"Gardens of Lebanon. Fieber, fabric, bond" - summary

"Gardens of Lebanon. Fiber, fabric, bond". Summary.

The "Gardens of Lebanon" was originally intended to be just an exhibition. We already know that they have become a space for meeting and dialogue.

The exhibition consisting of 23 works prepared by 14 Polish artists, craftswomen and fabric restorers was shown in four places:

- at Chiyah Park in the Ain el Remmaneh district of Beirut (October 14-15, 2022)

- at the Cultural Center at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the Mar Mkhayel district of Beirut (November 5-6, 2022).

- at the „Fratelli Tutti” cafe in Łódź (January 14-28, 2023)

- at the "Scene behind the glass" in Katowice (February 4 - March 3, 2023)

The Lebanese exhibitions, due to the specificity of the places, took on a more social than artistic dimension. People of different faiths, different nationalities, children and seniors, those for whom art is the language of expression and those who met it for the first time, met at the exhibition. Biographies of the artists and information about the works were translated into English and Arabic, and well-prepared volunteers were "stationed" at individual works to talk to visitors about the exhibition, to answer their questions.

The arrangement of the exhibition was extremely meaningful and suggestive - it differed from our European standards and carried more content than form. The frames for the works and the easels were made by our volunteer Dany from wood from the houses destroyed by the explosion (from August 4, 2020), which the Domus Orientalis restored.

Polish vernissages were primarily an opportunity to talk about the role of cultural activities in places where humanitarian aid is primarily implemented through workshops. Two vernissages and one finissage combined with creative workshops for children were also a time to meet the authors of the works and listen to their inspirations and intentions.

"The Gardens of Lebanon" has a chance to become a long-term project, and the exhibition itself the first edition. The funds collected during the exhibition will make it possible to organize art workshops, art therapy and plein-air workshops in Beirut for children and teenagers.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with our print house - a catalog of works (in Polish), their descriptions and biographies of the authors. All works in one place - they are now available only here. We also invite you to download special coloring books prepared for classes accompanying "Gardens of Lebanon".