and award ceremony at Patriarch Al-Howayek Theater at Mar Youssef School in Byblos on April 9.

LAU President Dr. Joseph G. Jabbra told the audience during the closing event: “We need to make art an integral part of our cultural history … The goal [of this festival] was to raise awareness about dancing and to convince governments of the importance of the introduction of dance in curriculums.”

The feedback from festival instructors and participants has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Assaf, and she has been given the blessing to make it an annual event.

The festival was sponsored by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the LAU Byblos School of Arts and Sciences, in cooperation with the Municipality of Byblos, and Dancewear, one of the largest distributors of dance clothing and equipment in Lebanon.
 

Hyphen Islam–Christianity’s team has traveled to more than 19 cities across the globe. The project includes a documentary by Nada Raphaël who is the project founder and head, as well as a 700-page collector’s book (winner of a Special Mention at the 2011 France–Lebanon Contest organized by the Association des Écrivains de Langue Française), and a photography exhibition — all depicting the thoughts and images of inhabitants of over 1,200 villages across Lebanon.

The interactive event opened in the Irwin Hall Auditorium with the Tripoli-based Fayha Choir singing the Lebanese National Anthem, followed by a short introductory speech by Dr. Elise Salem, vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Management at LAU.

“This should be a celebration of our differences, of our potential, and of our Lebanon,” said Salem.

Raphaël’s documentary stressed the need for Lebanese to look past their religious differences to find their similarities as citizens. “Hyphen Islam–Christianity is not about politics; it’s about how to live together,” Raphaël explained.

One interviewee in the documentary recalled a Christian man entering a mosque for the first time and asking, “What’s the difference? This is still the House of God.” Another mentioned evangelical schools in Tripoli, Lebanon, with a Muslim–Christian student ratio of roughly 3 to 1, where students are instructed by nuns.

After the film screening, Raphaël took questions from the audience.

The award-winning Fayha Choir, comprising 50 young women and men from various religious and cultural backgrounds, followed with a live performance conducted by maestro Barkev Taslakian. The choir has received many awards, including two by the Warsaw International Choir Festival.

The choir’s diversity was also reflected by eclectic musical selections ranging from Palestinian to Armenian and Egyptian. “Al Kassam,” dedicated to the late Gebran Tueni, perhaps most poignantly captured the unity and pluralism of Lebanon.

The event closed with a cocktail reception where the crowd mingled next to an enormous bowl of tabbouleh, a picture of which was also depicted on the cover of the event’s program booklet.

“One of the purposes of this very moving event was to get away from petty Lebanese politics and materialism, to get back to more profound issues, to the importance of what makes us Lebanese,” Salem reflected near the end of the evening.

The event was organized by the Safadi Foundation, LAU, and the Faculty of Religious Sciences – Institute of Islamic–Christian Studies of the Université Saint-Joseph, within the Islamo-Christian Dialogue Week in Lebanon. The following two days, it was also hosted at the Safadi Cultural Center in Tripoli and at USJ.
 

If it was not for her hairless head caused by chemotherapy treatment, no one could have guessed that Fida, or the 21 other children that spent several afternoons at LAU Beirut in April dancing, drawing and playing, have been diagnosed with cancer.

The children, who are being treated in hospitals throughout Lebanon, were invited to participate in a series of five art workshops organized by Dr. Mirvat El Sibai, LAU assistant professor of biology, and led by several LAU fine arts faculty members.

El Sibai concocted the project after being inspired by local NGO Toufoula’s ongoing campaign to transform hospital rooms for child cancer patients into interactive play centers.

“I hope it makes a difference,” El Sibai says. “I think it helps them relieve some of the stress they have to deal with in the hospitals.”

El Sibai contacted Toufoula to develop a partnership for the project and then received the LAU Guidance Office’s blessing to move forward. LAU’s Health Services Office mobilized a handful of students from the Red Cross Club to lend a helping hand to El Sibai and others involved in the workshops.

LAU photography instructor Bassam Lahoud led the first workshop on April 13, where he taught the children the basics of using a camera.

The children hopped from table to table during the next session on April 22 to take advantage of the rich variety of activities available such as painting, making playdough figurines and playing board games with El Sibai and the student assistants.

On the following day, they painted self-portraits on enormous canvases with LAU fine arts faculty member Betina Badr.

April 29 was the first time any of the children had set foot into a ceramics workshop where they beat clay and molded bowls and other figures with LAU ceramics instructor Samar Mogharbel.

Finally on April 30, Melissa Plourde Khoury, an assistant professor of graphic design at LAU, and one of her senior students, Joy Jeha, helped the children cut and paste pictures to create brilliant collages.

“I was impressed with each of their own unique artistic abilities, approaches and creativity,” Plourde Khoury says. “The children opened my eyes to their amazing imaginations and in doing so they also welcomed me into their worlds and won over my heart.”

Always appearing boisterous and packed with energy, the children managed to sneak in breaks during the workshops and challenge the student helpers to soccer matches.

Toufoula member Fida Safieddine helped out with the logistics, spending hours in Beirut’s unbearable traffic driving throughout the city to pick up the children from their homes and hospitals. She says she has developed a close relationship with many of the children and their families, having spent time with them over the years.

“It’s important that you keep a connection with the children,” says Safieddine who often visits the children in hospitals. “It’s not enough just to see them when there is a workshop.”

El Sibai says the ultimate goal of the workshops was not only to provide children with some entertainment and new skills in a therapeutic environment, but also to help develop the characters of LAU students by encouraging them to get involved in noble efforts.

“It was a huge success,” El Sibai says. “We’ll most likely be doing it again sometime in the near future.”

Organized by The Institute for Media Training and Research and the Department of Communication Arts at LAU, the three-day conference featured a number of panel sessions in which conference delegates presented papers linked to their research areas, inviting discussion among their peers.

“I believe this was the first conference on Arab pop culture done at a university,” says Dr. Ramez Maluf, chair of the Communication Arts Department, TIMTAR director, and conference organizer. “This is a subject that I believe is in great need of being studied because of the transformation in the Arab world and culture. I’m very happy that we were able to do this,” adds Maluf.

The research papers encompassed a broad scope of popular culture and media themes. Noteworthy sessions on the first day included “Popular TV Shows, Nostalgia and Political Correctness” by Abeer Al Najjar from the American University of Sharjah, “Youth-Generated Media, Notes on Arab Cultural Politics” by Joe F. Khalil from the University of Southern Illinois, and “Islam Online Guides Husbands and Wives Towards Marital Bliss Via Popular Culture,” by Mona Abdel Fadil from the University of Oslo.

The second day of the conference featured a cross-section of research topics that proved intriguing for attendees — including students — and invited considerable questions and dialogue in the Q&A sessions that followed.

Some of the noteworthy research papers included: “Popularising Psychoanalysis: Representations of the Therapeutic in Arab Literature” by Julia Borossa from Middlesex University, and “Fragments of Identity: Perceptions and Visual Popular Culture in the Arab Region” by Tina Sleiman from Zayed University, Dubai, as well as “New Information Technology as a Major Aspect of Arab Popular Culture” by Mahboub Hashem from the American University of Sharjah, and “Palestinian Hip Hop: Youth, Identity and Nation” by Sunaina Maira and Magid Shihade, from the University of California-Davis, and Lahore University of Management Sciences. Kay Dickinson from Goldsmiths College, University of London, also shared a fascinating paper on “Fueling the Palestinian Road (Block) Movie: An International Deployment of ‘The Popular.’ ”

On the final day of the conference, some fascinating papers included “Arab Popular Culture in University Outside the Arab World: A Canadian Viewpoint,” by Daniela Firanescu from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, “Arabs in the Media in Australia: News Values and Negative Coverage,” by Lauren Rosewarne from the University of Melbourne, and “Pushing Boundaries of Imagination: Arabs and the Bombay Cinema,” by JM Ilias from the India-Arab Cultural Center, New Delhi.

“The conference was very interesting. … Of course the sessions were uneven, some papers were groundbreaking others were not, but all in all the feedback I’m getting from people is great,” says Maluf. He adds, “We are hoping to produce a book on Arab pop culture, a collection of essays. It is in the process of being put together right now.”

Besides the panel sessions, conference delegates took part in some social activities. They wrapped up their first day of the conference by attending a performance of the LAU student theater production Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza, at the Gulbenkian Theatre, before heading to Dbayeh for dinner. On the second evening of the conference, delegates were taken to Byblos for a tour of the city and dinner, and on the last day, they were given a tour of Beirut’s downtown, by Maluf himself.

Posted April 12, 2010—

LAU to host international conference on Arab popular culture

Numerous leading international scholars and academics in the field of Arab media, arts and the humanities will descend upon Beirut to speak at LAU’s first-ever conference on “Arab Popular Culture and the Media” from April 21–23.

Organized by The Institute for Media Training and Research and the Department of Communication Arts, the conference will feature 15 sessions in which over 50 scholars and academics will present papers exploring various topics and themes relating to Arab popular culture in the world, including TV shows and films, music, revered artists, literature, IT and social media, use of language, and socio-cultural trends. Each session will be moderated by an LAU faculty or staff member.

International participants in the conference are representing a huge range of renowned universities from around the world, including: Cambridge University, Goldsmiths College – University of London, London School of Economics and Political Science, The American University in Cairo, The University of Sydney, University of Aleppo, University of Berlin, University of California-Davis, University of Gothenburg, University of Kent, University of Oslo, University of Pennsylvania, University of Rome 3, University of Southern Illinois, and Zayed University in Dubai.

A number of academics and scholars from LAU will give presentations at the conference over three days of sessions.

On April 21, Dr. Ahmad Oueini, associate professor and chair of LAU’s Department of Education, will present a paper on “Sunset Boulevard By Way of Wadi Shahrour: A Psychological Profile of Sabah,” and Zeina Meskaoui, an instructor at the School of Architecture and Design, will give a presentation on “Performing the Body; Haifa Wehbi in the Becoming.”

On April 22, Saba Haider, MarCom associate director, will present a paper on “The Challenges of Palestinian Film Production in the Palestinian New Wave.” On April 23, the final day of the conference, Ayman Itani, an instructor in the Department of Communication Arts, will talk about “The Internet as Popular Culture,” and Dr. Ramez Maluf, chair of LAU’s Department of Communication Arts, TIMTAR director, and organizer of the conference, will present a paper on “Dubbing into Arabic and the Popularization of Hollywood.”

Members of the public are welcome to attend the panel sessions to which entry is free of charge. To find out more, or to register for the entire conference, contact the conference director, Dr. Ramez Maluf, by email at: rzmaluf@lau.edu.lb, or by phone at: 01-786456, extension 1401.

Check out the program of the three-day conference.

Being held as part of the Beirut World Book Capital 2009 activities, the series of events is organized by the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts — a global institution that holds annual festivals and projects in cities across the globe since 1988 — in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and Casino du Liban. Over 15 companies and organizations are sponsoring the event, which was launched in Beirut in May 2009, with LAU being the only university among them.

“The mere selection of LAU as one of the venues for the writers to come and speak means a lot for us as a cultural center, and it means a lot for the writers who would like to talk to students and faculty, since these are prospective authors as well,” says Dr. Tarek Na’was, Dean of Students at LAU Beirut, who is representing the university as a partner of the initiative.

The writers, who include novelists and poets alike, are all under the age of 39. They were chosen among nearly 450 applicants by a panel of well-respected Arab literary authorities.

Throughout the four days, the writers will hop across schools, universities, cafes, and art centers throughout Beirut to discuss several topics including the state of contemporary Arabic literature, the challenges of translating works, and the role of culture in society. Some authors will also read from their works.

Five discussions will be hosted at LAU’s Beirut campus, in the Business School Auditorium (Room 903).

“We would like to keep LAU open as a cultural center not only for educating students, but also as a link with the local community and larger community in the Arab world,” Na’was says, describing the cultural importance of LAU’s involvement in the Beirut39 Festival.

On April 15 at noon, writers Islam Samhan, Faiza Guene, Rosa Yassin Hassan, and Ahmad Saadawi will discuss what they write about, and how they write it. The same topic will be examined at 4:00 p.m. with writers Abdelaziz Errachidi, Hussein Al Abri, Yahya Amqassim, and Wajdi Al Ajdal. Both discussions will be in Arabic.

On the following day at noon, writers Bassim Al Ansar, Randa Jarrar, and Abdelkader Benali will gather for an English discussion on writing and living outside the Arab world, followed by a discussion at 4:00 p.m. in Arabic with Hala Kawtharani, Dima Wannous, Abdullah Thabit, and Najwan Darwish on the journey from poetry to fiction.

On April 17, 39 separate Arab authors aged 19 and younger, who were chosen by a Beirut39-inspired project called “Beirut19,” will gather in the auditorium for a conversation with two Beirut39 writers, Hamdy El Gazzar and Yahya Amqassim. Na’was says the meeting will allow the more experienced writers offer tips and advice to the aspiring young writers.

The Beirut19 project was launched by the International Education Association in collaboration with Hay Festival to engage Arab youth to take a critical look at contemporary social and political issues such as power, identity, globalization and culture.

All events are free of charge. The complete program of the festival can be found on this website.

The exhibition, a part of the LAU Graphic Design Department’s event series, is showing until March 31, in Sheikh Zayed Hall every day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Nejabati presented his talk in Farsi, which was simultaneously translated into Arabic for the audience. He explained that while graphic design has existed for a long time in Iran, before it became a recognized discipline, it was known as “graphic calligraphy.”

Type, image and color are the elements of Islamic calligraphy he said, adding that many artists use art to spread religion’s message — “Writing should be beautiful because it is the word of God,” he said.

Nejabati explained that in Islamic calligraphy, the illustration matches the calligraphy. He explained that images are not always realistic but instead are symbolic, adding that there are no realistic images of nature in Islamic art — and that colors and images vary by area and country of origin.

The renowned graphic artist said the reason for unrealistic images in much Islamic art is that we will go to another world when we die, which is more beautiful so the pictures resemble our world but not realistically. “Everything drawn is made more beautiful than it is in life,” he said.

Nejabati said that colors make a big difference in Islamic art because in a simple geometric square “the design hardly shows if it’s not filled with color.” Notably, he shared his view that there are seven primary colors — not only three (red, yellow, and blue) as is the common view in the West. “Black, white, gold and silver are also primary colors,” he said.

Nejabati, who notably designed “Persia” typeface for Bitstream Co. USA, further explained that every culture, every country has its own style of art and design, which is evident in all aspects of a country’s society, from clothes to packaging and buildings.

“Art is like an identity for a country,” he said, offering the example that at first only Farsi-speakers were his audience, but now people from all languages and cultures want to know his work and Iranian art. He added that he is proud of the popularity of Iranian arts nowadays.

Randa Abdel Baki, the chair of the Graphic Design Department at LAU, says that events such as this are extremely important for both design students and the community at large, due to the significant intercultural dialogue and understanding that is generated.

“We’re trying to revive the art of calligraphy in Lebanon — it’s vanishing,” she says. It was important to have this presentation by Nejabati, because calligraphy “is the foundation of Arabic type,” she says, adding, “The integration of calligraphy in the work of Iranian artists is very deep, and we want our students to see this.”

She adds, “We want to show our students everything — modern, old, new. Everything should be part of their education, which should be an encyclopedia of art and design.”
Nejabati was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1967. An alumnus of the University of Tehran, he earned his M.A. in Graphic Design in 1999, although he started his professional career in 1988, and has taught graphic design and typography since 1996.

He said he chose graphic design as a professional medium to follow because it is a form of communication. And while he has also worked in film, the artistic medium he has focused on has remained graphic design.

As an artist, Nejabati explained that graphic design enables him to communicate with all of those people who cannot attend art exhibitions — those who are not the “upper class.”

He has designed posters and book covers, among other cultural forms of art. He says that he now finds his work everywhere he travels in Iran.

Organized by LAU’s Alumni Relations Office, the event celebrated Marthiyat Taer Al Qata, the newest book published by Rifka, who taught philosophy and cultural studies at LAU for over 30 years.

“I am proud to stand on this platform as graduate of this university to honor my teacher,” said LAU alum Sleiman Bakhti, publisher of Rifka’s new book.

“Fuad Rifka is one of the most important contemporary poets and innovators,” he added. “He knows how to mix poetry and philosophy.”

LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra said that “Rifka is breaking the boundaries of the country,” before going on to list some of his most notable achievements.

Despite the wide praise Rifka received, he insisted that the event was held to honor not him, but rather poetry itself.

“What is this evening honoring?” Rifka asked the audience. “No bravery was achieved by me … nor have I fulfilled anything supernatural,” he added. “The evening is dedicated to honoring poetry.”

Following the remarks, a three-member ensemble, which included Bakhti, actor Refaat Torbey, and singer and actress Yvonne El Hashem, took the stage to read, sing and act out passages from the book.

While most of Matthews’ works focus on his primary inspiration — women and the female nude — his work is colorful and vibrant and includes work that features scenes from the Civil War, among other things.

What inspired him to open the door to his studio to the public is the fact that some planned exhibitions with local galleries fell through. “I had talked to several galleries and all seemed interested and everyone gave dates — but they changed their minds or cancelled for different reasons later,” he explained. So Matthews decided to take the matter into his own hands and opened his studio.

The works on exhibit reveal Matthews’ love of the female form. He admits that while women are his most profound inspiration, other factors have influenced his relationship with painting over his life, both positively and negatively, such as the Lebanese Civil War.

“The Civil War changed my mood completely. When the mood was gone I felt I didn’t want to touch a brush anymore. But something kept tugging at my heart and I got this studio.”

“People sometimes ask me, ‘Why don’t you paint nature or Lebanese houses?’ But I follow my heart, which is all about women. They are at the center of everything I have done.”

A fine arts graduate (1981) from the Beirut University College (now LAU), Matthews has painted in this studio in Ras Beirut, near AUB, where he works as a writer and editor in the Office of Communications, since 2003. However, his path into art began as a child when he started producing comic strips — most of which he still has in his personal archive.

In fact, his love of comics and his native Lebanon is currently being merged into his grand current project — the first-ever encyclopedia of Lebanese comic books, being produced in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Culture. And it is something that he says he’s putting his entire heart into.

Such a book would be a fantastic push into the spotlight of Lebanon’s largely alternative, yet long-running culture of comic books, which is little known outside certain art circles.

Henry Matthews welcomes members of the public who are interested to view his works at his studio on Makhoul Street, Ras Beirut. He can be reached at 03/754425.

At the lecture entitled “Fanny’s Philosophy: Art and/or Pornography?” Aercke described the controversial history and long road to the legal acceptance of the 1748 novel about a young prostitute named Fanny that goes into vivid detail on many controversial topics such as homosexuality, masturbation, rape, anal sex and prostitution. It was written and published in London while the author, John Cleland, was imprisoned for debt.

“In a remarkable stroke of bad luck,” Aercke said, “an earthquake shook London on the same day [an edition of Fanny Hill] was published,” which the religious authorities attributed to the book’s publication, prompting the Bishop of London to launch a campaign against literature that the Church deemed inappropriate.

Shortly after his release, Cleland was thrown back in prison, along with the book’s publishers, charged with “corrupting the King’s subjects,” and the book was banned in England until 1970 — 221 years after its initial publication.

The book landed in the United States in 1821 where it was immediately banned until the ban was successfully challenged in 1966 at the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was granted protection under the First Amendment.

There, Fanny Hill’s defenders masterfully argued that art and pornography are mutually exclusive and thus no text can be deemed as both pornography and literature.

“Consequently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the literary style of Fanny and her technique lifted the narrative of her ‘sexploits’ from the cesspool of obscenity to the heights of Mount Parnassus,” said Aercke.

Until the period of the ruling, literary critics, sociologists and psychologists were using the terms pornography and obscenity without defining them, explained Aercke.

The trial succeeded in setting precedent in the debate over pornography and art by giving meaning to the terms and deciding that the structure, style and prose of a text, if written with enough eloquence, could not simply be deemed as obscene based on its content.

Aercke’s talk was the second event in a string of public lectures organized by the Humanities Department that will take place every month until the end of the academic year.

Read about the first lecture on “Writing Lebanon: Of Belonging and Displacement” by novelist Nada Awar Jarrar that took place in December 2009.

Through her art, Jabbour said she wanted to rise above the confines of space, time and culture. "Sometimes you want to connect to the world around you, so you create another world," she said. Her exhibition was called "Transcending Boundaries," which "is about going beyond ordinary stereotyped ways of doing or seeing things," according to the event card.

The theme of the exhibits revolved around Lebanon's past, present and future.

Jabbour experimented with various motifs, textures, and colors initially without planning to showcase her works. She said it was an ongoing process during which she spent "some crazy moments" of doubt about what she was producing, "but that just kept me experimenting," she said.

The two forms of printmaking she used helped Jabbour be spontaneous and inventive. She produced similar patterns on subsequent prints (monoprints) by using etched plates, and unique prints (monotypes) resulting from clean-surfaced plates.

Jabbour developed these techniques in London and New York, where she continued her education after graduating from then-BUC with a B.A. in fine arts in 1984.

Having returned to her home country, Jabbour started teaching at LAU in 1999. She thinks a teacher's role is to help students' talents "come out in a natural way and not to stereotype what their students are doing."

"If you're a teacher and an artist you don't want the students to imitate your style and to become copies of you," Jabbour said. "So one of the most difficult things in life is to be a good teacher, because I think it's very complex to bring out the [other] person's voice in art, sensibility, artistic character, strong points," she added.

From her experience in various countries, Jabbour said, here, unlike abroad, art has stereotypes. "The circumstances in Lebanon and overall politics are so much part of our lives [that they] waste a lot of our energy. Abroad, people...don't have that as an obstacle. Art has gone beyond," she said.

Jabbour said she loves travelling to experience new developments and trends. "Here, things are very static compared to abroad," she said, adding that it's important to remain self-motivated.

During the science fair, around 200 students exhibited 38 group projects in science, technology and engineering. Meanwhile, the arts fair displayed works of photography, drawing, sculpture and film.

In one of the science competitions, solar-powered, remote-controlled cars raced individually or each other depending on the emission frequency used for the remote control. The vehicles, the cost of which was not allowed to exceed $150, were designed and built by teams of students from various schools.

Youngsters also participated in a science knowledge contest, answering general multiple-choice questions in physics, chemistry and biology in teams of two or three.

On the other hand, those with writing skills competed in a writing contest by composing Arabic, English and French poems, short stories and essays on topics announced on the day of the competition.

The multifarious event also accommodated the interests of high-schoolers gifted with dancing and acting talents; they competed in performances, where the troupes were required to select the music and play, and to prepare the choreography, costumes, accessories and set design.

On the second day of the event, a total of 21 schools won different first, second and third place awards for each competition, and received gold trophies. The School of the Year in Sciences and Arts awards went to College Notre-Dame de Jamhour and Sacre Coeur Kfar Hbab schools respectively. In addition, participation certificates and souvenirs were distributed to all students, and the schools received participation medals for their efforts.