Zeid Hamdan: the Power of Music in Love & Politics
Credits: Zeid Hamdan playing his guitar – Photo Courtesy of Sachyn Mital Foreword: I met Zeid Hamdan by pure coincidence as I was volunteering at a French music festival in Paris. Looking at the line-up, I noticed a Middle Eastern duo called Bedouin Burger and after researching them, discovered that the musician Zeid Hamdan, was […]
Rasha Hamade: Two Years With Grief
“Since August 4th, 2020, 6:07 pm, no survivor of the Beirut blastperceives life the same way they did before. I find it therapeutic to create and live this continuous grief next to others who share similar yet contrasting experiences. I gathered the experiences of survivors living in Lebanon or part of the diaspora and channeled […]
Fann w Fenjen: Yasmine Darwiche
Foreword Yasmine Darwiche is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator based in Beirut. We came to appreciate Yasmine’s illustrations during the early days of the Lebanese Revolution in 2019 and have since fallen in love with her visual illustrative style. Her Arabian style is, to use her own words, “a way to document and […]
Can Lebanon’s Winds of Change Extend to Prison Reform?: A Discussion with “Second Wind” Directors Nessim Stevenson and Tariq Keblaoui
Foreword: In a fabric of collapsing infrastructures, the daily challenges endured by former prison inmates in Lebanon often go untold. Many inmates charged with nonviolent crimes are indiscriminately housed in overcrowded prisons across the country for durations that far exceed their sentences due to significant delays to the tribunal process. Even after their release, former […]
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, […]
Five Queer Lebanese Artists You Should Be Following
Pride month may have ended (in some countries), but your celebration of LGBTQIA2S+ Lebanese artists shouldn’t. We curated this list to share with you some of our favorite Lebanese artists who are part of the queer community and hope you will appreciate their diverse styles as much as we do. Links to buy their art […]
Hamza Mekdad: Redefining Interdisciplinary Art
https://al-rawiya.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Al-Rawiya-Anmiated-Poster.mp4 Credits: [Photo/Animation: Issue 3 cover art by Hamza] Breathing life into static imagery, interdisciplinary artist Hamza Mekdad creates engaging 2D illustrations and animations by combining minimalism with strategic coloring, kinetic typography, line art, symbolism, and sound. Communicating concise messages through visual storytelling, he touches on personal and universal themes associated with the mental, social, political, […]
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 […]
Fann w Fenjen: Ivan Debs
Foreword: Art in all its forms offers an exploration of what defines our existence and colors our world, and at times, an escape from what makes it painful. With this section, we hope to shed more light on its significance and use our platform to showcase some amazing Lebanese artists both in Lebanon and […]