(In)Sovereign Soils: Lebanon’s Entrapment in a Global Monopoly on Agriculture
The village of Khiam, near the city of Nabatieh in the Jabal Amil region. Lebanon. Photo courtesy of Staselnik under CC BY-SA 3.0 Since the late 19th century, the world has gone through three phases of global food regimes. The first lasted throughout the colonial era and emphasized Europe’s agricultural hegemony over colonized countries; the second […]
Preserving Beirut Through Dia Mrad’s Lens
Credits: “6AM Splurge” from “The Silos Series” (2021) Photo courtesy of Dia Mrad A qualified architect but photographer by profession, Dia Mrad has taken on a career animating Beirut’s old buildings. Using photography as a medium, Dia narrates an often overlooked aspect of Lebanon’s history through his photography, immortalizing Beirut’s heritage and putting its rich […]
Fann w Fenjen: Carlo Kassabian and Badih Ghanem
Foreword: Having moved to Paris in August, I was excited to discover the art and design scene that the city is so well-known for. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I came across an acquaintance’s story which immediately caught my attention. It had a picture of a flier in it with BEY-PAR-BEY, and within 5 minutes, […]
Pride Month in Lebanon: Celebrating, Mourning, and Remembering
Author’s note: In honor of June being Pride Month, I (virtually) sat down with Karim Nammour, Lary BS, Sasha Elijah, and Sinine Nakhle to discuss the challenges, issues, and successes faced by the LGBTQ+ community in Lebanon on both an individual and community level. They come from different backgrounds and careers, ranging from legal experts […]
Dear Nostalgia: Adra Kandil’s Visual Letters to a Place That Never Was
Embodying a hybrid world of alternate realities, Lebanese visual artist, Adra Kandil (aka “Dear Nostalgia” online), uses photography, collages, typography, and digital montages to blend modern-day truths with the romanticism of collective nostalgia. As a post-war child with a desire to experience Lebanon’s ”Golden Age”, the multi-disciplinarian draws on personal storylines and relevant cultural references to blur […]