Art exhibit in Lebanon takes on civil war's old wounds
Posted October 27, 2017 7:00 am
BEIRUT (AP) - Zena El Khalil's art exhibit has tapped into wounds that are more than 40 years old in war-scarred Lebanon.
"Sacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanon" is being hosted in a landmark building in central Beirut that's a powerful reminder of the country's 1975-1990 civil war. Pockmarked and riddled with bullet holes, it stands on the former demarcation line that bisected Beirut into warring sections: east and west, Muslim and Christian.
The nearly 100-year-old house became a favorite for snipers during the war. El Khalil has brought her work to what is now the Beit Beirut museum - paintings, photographs, videos, installations and recorded poetry from over 100 locations around Lebanon. The exhibit is the first in Beit Beirut, which was declared a cultural center in 2003 when the city bought it.
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a visitor looks at a photograph in Beit Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a visitor weaves woolen patches on a loom to cover bullet holes on the building hosting an exhibition dedicated to healing the country's war wounds, in Beirut, Lebanon. Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a visitors weave woolen patches on looms to cover bullet holes on the building hosting an exhibition dedicated to healing the country's war wounds, in Beirut, Lebanon. Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, Lebanese artist Zena El Khalil speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in front of one of her paintings in Beit Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war.(AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a visitor looks at a a sniper position, part of an artistic project, in Beit Beirut, in Beirut, Lebanon. El Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a visitor walks through an art installation of 17,000 green sticks, in memory of those missing since the civil war, in Beirut, Lebanon. Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a visitors weave woolen patches on looms to cover bullet holes on the Beit Beirut building that is hosting an exhibition, in Beirut, Lebanon. Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 photo, a sign announces an exhibit held in Beit Beirut, in central Beirut, Lebanon. Zena El Khalilâs art exhibit has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. âSacred Catastrophe: Healing Lebanonâ is being hosted in a landmark building in the center of Beirut, a reminder of the countryâs 1975-1990 civil war. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
The Associated Press
This Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 photo, made with a long exposure, shows cars passing in front of Beit Beirut, the nearly 100 year-old house that served as a sniper position during Lebanon's civil war and now is hosting an exhibition by Zena El Khalil, in Beirut, Lebanon. El Khalil has tapped into wounds more than forty years old in war-scarred Lebanon. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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